In this episode, Pilar talks about what happens when people speak different languages in the office, how many people still reject having online interactions and the difficulties of working out loud in virtual teams. Get in touch with your thoughts through www.virtualnotdistant.com When speaking a different language in the office is a problem. Finding out whether it's a sign of something else going on. Having informal conversations and avoiding directives. Pilar mentions this Today programme http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08g2ty8 which talks about how The Care Quality Commision in the UK has issued a warning about two online doctor services, which can also prescribe medicines. If you want to read more about this particular issue, go here: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/mar/03/cqc-warns-online-doctor-services-may-pose-risk-to-public Leaving the whole unreliability of some services to one side, and the state of the health service, why are we not embracing online video interactions?

A video call might be great for a status update team meeting; a phone call might be the best way of checking the status of a decision before we move on with our work; an online collaboration platform might be the best way to explain a problem you need help with.

When you first begin to work in this way, it might seem strange because you might need agreement on some of these decisions, but as long as the tech is working (and I know that sometimes that can be a big IF), at one point you won’t even realise that you’re switching between tools – you’ll just notice that you’re switching conversations. And if you’re in the same location, plan for time in the same physical space: no-one is forbidding you. But plan for that and try to pick the right environment or locations.

How does the tool affect your team interactions? Blog post on the benefits of working out loud

https://www.virtualnotdistant.com/blog/a-problem-shared-is-a-problem-identified

The difficulties of working out loud. Get in touch with your thoughts through www.virtualnotdistant.com

Hour 1: Our Biggest Threat