5 Benefits of Face-to-Face Communication in the Remote Work Era
In this era of remote work, virtual teams, and a multitude of communication options, face-to-face communication seems to have become underrated and undervalued.
Face-to-face meetings of all kinds have been reduced or discontinued in many workplaces but they still remain the most effective type of communication for building relationships, empathy, confrontation, and building collaboration.
1. Broadest range of non-verbal cues
Let’s talk first about non-verbal communication including body language, gestures, paralanguage interaction (voice, volume inflection, and pitch), facial expressions, and appearance. Respected human communications expert Albert Mehrabian did some groundbreaking research determining communication between humans is approximately 55% body language, 38% tone of voice, and 7% what you say. In other words, 93% of communication is non-verbal. [1]
That’s why emails and texts are so easy to misinterpret and misjudge even when emojis are use.
Video meetings are the next best thing if face-to-face is not possible. Much of the paralanguage (voice tone, inflection, volume, pitch) and non-verbal information such as facial expressions are available. However, video meetings do limit the ability to see body language thus reducing the amount of non-verbal communication cues.
2. Face-to-face meetings help build trust
Trust is hard to build over email, text and even video conferencing. Face-to-face meetings provide a greater feeling of connectiveness, friendliness, trust, and builds stronger emotional relationships. The perception of sincerity is affected by nonverbal clues. [2] Sincerity is a quality that builds trust. A coworker or client who has never met you in person is not likely to feel the same connectiveness and trust as someone they see regularly in person.
3. Problem solving is better
We have all felt the amazing energy coming out of a face-to-face collaborative, brainstorming or problem-solving session. On average, an in-person meeting will generate about 13.36 ideas, whereas a virtual meeting will only generate around 10.43 [3]
Face-to-face meetings provide that connectiveness and joy at being part of something bigger and more meaningful. That connectiveness is difficult to duplicate while sitting behind a computer in separate locations.
4. People are more engaged and collaborative
People are more engaged in a face-to-face meeting than in any other communication type. It is much easier to convince someone during a face-to-face meeting than through other means of communication.
5. Miscommunication drags down organizations
Miscommunication is a major cause of reduced productivity. We have all seen where an email or text was misunderstood or taken the wrong way. Even though email is quick and asynchronous, sometimes it can take much longer to go back and forth to clarify the thought or find a solution where a 15-minute face-to-face meeting would solve the problem.
So, how do you get the most out of face-to-face meetings?
1. Allow for a few minutes of chit-chat at the beginning of the meeting to get bonded. This is natural in a face-to-face meeting but important to add to video conferences as well. Ask questions to get others to talk about themselves to get connected to them personally.
2. Set an agenda so everyone knows the purpose of the meeting and their role in the meeting. Even if the meeting is a one-on-one, explaining what you want out of the meeting is courteous and professional. To help get through the agenda, it is also very helpful to let everyone know at the start of the meeting how much time is allocated for each agenda item. This time allocation provides a framework for discussion and keeps the meeting on track to accomplish all the goals.
3. It is important for all attendees to stay engaged in the current conversation. Cell phones and laptops have allowed portable, ubiquitous communication through email and text. However, these types of interruptions are distracting and have the effect of making the other people in the meeting feel unimportant. Even in video meetings, do not be tempted to check email or look at a phone off screen. Everyone can tell when someone is not paying attention when their eyes are not straight on the camera.
4. Take written actions with due dates from the meeting and distribute it to all attendees. This hold people accountable for the decisions made in the meeting.
Face-to-face meetings continue to be important in the age of remote work.
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If you would like to read more of what I have written?
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Tina Kuhn is the author of the “The E Suite: Empathic Leadership for the Next Generation of Leaders” and “The Manager’s Communication Tool Kit: Tools and Techniques for Managing Difficult Personalities.”
[1] “Silent Messages” by Albert Mehrabian, 1972 Wadsworth Publishing Company
