TopOverview
This chapter brings our knowledge of FTF and online communication together so we can make use of the benefits of each. As stated before, the gap in communication is not about which method works best, it’s about bridging the gap between the two. This is a high-touch effort to get all the knowledge in one place. In other words, we have to build the car before we can drive it across the communication bridge. Remember, we have three theories as our foundation: EI, sensemaking, and CAT. Our goal in this chapter is to understand how to apply each theory to both FTF and online communication and then to understand the relative importance of each method. Once we’ve achieved that, we should be ready and able to move efficiently between the two methods, regardless of the direction of movement. Our hope is that FTF communicators will find ways to keep the human element involved in their online interactions, and online communicators will find a comfort level with leaving the computer to employ verbal and non-verbal to human communication.
Benefits of Face-to-Face Interactions
Face-to-face communication is important because it has to happen whenever humans meet. As hard as we may try to avoid this, it is inevitable in our society. So, even if you’re totally online with social media, or you only do virtual reality, there WILL come a time when you must communicate in person. When that happens, there are emotional, physical, and environmental conditions and activities at play. You may choose to ignore them, but they are integral to the interchange and they will affect it, often even if you don’t realize it. We start our discussion in this chapter with an examination of the use of theory. Then, we will follow up by discussing the importance of face-to-face interaction and five focus areas that are critical to making it work: comfort, control, confidence, timing, and focus.