Face Time: 3 Advantages of Face-To-Face Communication

Face-to-face communication is becoming a thing of the past. We live in a world that’s ruled by text message, Instagram photos, 140 character status update and email – and I’m not just talking about personal use. Now more than ever, growing businesses are relying on technology to communicate with potential clients, staff and to sell their products. Admittedly, travelling to meet with clients isn’t always feasible or economical so technology certainly has its advantages. But even over the phone or email, messages can get misinterpreted and that personal connection needed for a strong business relationship is never truly established. For a business looking to get off the ground, nothing can be more powerful than face-to-face communication. Here’s why.

Effectiveness of meetings
How annoying are back-and-forth emails? A simple five minute conversation could eliminate the twenty emails you and your co-worker have exchanged over the past day, and in that five minutes you probably would have reached a decision. Instead, you’ve both resorted to long-winded passive-aggressive emails that pussyfoot around the issue and wasting time when you could be working on the project. When you are communicating face-to-face, things get done. Especially on an issue that requires the input from many people; there is likely to be more energy and opportunity to participate in a meeting than there would be through a group message. A meeting creates a relaxing environment, where by people feel more comfortable igniting discussion and brainstorming ideas to solve a handful of problems.
Non-verbal communication
It’s a known fact that human communication consists of 93% body language and paralinguistic cues, while the other 7% consists of the words that come out of our mouths. When you communicate through email, you eliminate those cues that suggest how a person is really feeling. You’re voice gets lost in the message, and unless you put a smiley face at the end of each line, someone may view your encouraging email on their performance as you being snappy and rude. However if you are communicating in a face-to face meeting and somebody is yawning or their eyes are wandering, it’s a good indicator that you need to wrap things up. On the other hand, if your team or clients are smiling, nodding and have a relaxed demeanour, you know that they are invested in what you are saying. There is less guesswork involved with face-to-face communication.
Confidential for delicate situations
Once you’ve sent an email, there’s no telling whether it’s going to just the person you intend it to, or whether it’s going to be forwarded on again and again. Especially with confidential and delicate matters like conflicts with co-workers, employee discipline or family and health issues, an email is not an appropriate course of action for these issues. A face-to-face discussion allows those involved to determine boundaries and establish a suitable process for sharing classified information.
Of course, there is a time and a place where online technologies are useful for quick communication between staff without having to draw out a meeting. This comes in the form of CRM systems, where task management, discussion boards, and client management functionalities are beneficial for a busy workplace, check out http://axcelerate.com.au/ for the advantages of CRM systems.
About the author: 
Ricky Cutcliffe is a business owner with many years of experience. His writing is an expression of his found knowledge that he feels will help others.