The decline of conversation has been well documented in the news over recent years with countless attention-grabbing headlines. Modern technology has acquired a bad reputation as the killer of conversation, causing a deterioration in our ability to initiate and hold a conversation and it can be easy to see why. According to Grant Bailey of the Independent, “One in 10…. have gone longer than three whole days without a face-to-face interaction with another person.”1
In today’s digital age, the importance of face-to-face communication is disappearing, especially when you look at the stats and see that only 37% of Brits would choose to speak face-to-face over other ways of communicating.2
When it comes to building rapport with someone, nothing beats having a face-to-face conversation in person. Whether it’s networking, meeting a new customer, going on a date or visiting a family member, all these situations require face-to-face contact for them to be positive experiences.
Did you know?… Only 27% of millennials make sure they check in with loved ones in person.
And even though there’s only a small proportion of us that choose to speak face-to-face, it’s interesting to see that over 60% of us find body language key to how we interpret a conversation, as well as being a key element of building confidence in our relationships with others.
Top tip: Your body language can convey a lot of things that cannot be said through words. Those things can only be shown when you are there in front of another person.
Many believe that to be a good communicator you need to be charismatic, confident and assertive. This is, however, secondary to being clear, concise and approachable. This is much easier face-to-face. It is a universal issue that email can be misconstrued as rude or even patronizing. Having conversations face-to-face reduces the possibility of misunderstandings and encourages more open and effective communication in both work and business.
Download your copy of CloudCall’s guide to the Art of Conversation here.
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1 https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/conversations-technology-phone-message-text-mental-health-speaking-a8670346.html
2 https://www.the-artofconversation.com
