Recently I learnt the horrifying story of this little fella, the sea squirt.

Apparently it spends its life trying to find a rock to live out its days on.

When it finds the rock, it eats and digests its own brains.

And according to the brilliant neuroscientist Dr Helena Boschi, that’s exactly what we’re doing to ourselves spending all our days alone in front of our screens.

I told you it was horrifying.

Luckily Dr Boschi had lots of good advice to help us build connections with people in a post-COVID world, even if it is remotely.

Here are 5 of her tips for how to communicate successfully and create empathy:

• Give certainty and clarity to people wherever possible (she says there’s nothing our brain hates more than uncertainty)
• New and changing information needs to be repeated again. And again. And again. (It’s almost impossible to overcommunicate.)
• Use language that’s simple, visual and memorable – the brain loves pictures.
• Explain the why – use the word ‘because’ often as it reassures people
• Give others the feeling of choice and control, but don’t overwhelm them with options (think curated choice)

How many of these do you do every day?

As for me? I’m off for a real-life meeting to avoid sea squirt status. (That’s one hell of a motivating mental image, right?)