The Power of Face-to-Face Interaction

In our last post, we explored the growth of teleworking and how the workplace landscape is continually shifting into convenience. Teleworking, or working remotely, has tremendous benefits for both employees and employers, but we wanted to take a step back to discuss why we can’t go completely digital - and why face-to-face interaction is still a powerful conduit for business connections.

In our last post, we shared a recent study reported in the Harvard Business Review citing that in-person requests were 34 times more likely to elicit a positive response instead of email. Let’s dive into why that is. 

When we’re confined to simply reading text, it can be hard to interpret tone, inflection, hesitation or excitement. For an everyday example, think of it this way - how many of us have read a text message and regrettably misunderstood its meaning? We’re reading fast, maybe we’re tired or not thinking clearly, and suddenly we’ve unintentionally derailed the conversation.

The question here is - why is that? According to a recent study by UCLA, 93% of our communication effectiveness is determined by our nonverbal cues. To put a finer point on it, when we rely solely on written messages - we’re a measly 7% effective. Our body language, facial expressions or level of eye contact can all be huge indicators to how we truly feel about the information we’re either sharing or receiving. It can make transparent what words alone often can’t. Simply put, there is so much more beyond the words we type or speak.

This is especially crucial in business settings when we’re either establishing or building relationships with people we don’t know intimately. It requires a level of comfort and trust that is inherently more difficult to build through a screen when you can’t see the person reacting in real time, and then adjust in response. So much of the business we do - making the sale, coming to an agreement, hiring the right prospect - depends on us communicating clearly and effectively, and if science is to be believed - we leave a lot of that on the table when we don’t actually gather around one.

Technology can help of course when getting together is impossible. Videoconferencing has allowed us to come face-to-face in a new way that is more cost effective. But that doesn’t make it a substitute for the real thing. In fact, a recent study highlighted that parties who shook hands were more likely to conduct cooperative negotiations - something we can’t simply do through a phone or a laptop. Why? Because touch builds trust. 

There are other great rewards for when we do business in-person, people are more inclined to pay attention, can mirror emotion and read one another better, and perhaps increase likability and build relationships faster. While digital tools allow us to be more flexible and productive than ever before, it’s important we don’t eliminate human-centered interaction all together.

In fact, according to 91% of event planners - event spend is either staying the same or increasing in 2020. What does that mean? Companies are putting a premium on getting people in the room together. At Proxfinity, we know the value of real, human connection and are working to do our part to make those experiences, when we all physically get together, more meaningful, valuable and actionable. 

Curious how we do it? Learn more about our CUE 2.0 smart badge here.