4 Benefits of Face-to-Face Communication in Business

Technology has revolutionized how we conduct business. With 70 percent of workers around the world working remotely at least once per week and many businesses having international connections and locations (including over 58 percent of small businesses!), technology has become imperative.

This could be remote work, connecting to workers around the globe via Skype, using Slack to have “team meetings”, and more.

But at the risk of sounding “old”, we think that traditional face-to-face communication is not only still relevant, but it’s also essential for many aspects of business and teamwork.

How so? Keep reading for 4 benefits of face-to-face communication for your work. 

1. Face-to-Face Communication for Meetings Makes Them Quicker and More Efficient

We all know the dread of virtual staff meetings that feel like they drag on and are pointless. We also know the time-waste and frustration of trying to get video chat to work, screen shares to function, and maintaining WiFi throughout the meeting for everyone joining in.

Face-to-face meetings make meeting quick and efficient. If you don’t have an office, like if you’re a remote business, for example, there is rental luxury office space that you can reserve.

This is especially helpful in expensive cities; meeting space Boston or New York rental options, for example, could be the way to go.

These in-person meetings make them go much faster and eliminate the time wasted getting technology set up. 

These types of in-person meetings or presentations also tend to be more efficient. This is because problem solving, collaboration, and teamwork are easier in-person vs through a screen.

2. Build Stronger Connections

Whether you’re communicating with clients, investors, or networking with other entrepreneurs, speaking face-to-face helps you build a stronger connection with that person. You’ll be able to communicate more easily while maintaining eye contact and showing you’re listening with body language. This helps to engage them and show them you’re trustworthy and open.

You can try to voice this through email of calls, but nothing can really beat the effectiveness and clarity that you get from in-person conversations. 

Taking the time out of your day to meet someone and speak with them over coffee as opposed to squeezing in a quick phone call also shows your dedication to them as an investor, client, or connection. It shows you truly care about them and are willing to take the time to meet with them. 

3. Non-Verbal Communication

Non-verbal communication is a huge factor that you cannot get with technological communication.

It’s estimated that up to 93 percent of communication is non-verbal. This includes:

• Body Language
• Eye Contact
• Gestures
• Facial Expressions
• Inflection
• Tone
• Closeness
• Attire

Without that face-to-face factor, you’re losing almost all of your ability to communicate effectively. Face-to-face communication is more clear and authentic because you’re able to use everything you can to get your point across to the other person. 

This also allows you to understand the person you’re communicating with more easily since you’ll be able to see their body language, gestures, etc. This can reduce confusion and misunderstanding while promoting effective collaboration, communication, and problem-solving.

4. Confidentiality and Privacy

This last point might not apply to everyone, but it’s definitely relevant in this day and age of data leaks and concerns with technological privacy. This is an important issue since companies that have data breaches are thought to perform worse and underperform in the long run.

The only sure-fire way to keep certain things and information protected from data breaches or hacks is by keeping it off of technology. 

While this isn’t feasible for many things, many things that are sent over email could just as easily be said to that person in-person to avoid any potential hack or breach in confidentiality. 

Popping over to someone’s office to tell them a private company or business matter may be superior to putting it in a chat or email in order to keep it private.