Building strong connections with remote team members is crucial for effective communication and collaboration. To achieve this, it's essential to establish a rapport with your teammates, which involves using non-verbal cues like smiling, maintaining eye contact, and matching handshake strength. In a remote setting, these cues are lost, making it necessary to rely on text-based communication. However, relying solely on text can lead to misunderstandings, so it's crucial to use voice and video calls whenever possible. When communicating via text, it's vital to stay up-to-date with the latest developments, remember Hanlon's Razor (assuming ignorance before malice), and be open about your needs and boundaries. By setting clear expectations, using code words or guidelines, and finding ways to share context explicitly, you can build strong relationships with your remote team members despite the lack of face-to-face interaction.