What is the first thing that you do every morning? Yep! Check your phone, whether it is for the alarm, messages, e-mails or anything you can think of. It is all there, all-in-one. Everything can be done online, in text format and digitally.
What is missing?
To meet someone face to face with a firm handshake is certainly missed in this era. People are more and more reluctant to interact with others through a meeting. They are more inclined to choose the “digital” method in response, not even a call. Some say this method is much more efficient, flexible and there is simply no need to meet a person because it could be more time consuming.
The Old School Way
For me, a face to face meeting is just as important, if not, more important than a digital response. Why? It is because I value the Human to Human connection. The eye contact, the body language, the jokes, the waiting and you also get to know a person much better. You can feel the emotions, the energy and the vibe. All these cannot be found or felt in text messages, e-mails and something that even video calls cannot offer. Therefore in my perspective, when someone tells you that they are busy, prefer to talk over the phone rather than a meeting, even when you offer to work your schedule around theirs, this simply means that they have their priorities and you are rather low on the list. It has very little to do with technology advancement.
I believe in The Old School Way because this was how great umpires were built, countries were formed and businesses came about. You have to embrace technology, use them wisely and remind yourself that they add value to whatever you are doing but technology can never replace a Human to Human approach. They are created by us and for us BUT not to replace us.
The Challenge
Next time when you try to reach out to someone, I encourage you to pick up the phone and call. Talk to that person and arrange the meeting over the phone. You may feel awkward and nervous because you are not sure how the person is going to react or whether the call will be picked up. This will be a good start because I do think the way we speak, our voice and tone to express ourselves can definitely do a better job than emojis.
The business of business is relationships; the business of life is human connection.
– Robin Sharma