Participants
Students: SahilMohamed Farook, SaadBin Khalid, Gayathri Pichai, Adrian Schmidt
Supervisor: Holly McKee
Project Description
Non-Verbal Communication and Team Dynamics in Remote Work
Human communication is shaped as much by what is unspoken as by what is said. Non-verbal cues—such as facial expressions, posture, gesture, tone, and timing— are fundamental to mutual understanding, trust, and connection. Beneath conscious awareness, our physiological systems also participate in this exchange: during moments of deep interpersonal alignment, people often become literally “in sync”—their heart rates, breathing patterns, and skin conductance harmonize, producing a form of embodied rapport known as physiological synchrony [1,2].
In physically co-located teams, this synchrony emerges naturally through shared space, rhythm, and
movement. But remote collaboration disrupts these embodied dynamics. Constant screen exposure,
unnatural eye contact, and prolonged stillness contribute to “Zoom fatigue,” increased cognitive load, and a diminished sense of connection. Team cohesion, attention, and well-being suffer in the absence of subtle, synchronised non-verbal feedback [3].
Synchrony in Co-located Teams Research in embodied joint action—from synchronous drumming to rhythmic breathing—demonstrates that coordinated movement can entrain autonomic rhythms like heart rate variability (HRV) and vagal tone, enhancing social bonding, attention, and resilience [4,5]. High-performing teams, such as surgeons and athletes, often exhibit spontaneous physiological synchrony, which correlates with better outcomes and reduced error [6].
Measuring Inter-brain Synchrony
Previous research suggests that inter-brain synchrony is associated with team performance. Our study investigates whether this relationship can be detected in a more ecologically valid remote setting, and whether a brief joint breathing exercise helps create the conditions for that synchrony to emerge during a subsequent coordination task.
The guiding questions are:
•Can inter-brain synchrony be meaningfully detected during remote collaboration?
•Can a brief pre-task co-regulation ritual support the emergence of that synchrony and improve performance?
References
1. Hall, Judith A., Terrence G. Horgan, and Nora A. Murphy. "Nonverbal communication." Annual review of psychology 70.2019 (2019): 271-294.
2. Behrens, F., et al. "Physiological synchrony is associated with cooperative success in real-life interactions." Scientific reports 10.1 (2020): 19609.
3. Fauville, Geraldine, et al. “Video-conferencing usage dynamics and nonverbal mechanisms exacerbate Zoom Fatigue, particularly for women.” Computers in Human Behavior Reports 10 (2023): 100271.
4. Gordon, Ilanit, et al. "Physiological and behavioral synchrony predict group cohesion and performance." Scientific reports 10.1 (2020): 8484.
5. Codrons, Erwan, et al. "Spontaneous group synchronization of movements and respiratory rhythms." PloS one 9.9 (2014): e107538.
6. Powezka, Katarzyna, et al. "A pilot study of heart rate variability synchrony as a marker of intraoperative surgical teamwork and its correlation to the length of procedure." Sensors 22.22 (2022): 8998.