Q1.

What might be a good way to handle conversation if you have an especially large or
talkative group on a video call?
Ans. A good practice to handle conversations in these cases could be alloting everyone
a fixed time to express themselves,
while at the same time using the mute button to avoid any disruptions while someone is
speaking. Chat section could also be used to "voice" opinions
of others while someone is speaking.

Q2. For which scenarios is web sharing/screensharing the best option?

Ans. Screensharing could be the best option during brainstorming sessions wherein
various tools like notetaking, scribbling, annotating and taking control could be
put to use efficiently in order ot let the new ideas flow creatively. It can also be helpful
during training, coaching manuals and company presentations where
it is essential to present an idea verbally as well as visually.

Q3. In hybrid meetings where several people are together in person and one person is
joining via web sharing, what is the BEST practice to not let the web
sharing member feel left out?
Ans. An engaging content becomes the most essential ingredient in order to not let the
lone person attending virtually feel left out. Live online polls, regular
QnA sessions, clearly laid out agenda and action plan for the meeting and above all, a
proper length of the meeting all play key roles here.

Q4. Examine different aspects of your Body Language. Identify some of your personal
non-verbal communication gestures/postures and expressions. Discuss their
pros and cons. Would you like to change some when you see yourselves as business
professionals? How do you plan to do that? Answer in 200 words.
Ans. I try to maintain eye contact with people in a physical meeting, keep my facial
expressions in sync with the ongoing discussion, tone of my voice is
in accordance with the direction of the conversation while my postures and gestures, I
believe, complement the message I'm trying to convey.
As far as my personal gestures and expressions go:

A. Hand Gestures: I have been told I use a lot of hand gestures to make my points.
Pros: It can come across as a commanding gesture.
Cons: It can also come across as overwhelming for some of the observers.

B. Movements: I do not tend to move a lot during presentations, even if I'm on a stage.
Pros: It is often helpful while delivering a speech where the content often speaks for
itself.
Cons: During presentations where there is a need to engage with the audience, being too
static can come off as too monotonous.

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C. Facial Expressions: One of the common feedbacks I have received is that I use a lot of
eyebrow movements.
Pros: This might exhibit a sense of confidence on my part.
Cons: They can be interpreted differently by different people, often in a negative way.

As a business professional, I'd like to change my eyebrow movements: would try to limit
it in serious meetings. I would practice in front of mirror while
preparing my pitch, while also collecting feedbacks from peers about the same.

Q5. "Communication is the life blood of business." Comment vis-à-vis the significance of
communication using examples.
Ans. An absolutely indispensable part of any business under the sun, communication is
one of the most powerful tools to formulate, express, develop and
prosper a business. The significance of proper communication can only be realized when
you look all around yourself and try to imagine what would life be like
without proper communication channels. From the big brands across all domains -
Google, MS, Facebook, Walmart: you name it - to the relatively newborn
startups, they all rely on powerful means of communication to express themselves.
Pioneered by able visionaries, the global powerhouses today spend millions of
dollars to create the pathways to connect to their cosnumers effectively. The leadership
teams spend thousands of hours brainstorming to create innovative
methods to effectively use the most powerrful tool at their disposal: Communication.
Internally too for any company, it is importantly to timely communicate with your
employees and stakeholders to brief them about various updates, policy
changes, directions the company is taking. The way this communication is done could
dictate terms: if not done effectively, it could raise serious doubts
about the company leadership and send wrong message across the channels, hence
denting the brand as a whole.

Some most common examples:

1. Covid-19: The recent pandemic opened up a whole new avenue of communication

channels. As the world shifted indoors, proper communication took center
stage as it became pivotal for the businesses to ensure that their employees and
consumers felt valued, safe and prioritized. The leadership faced its
biggest challenge in decades. While the jury is still out to decide how effective it was, the
results indicate that the companies that regularly communicated
with the stakeholders came out better compared to the ones who failed to grab the
essence of proper communication.

2. Business Growth: How does a business grow? How did ideas like albhabet, walmart,
amazon or the more local ones like flipkart transform from one-room startups
to the behemoths they are today. The Bansal brothers - founders of flipkart - were
distributing nametags for flipkart in 2007. 10 years hence, they were big

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enough to be acquired by the biggest company in the world in terms of revenue:
Walmart. Of course vision, planning, confidence and patience are important for
success but what separates a revolutionary idea from an average one is the way the
successful one communicates and announces itself to the world: social media,
word of mouth, print media, press releases, share market investment, interviews,
presence. These are all various facets of communication that are keys to
success in this cutthroat, hypercompetitive world of business.

3. Internal Communication: To ensure a strong presence in the outside world, a company

internally should be consistent enough. That is where communication
plays its part. Company memos, states of addresses, mails dismissing any negative
rumors, informing of leadership changes are all pivotal in order to ensure
that a united front is present to the external viewers.

4. Marketing: The importance of marketing cannot be overstated for any business. As

stated earlier, companies spend a large amount of money on marketing:
Finding the right team, identifying the right market, developing a supply chain etc. There
are far too many components involved here and often the margin of
error is quite small. Hence, communication between all these parts becomes even more
important. Ensuring that the right message gets delivered at the right time
effectively requires excellent communication skills.

Communication is liefblood of business, hence, is an understatement.