I brush my teeth and comb my hair. I even take the occasional bath. No comments from close friends please. Why you ask, do I go to such lengths in personal hygiene? It’s because I meet people and discuss items and agendas that hopefully benefit us both, and if I didn’t take that occasional bath, I’d be offensive in so many ways.
Mind you I wouldn’t have to even think about personal hygiene, if I video conferenced and Twittered my way through business. A survey conducted by Meetings Professionals International, based on 2,740 respondents indicated that 11% of those professionals expected an increase in the use of technology for meetings and remote content distribution.
So can I stop brushing my teeth? Not if I hoped to remain in the travel industry or any other for that matter. Travel has always been on the bleeding edge of technology but face to face meetings still have the greatest chance of success when discussing really important matters with clients.
How do I persuade, influence, humour, empathise and gain credibility and trust if not eyeball to eyeball? Sure I can Tweet you a costing, I can email you a summary and I can even link you to the destination of your choice but what if I’ve been there and talk to you about my experiences and how much they meant and could mean to you. Whenever you are trying to express emotions and require a consensus of thinking, face to face is the only way to go.
Nuances expressed by facial gestures, hand movements and voice quality are generally missing (video?) when I communicate via technology. Yes I’m waving my hands madly while writing this piece with a smile on my face and a song in my heart. How would you know?
That’s not to say technology doesn’t have a place in your day. Do I ever want to go to the bank again or the insurance company or even the RTA? Not if I can avoid it and technology allows me the software to communicate with commodity and utility style companies and save my precious time standing in line.
So think carefully how you use your resources and include software as a service but never underestimate the power of a smile and a handshake when doing business.
I’m still smiling and singing. Yes I‘ve stopped waving my hands around.
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