Community Thoughts: Reading The Room

It's funny that I am beginning a "read the room" article with a random internet meme, isn't it? Well, I came across this earlier this week and it was just perfect. Soon enough, you will understand why.

In high school, we developed our ability to observe and evaluate numerous circumstances. A significant application was whenever we had our class captain, an elected student who served as a liaison between the teachers and students, writing down the names of students who were disrupting the class. You could leave a noisy class and return minutes later to a quiet class because the teacher had asked the class Although we could open our mouths to shout or speak as we pleased as they weren't sealed or locked, having your name on that list was never fun. The mood was usually tense, you could be on the list for whispering. Looking back, it's safe to say that at that point, we read the room and realized that it wasn't the best time to speak. Not that we couldn't, but the consequences were undesirable. The same is true everywhere; comedians do not entertain people at funerals, nor do clowns in courtrooms.

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This topic was briefly mentioned in my article on effective communication, but I felt it was too broad in scope to be a subtopic.

Reading a room simply means assessing the mood of a group of people and prioritizing their comfort over yours. Reading the room is an idiomatic expression that refers to the skill of observing or interpreting subtle signs from a group, including voice tone, body language, and facial expressions. "Room" in this context, as someone interested in communities, refers to a group of people who share a common interest. It could be based on interest, activity, geography, or culture. Understanding the mood of your community and having the ability to read it at progressing time scales could help you optimize conversations and activities to be more productive and value-driven, and could enhance the quality of communication.

COMMUNITY MOOD?

Yes, you read that right. I define community mood as the overall or dominating feeling experienced by the majority of community members. Moods are generally triggered by specific stimuli or events, and the same is true in communities. Current or previous events may have an impact on the mood of the community.

"Being in a bad mood with your friends beats being in a bad mood without them" - John Green

It's important to keep in mind that since most communities are made up of people from a wide range of backgrounds, it could be challenging to gauge the mood of the community. The emotional state of one community member could also have a big impact on the mood of other community members. It is expressed clearly through text messages, voice tones, body language, expression, etc.

WHY READ A ROOM?

Understanding and being in tune with the thoughts of members of your community is a superpower, it helps you communicate more effectively with them. A feedback mechanism that includes reading the room is essential to making better decisions, especially when it comes to decisions regarding information sharing and activity planning. A gap between you and your community gives a bad vibe. Like cracking a joke at a funeral, It could damage your relationship with one or more members. In addition, it aids in providing crucial WH answers.

Why - Circumstance

Example:

Why is the conversation going this way?

Why this emoji?

Why this expression?

Why the uneasiness?

What - Reactions, syntax, Purpose

Example :

What is the most obtainable reaction at this point to a scheduled announcement or text?

What is the appropriate tone?

Who - Personalities and Behavior

Example:

Who are available Community members now?

HOW TO READ A ROOM

You could read a room in various ways, I follow these three steps: Assess, Analyze, and Express.

• Assess and Analyze:

While it may be quite challenging to determine how each individual member and the community as a whole are feeling, paying close attention to minute things may be really helpful. For both virtual and physical structures, minute details could vary. Emojis, voice tones, expressions, and body language, among other things, can be used to read signs for virtual and physical communities. Ask questions and give your members a chance to express their opinions. You can determine whether someone agrees with you or not, whether they like you or not, and whether they are relaxed with you by observing their reactions. Inconvenience may stem from a particular subject or from other issues. Most importantly, pay closer attention and read between lines. To manage various situations to your advantage, understand community dynamics and incorporate your communication skills.

Additionally, understand that external influences may have an impact on each person individually and, as a result, their contribution to the situation in the room. Taking into account that individuals need breaks, it's important to remember that by allowing them time to unplug, they can later return reenergized. As the community grows, it becomes more difficult to understand the mood at various times, but one solution is to broaden your scale. If you covered 30 people's expressions in a community of 40, double that for an 80-person community.

• Express:

This is the most important step because it is your reaction to your analyzed metrics. The goal of expressing is to tune in to the current mood. A sense of belonging is created if members of the community feel you are synchronized or understand their emotions. Sometimes your reaction stems from an incorrect assessment of the current mood; make an effort to learn more about emerging settings as you interact. If you notice that things are becoming tense, use positivity or empathy to ameliorate the situation. Engage and keep an eye out for any positive cues, such as a community member making humorous comments. Successfully interacting with them could alter the mood of everyone else.

Don't make a phone call in a library, understand that it's normal for the community to be quiet at times. If you're doing the talking most of the time, it's impossible to read the room effectively. Take frequent breaks when communicating with your community.

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While it's important to communicate with the community as often as possible, it's also important to know when to say certain things. Reading the room is a skill that primarily depends on listening and observation. People who can read a room understand the appropriate atmosphere, tone, and mood and can fit in. It’s a skill that improves over time. In a world where everyone is talking, be the speaker who understands the situation.