Keeping it personal
At our weekly staff meeting, Becky reminded us of the importance of maintaining working relationships with clients by keeping up face-to-face interaction.
It seems that, in today’s electronic-everything world, many people have a hard time talking to people in such an intimate way- myself included.
When I have a question for a professor at school, it is easier to shoot him an e-mail or text message a classmate than to call someone.
It’s not just business, either. Instead of telephone calls and awkward first dates, the courting process is done via text. People initiate break-ups on Facebook. Personal life - like business- is getting less personal.
But, in life and in business, face-to-face interaction is crucial.
In a time when people rely on the word of friends, family and other
consumers more than that of the government or businesses, real interaction is important to establish and maintain a working relationship with a client. To gain a client’s trust, you must be a real person - with a face, not just an e-mail signature.
Social media can help these efforts- having a public profile with your information, your picture, hobbies and interests, and updates about your life will put a face on your brand- but that’s not enough.
To have a meaningful relationship, you must share space with someone. In Justin R. Levy’s terms, you’ve got to “get out from behind your keyboard.”
Gordon Marshall’s Dictionary of Sociology defines face-to-face interaction as “the process in which co-present individuals influence each others’ actions.”
This dynamic is not possible any other way. According to Changing Minds, by David Straker, about half of what we say is expressed through body language. Spending time with one another, influencing the actions and reactions of your counterpart, is what defines a relationship and makes it intimate and special.
I have a challenge to myself that you are welcome to join: stop texting and just call someone already. Drop by a friend’s house or to set up a short meeting with a client - just to remind them you are real, and you are there for them.
It seems that, in today’s electronic-everything world, many people have a hard time talking to people in such an intimate way- myself included.
When I have a question for a professor at school, it is easier to shoot him an e-mail or text message a classmate than to call someone.
It’s not just business, either. Instead of telephone calls and awkward first dates, the courting process is done via text. People initiate break-ups on Facebook. Personal life - like business- is getting less personal.
But, in life and in business, face-to-face interaction is crucial.
In a time when people rely on the word of friends, family and other
consumers more than that of the government or businesses, real interaction is important to establish and maintain a working relationship with a client. To gain a client’s trust, you must be a real person - with a face, not just an e-mail signature. Social media can help these efforts- having a public profile with your information, your picture, hobbies and interests, and updates about your life will put a face on your brand- but that’s not enough.
To have a meaningful relationship, you must share space with someone. In Justin R. Levy’s terms, you’ve got to “get out from behind your keyboard.”
Gordon Marshall’s Dictionary of Sociology defines face-to-face interaction as “the process in which co-present individuals influence each others’ actions.”
This dynamic is not possible any other way. According to Changing Minds, by David Straker, about half of what we say is expressed through body language. Spending time with one another, influencing the actions and reactions of your counterpart, is what defines a relationship and makes it intimate and special.
I have a challenge to myself that you are welcome to join: stop texting and just call someone already. Drop by a friend’s house or to set up a short meeting with a client - just to remind them you are real, and you are there for them.
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