With the ringing of the 2024 school bell this week, Mimosa breakfasts are being replaced with meeting reminders and the festive cheer has been shelved for the new year’s financial fortitude.
While clearing out the holiday’s GIFs from my WhatsApp, deleting text messages and turning off my auto-reply on my e-mail, I was struck by the amount of communication I receive but the lack of meaningful conversation. Our accelerated move to digital face time in the last few years has been a game changer for teams. The ability to meet with relative ease, the ping of a message and short messaging all give us the sense of keeping up to date and connected to the team. But are we?
Effective communication relies on several elements and very often we judge the success of communication in the reaction of the person we’re communicating with. Very often when we don’t get the response we were anticipating or we don’t get a response at all, we revert to an actual phone and conversation.
I’d like to argue a little more conversation, a little less frustration guaranteed.
We’re in the business of meaningful connections. We identify and facilitate opportunities for audiences, brands and clients to connect for mutual value. In my experience the most meaningful connections have been those built on understanding, trust, insight, and ability to solve problems. The most effective way to establish and manage these pillars is through conversation.
In conversation there is less misread interpretation and issues of tonality. In conversation we’re also less likely to pull out any key board warrior moves. In conversation we don’t have to CC and BCC to prove that we’re communicating. Conversation is about listening and talking, and they help create better context and are often also more time efficient, as one isn’t left waiting for a reply or a ‘reply to all’!
Generative AI and large language models are already influencing several aspects of the agency space as well as the advertising and marketing eco-systems. Automated systems, concepts and insight is delivered in minutes where in the past it may have taken months. I have however yet to meet someone who’s said, “I wish I could talk to a chat bot to help me solve my problem”. To the contrary, the sooner one hears a “real” human the less frustrated you are (if you disagree push 9 and return to the main menu). A distinct advantage we still have in 2024 is that we are still able to converse and connect in a way that no AI can.
To deepen existing connections and relationships, and to help establish new ones, let’s talk! Let’s be intentional about connecting through conversation. Scheduling time with your valuable connections is an investment into growing your relationship, even if you don’t need anything. In 2024 I’ll be making more calls but also having better conversations!