The Lost Art of Face to Face Contact

One of the biggest issues in my opinion nowadays is the lack of face to face contact and the apprehension to have it. Technology has allowed both children and adults to use their Blackberries, laptop computers and cell phones to communicate. What happened to picking up the phone or driving the two miles down the road to talk to your best friend? My favorite is when spouses email each other to discuss a particular issue. We are not that busy are we? Maybe society has pushed us to the point where dropping your wife a quick email stating that you are going to pick up milk is the best option. I don't think so as it is a script for disaster when the time comes that you "really" need to talk to your spouse or even more importantly, your children. Man, what would Ward Cleaver think?

Children of the Internet era are the ones the worry me the most. Not only do parents not talk to their kids enough (which I will address in the next paragraph), when you go out and start working for a company, your ability socially to get your thoughts across is essential to your success. Especially if you are in a management role where you are assigning out duties and responsibilities, giving performance appraisals or talking to the public over the phone, excellent verbal communicators are going to be at a premium. My guess within the last thirty days you received bad customer service...more than likely it was because that individual was a bad communicator.

With all that is out their on the Internet that is bad, you need to talk to your kids about sex, drugs, Internet usage and what it right and wrong. We have allowed technology and the "comfort" of not dealing with confrontational issues like the aforementioned subjects but even more important is being a good active listener.

Active listening skills are being genuinely interested in what another person is saying to you and recognizing what an individual is saying by giving feedback at the appropriate times. Interrupting someone in mid-sentence or giving the appearance that you could care less what a person is saying is a terrible thing to do both socially and can turn a person completely off. In face to face contact, this skill is essential to positive interactions.

Parents out there, teach yourself and your children both how to verbalize their feelings but also how to listen to others. These two skills will go a long way for you both personally and in your professional life.