The Importance of In-Person Communication
A friend of mine a few years back made a wonderful recommendation to me that I have instituted and plan on keeping in place for many years to come. With the amount that I travel annually (125,000 plus miles) and the time I spend away from my kids, I was convinced to do one trip a year with each of my kids to wherever they want. Last year was our first annual trip;
Caleb and I went to see Texas A&M rally to beat Duke in the Peach Bowl and Liora escorted me to the Southern California IIA District Conference in Anaheim (she wanted to see her daddy speak!). This year, Caleb and I went to the Texas A&M-Ole Miss game this past weekend. The Brazos Valley IIA graciously hosted me for a seminar the day before the game and Caleb came down the next morning (I picked him up at the airport with a big sign welcoming to our second annual trip!). We spent the day shopping and exploring campus and then heading to the game. We went swimming the next morning, had breakfast and headed back to Dallas Sunday morning.
My son and I are very close but these weekends allow us to re-connect. There is a special bond we experience when we spend that one on one time that makes it all worth it. My son told me that his favorite part of the weekend was when we walked from Kyle Field to our car after the game. We took pictures all over campus and just chatted. For him to say that was his favorite part was pretty awesome – I pretty much bought him anything he wanted, ate whatever we wanted and still that was his favorite part!
What I continue to understand is the importance of in-person communication; the human touch if you will. Whether it be with my son or with a client, the time spent face to face is invaluable. In today’s highly technological environment, it is easy to avoid in-person communication. It is so much easier to pick up the phone, email or even text. Generation Z is becoming more and more deficient in general communication skills. Trust is established in-person and true friendships develop.
I make an effort to communicate with my kids eye to eye. I want them to see my emotion and understand the importance of what I am saying. I already started to look at booking our next trip I had such a good time with Caleb! Whether it be March Madness or the National Card Convention, most importantly, it will be one on one. I am not sure the true affect of our weekend had on my son but yesterday afternoon, when we got back, Caleb had a soccer game. My son always puts in strong effort and hustles but yesterday, it seemed to be at a different level. He scored a goal but most importantly, he truly looked happy and having fun. If in-person communication can have that type of affect on a seven year-old, think what it will do to your relationships with your clients?