I was privileged to attend the Society for Computers and Law (SCL) fiftieth anniversary dinner at One Great George Street in Westminster in London this week. There was a great keynote speech from its President Richard Susskindlooking back at the achievements of SCL and forward to the future, and in particular the continuing impact of AI. I am fortunate to be a fellow and past chair of SCL (when I was honoured to be able to introduce Richard to his current role in the society) and was delighted to see and hear about its obvious continuing success in marrying the fields of technology and the law and its practitioners. However, the thing that also really struck me about the evening is how the dinner demonstrated the continuing power and effectiveness of face-to-face personal networking. At the pre-dinner drinks and over the meal I met and talked to many existing contacts and made new ones, some followed up on LinkedIn. This really brought home to me again the benefits and pleasure, especially in our digital world, of meeting and socialising face-to-face. Indeed, I consider that in the post lock down world, when we were prevented from meeting up, there is a pent-up demand in people and organisations for person-to-person events. We have in my own work held two gatherings of our function recently which were very well attended and where colleagues contributed enthusiastically.

In addition to the obvious benefit of human social contact there are many good reasons for meeting in person as professionals. See, for example, this blog What are the Benefits of In-Person Meetings for Businesses? which observes “While virtual meetings have become increasingly popular as a result of remote working, they are not always as effective as in-person meetings when it comes to collaboration” and suggests “In addition to non-verbal cues, in-person meetings enable you to express your thoughts and ideas and ask questions more easily, decreasing the risk of misinterpretation. As such, face-to-face meetings are particularly important for task meetings or when trying to solve complex problems.”

While this article Face-To-Face Meetings: 9 Benefits and Why They're Important proposes that  “Face-to-face meetings are important because businesses are built on relationships. While digital communication has advanced significantly in recent years, face-to-face meetings can still be critical components of building a strong culture, developing rapport with clients and connecting with people on a deeper level.” It suggests the benefits include:

• Interpreting nonverbal cues like facial expressions or gestures
• Coming up with ideas
• Limiting technology issues – we have all experienced challenges from time to time with Teams or Zoom or whatever virtual medium we use 
• Engaging in purposeful small talk
• Addressing sensitive issues

This Harvard Business Review article poses the question in its title When Do We Actually Need to Meet in Person? It strikes a nice balance in the post-Covid world discussing the  relative advantages and disadvantages of real and virtual meetings. It suggests that rather than the “push and pull” of whether we should go into an office…”we need to reframe the conversation and focus on what we’re actually trying to achieve rather than where, precisely, we’ll be sitting when we achieve it.” In effect we have an opportunity, having experienced enforced Zoom and Teams meetings, to achieve a balance. “Now that serendipitous in-person interactions are possible, and now that we know how to do virtual work well, let’s think very carefully about whether time spent meeting might be better spent thinking, writing, or engaging in other projects.” It recognises the potential advantages of online meetings including “For some people, the screen creates a sense of psychological safety, and with it the freedom to share views and take risks.” It also discusses hybrid meetings and the challenges they present and in particular how to involve the colleagues online. I have seen this approach used for training and it works, but is so much harder to get online participants to contribute. The lesson I take from the article is that we now have a unique opportunity to find a balance between in person and remote meetings. It concludes “Let’s harness our new perspectives on time, technology, and togetherness to rethink how we work — and specifically, how we gather.”

I also found a Forbes article Should Your Next Meeting Be Online Or In-Person? which picks up this post pandemic dilemma of how and where we work and meet. It recognises “the tension between employers and employees over the issue of hybrid versus in-person working as worker are called back to the office.” It suggests “business communicators need to make sure that any in-person gathering is really the best way to get their message across—both verbally and non-verbally.” And draws an interesting distinction between “transactional communications” (getting information out there so people can act on it) and “transformational communications” (exchange and inspiration involving relationship and team building).

Don’t get me wrong here. I work from home and enjoy the freedom that gives me and the absence of commuting, but when I go into one of our offices I almost always achieve things I could not do online. I also started this blog extolling the virtues of face-to-face meetings. However, I do recognise that for some business meetings virtual or even hybrid gatherings are perfectly adequate and can even be better. They can also in multinational groups help bring colleagues in different countries together. We had an excellent Xmas video contributed to from our legal teams around the world. However, for cementing old contacts and making new ones there is no substitute for meeting in person.

And there is a risk with over reliance on electronic communication: Vincent Nichols a Cardinal in the Roman Catholic church warns “We’re losing social skills, the human interaction skills, how to read a person’s mood, to read their body language, how to be patient until the moment is right to make or press a point. Too much exclusive use of electronic information dehumanizes what is a very, very important part of community life and living together.”

Stephen R Covey the educator and author sums the benefits up nicely “The person who is truly effective has the humility and reverence to recognize his own perceptual limitations and to appreciate the rich resources available through interaction with the hearts and minds of other human beings.”
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While for an extremely prescient final thought Charles Dickens of all people said “Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true.”

As we approach the festive season and look back on another year it is easy in the rush and excitement of Xmas to forget our colleagues who may have had a difficult time for one reason or another. One thing I have learnt, or perhaps relearnt, is the importance of staying hopeful; of looking for a silver lining no matter how bad a professional or personal situation may appear at first sight. This is particularly helpful at a time of year when our working world can be especially chaotic with real and imagined year-end deadlines to meet. In a work context I like this definition of silver lining from the Cambridge Dictionary “an advantage that comes from a difficult or unpleasant situation.”  While ChatGPT quite succinctly suggests “A silver lining refers to the positive aspect or outcome in a challenging or negative situation. It’s a metaphorical way of expressing hope or optimism in the middle of difficulty.”

It was apparently the Victorians who coined the adage “every cloud has a silver lining”, but there is an even earlier reference from the English poet John Milton 
“Was I deceiv’d, or did a sable cloud
Turn forth her silver lining on the night?”
see  Meaning And Origin Of ‘Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining.

It is difficult I know when things are not going well for whatever reason in our professional working lives, but I have come to realise that even in extreme adversity there may be opportunity. As the Dalai Lama commented “Remember that sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck.”

To my great surprise there is actually quite a lot of science behind this approach. See this paper from the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology Holding a silver lining theory: When negative attributes heighten performance which observes “A silver lining theory is a form of lay theory in which a negative personal attribute is associated with a positive personal attribute. Impulsive individuals, for example, may hold a silver lining theory that their negative attribute of impulsivity is associated with their positive attribute of being creative.” Lay theories “are common-sense based theories that people use to make sense of their self and surroundings”.

And there are ways to encourage this positive attitude even in adversity - see this article 36 Ways to Find a Silver Lining During Challenging Times which says “Fortunately, many coping strategies have been found to be effective at minimizing the effects of hardship. One simple but powerful way to enhance resilience is to find silver linings within painful or arduous situations.” It continues “The ability to perceive silver linings is an optimistic mindset that promotes emotional resilience and the ability to adapt to future challenges.” Then it suggests (actually 22) practical steps to achieve this including:

• Be optimistic
• Practice compassion
• Recognise self-fulfilling prophecies
• Learn when to approach a situation with acceptance, courage, and wisdom
• Consider it a challenge

It also quotes the Serenity Prayer which seems most apposite whether you are religious or not.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

See this Forbes article How To Find The Silver Lining which says “One of the most vital aspects of being human is being able to imagine what the future holds and maintain a sense of hope when things don’t go our way.” It counsels that you should “make a habit of finding the silver lining” and “that the key to creating motivation and optimism for yourself is to celebrate your successes and milestones”.

I also like this Psychology Today blog 4 Ways to See the Silver Lining in Anything which advocates “Acknowledge your ability to be positive” and “Become aware of when you are being optimistic or pessimistic” and concludes with a great quote from poet Walt Whitman: “Keep your face toward the sunshine—and the shadows will fall behind you.”

While this blog 10 Ways to Find Your Silver Lining in Any Circumstance suggests “At its core, finding your silver lining is a shift in perspective”  and recommends

• Cultivate good health
• Practice gratitude
• Notice the small things

I know some of this seems quite obvious, but I think what I have learnt from researching this article is the extent to which our approach and attitude can influence how we manage hard times and look for the positives. This is not only about fate and what happens to each of us in our working roles, but our attitude and approach when we encounter difficult times as we inevitably will.

Perhaps our most obvious silver lining at this time of year is that Xmas is coming which should provide a break from the busy real or virtual office!

As the poet and musician Leonard Cohen said “There’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.”

While the painter Henri Matisse sagely observed “There are always flowers for those who want to see them.”
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And as a good concluding thought on this topic “Only in the darkness can you see the stars” – Martin Luther King.
 

Apologies for the spelling in the image – AI can’t always spell. There is hope for us all yet! In the context of continuing technology evolution we have witnessed seismic change in business communication. With old fashioned snail mail for business communications in letter form you mostly knew where you were with the correct form of address and conclusion to use. If you commenced the letter with “Dear sir or Madam” you conclude it with “Yours faithfully” whereas if you know the name of the recipient and put “Dear Fred/ Freda” you ended with “Yours sincerely”. Generally, the “named” letters were more personal and friendly. Formal notices or litigation letters often started with the more formal anonymous title. Nowadays with email and instant messages (IM’s) you might think all of this was history and irrelevant to our switched-on connected world where brevity and speed of response are the norm.

In reality I suggest that whilst there may not be the formal “rules” we used to apply, how we communicate effectively in the electronic professional world still really matters. For example, I have noticed that for most emails and IM’s the conversation starts with “Hi” and your first name. If this convention is not applied the note seems slightly unfriendly. Some IM’s start with “Good morning” or “Hello” which again are friendly. There does not however seem to be any convention about ending (or not) with your name perhaps because the sender is obvious from the address. Some emails end with “Best regards” or the more friendly “Kind regards”.

In this age of less formal communication there is a surprising amount of material available on what we should and should not do online. This blog Email etiquette: how can HR guide employees in effective remote communication has ten tips including:

• Include a clear subject matter
• Only use shorthand if you know your recipients
• Be wary of using humour or colloquialism across cultures
• Don’t hit reply all or CC everyone
• Always spell check.

There is also some helpful advice in this Harvard Business Review article How to Write Better Emails at Work which is also on YouTube. The presenter commences with “Think back to the last time you received a poorly written email. You might have had to reread it a few times to get the main point, and the action items might have been scattered all over the place.” He objects to “when senders include a lot information up front, but what they’re really trying to get at or ask for is at the very end of the email” and concludes with a tip I am seriously considering adopting. “Change the “undo send” option to 30 seconds. So you might not know this, but Murphy’s law when it comes to emailing in the workplace is that you will always catch your mistakes 10 seconds after the email is already sent.”

While this Forbes article 10 Rules Of Email Etiquette has some good tips such as:

• Avoid all caps, exclamation points, and slang.
• Be careful when trying to be funny
• Create a professional signature
• Respond timely and appropriately
• Proofread, proofread, proofread. I particularly like this one as a lawyer!

This Washington Post article You’re emailing wrong at work. Follow this etiquette guide. poses some interesting questions like “is it offensive if ChatGPT writes your emails?” And comments that despite the increasing use of IM, video and text “email is still part of many workers’ jobs, and using it correctly can have a big effect on the people you work with as well as their perception of you.” 

For a communication medium that is so informal there is also a lot of advice on the use of IM’s. This article Using Instant Messaging Effectively is a good example. It suggests the advantages are “it can reduce the amount of time that we spend on the phone or writing emails, and it's a fast, relaxed way to share information.” `on the other hand and I think this is really important from a welfare perspective “IM also promotes the "always on" culture, and encourages people to expect immediate responses. This can lead to stress and burnout, especially for those who send and receive out of hours work-related messages through apps on their personal devices.” 

Intriguingly the Microsoft 365 Team has produced Your guide to chat etiquette in the workplace which observes “instant messaging in chat-based workspace apps is rapidly becoming the go-to business communication method.” However “Unfortunately, this explosion of communication options creates the potential for workplace misunderstandings, churn, or worse—including drops in productivity, low morale, and business risks.” Its rules of thumb include: 

• Use IM or chat for internal teams …but use email ….with external working groups.
• If written IMs prove unclear, offer to jump on a quick voice call. See my blog Walk the Week – Pick up the Phone for more thoughts on this.
• The thumbs-up button—often thought of as the “like” button—can help you close the loop on conversations faster.
• Respect your coworkers’ availability status. Never ping a colleague who’s set themselves as unavailable.

To get an AI perspective I asked ChatGPT which said “IM etiquette involves being mindful of your communication style and respecting other’s times and preferences” and then provided tips including “use a professional tone and proper language, use group chats judiciously and be mindful of the privacy of information shared.”

And maybe we are seeing IM’s take over from emails as they are increasingly used for more and more business communications including sending documents as attachments or links - which was the preserve of email. I have a senior colleague who has for the most part stopped using emails. 

ChaGPT suggests that “Instant messaging (IM) and email serve different communication purposes, and it is unlikely that IM will entirely replace emails.” We will see what happens but as with the increasing rarity of a business letter, we do all seem to be using IM more and more.
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As a good parting thought the author Trevor Carss said “If it doesn't feel right to receive what you're sending, don't send it.”