Face-to-face trumps techno

When was the last time you connected face-to-face with someone? With this global pandemic, you may be working from home and missing the personal, human connection. 

Right now, I bet you have colleagues that you have emailed or spoken with on the phone or online and never met. Or maybe you have someone you already know well and just haven’t seen in person due to circumstances.

No matter how great technology is, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that will replace face-to-face communication.

We are starting to see the light at the end of this pandemic tunnel, and for once, it’s not a train. As long as we keep on the same track and avoid senseless risks, it looks lke we’ll be resuming face-to-face interactions in the near future. And that’s wonderful news when it comes to communication and connecting with others.

I don’t know if we’re ever going to be shaking hands again in the workplace, though I suspect at some point, we might. Either way, remember back to that practice and how much information you gained from that simple physical gesture. When you reach out and shake someone’s hand, you’re getting a universe of learning. Is that hand cold or warm? Soft or calloused? Weak or strong? In those few seconds, you consciously and unconsciously deduce if that person is nervous or relaxed, an office worker or tradesperson, shy or confident. 

You gain so much information through human touch, vision, smell, hearing, and that magic feeling of being in-person. That’s the benefit of meeting face to face that no technology can replace. 

Even the wonderful technologies that are now available to us, like teleconferencing and video calls, pale in comparison to the visceral response we get to seeing someone in person. As amazing as this technology is in connecting you across the miles, it is trumped by face-to-face communication.

Think about the people with whom you communicate. Perhaps they are colleagues in other countries, clients on the other side of the country, or maybe they’re just on the other side of your street. Imagine going to a social function, meeting or conference and seeing them for the first time in person.

That personal touch connection is irreplaceable.

Imagine how excited you would be to meet your favourite celebrity in person! That, right there, exemplifies the impact of face-to-face. That’s why you pay to see celebrities in person, to hear bands play live, and to attend conferences with speakers you’ve heard of and colleagues you rarely get to see. You show what you value by how you spend your resources and you communicate that you value that in-person experience in your willingness to spend your hard-earned dollars for that experience. 

Who do you want to meet, face-to-face?

Who have you communicated with recently using only technology? Who in your life would benefit from a face-to-face exchange with you? What conference or meeting is it that you most look forward to because it will likely be in-person?

Regardless of the venue or when it happens next (soon we hope), when you shake the hand, look in the eyes, read the body language, and see the facial expressions, you’ll remember why face-to-face is so important. It connects you on a deeper level. Go get connected, in person. Get ready, it’s coming!

© 2012-2021 Marion Grobb Finkelstein