One of the most commonly heard phrases over the last few years has been … “your on mute”, as we have learnt to Zoom, Teams, Remo and Google Meet our way to stay connected. Often under pressure, and out of necessity, we have had to learn how to connect virtually, with this experience unexpectedly sparking innovation. This presentation will share some of the ways the Australian River Restoration Centre (ARRC) has pivoted in order to embrace the virtual environment, whilst also retaining the sense of personal connection that is the organisations’ modus operandi. Examples of the ways the ARRC has communicated in Covid times will be shared, including the ‘Conversations with the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder’ series, the Flow-MER Friday Webinars, the Native Fish Showcase, the Waterway Management Twinning Program, and a series of landholder pitched on-line workshops focusing on designing roads and tracks, managing weeds, and stock control. The ARRC has also developed some new web-based products that integrate video with illustration in an attempt to provide people with a virtual experience that is engaging and rewarding. In addition, the ARRC is piloting a video collaboration with recreational fisherman Andy McGovern, to raise awareness about how to catch and release Murray cod so that the fish survives the experience. Using these examples, the presentation will then reflect on how, going forward in an ongoing Covid impacted world, the ARRC is trying to use the positives of virtual connection, with the need to still enable people to gather face-to-face. In so doing, the presentation will discuss how, as a society and as individuals, Covid is having a lasting impact on our psyche and confidence, and how acknowledging this as a new communication context is essential, if we are to respect and engender trust in those we want to communicate with.