Face-to-face communication is the earliest form of communication, and it is still the most preferred method. No matter how farther technology advances, we always have a special emotional appeal to this physical form of communication. Moreover, communicating directly has a personal touch and hence it is considered as the purest form of communication.
Perhaps the biggest advantage that face-to-face interaction has is the multiangular, multichannel communication aided through words, tone of voice, and the body language. Let's say you are talking to someone in person. He is sharing about the tragedies of his life. The tone of his voice and his body language must sync with the words stated. Based on all the factors, you will be in a good position to judge the integrity of the facts and the truth the message contains.
For the same reason, face-to-face communication is most effective compared over written or telephonic means. It utilizes all possible ammunition to pass the information. This can be demonstrated through sales activities. Most sales are done through face-to-face interactions. The best way to sell to a customer is by sitting across from them, and convincing them of the benefits of the product on hand. Even if the initial sales communication happens over a telephone or through an e-mail, closures are done physically. This goes on to show the effectiveness of this form of communication and the power behind the ancient method.
Yet we cannot employ the most effective form of communication owing to logistical and cost-effective measures. Companies must strike a balance and insist on physical interaction for priority meetings.
Although face-to-face communication is most effective and widely preferred, it cannot be practiced at every communication opportunity. It comes at a price, and the price is quite high—the cost of holding face-to-face meetings and the time on hand for all participants. Individuals must carefully prioritize their meetings, the important communication opportunities to leverage on face-to-face communication. Some examples are sales pitches, customer service reviews, and interviews. Yes, I did mention interviews knowing full well that most interviews are telephonic these days, and this is not good for the state of company affairs, hiring somebody who the company bosses have never met. I will keep this discussion for another day, for another book possibly.
Here is one of the methods of picking the interactions that are done face to face. Put down all the meetings you have on a calendar, and categorize them as routine, priority, and discretional:
- Routine meetings are mostly daily, weekly, and monthly scheduled meetings that you need to attend, because your company governance mandates you to attend. Your attendance is more important than your presence per se. These are the meetings that you can look to take up telephonically.
- Then you have priority meetings that mean the world to you. The outcome of the meeting has a bearing to you, your team, and to the organization. These are the meetings that have to be done in physical proximity. In priority interactions, you are required to bring your a-game onto the table, and make it count.
- Lastly you have discretional meetings where the word discretion does not refer to your participation in the meeting but rather to decide whether such meetings can be held over a telephone, chat, or face to face.
I earlier frowned upon conducting telephonic interviews. Yet, I would insist on initial telephonic interviews if there are multiple rounds to be held. I would opt for telephonic interviews to screen candidates for basic technical skills, but the rounds that involve testing analytical reasoning and the manager round (also referred to as the HR round in some organizations) where the attitude of the person is put to test are mandatorily in person.
I once interviewed a candidate over a telephone. Every time I asked a question, the candidate took some time to understand the question by repeating whatever I said and I could hear faint keyboard strokes. Then answers flowed like a river. I wasn't sure if he was searching for answers to my questions so I threw him a googly by asking a question based on a scenario and he came up blank. That confirmed my suspicions and therefore is a strong driver for opposing telephonic interviews.