Technology has radically changed how we communicate in our world. Ten years ago it would have been nearly impossible for me to live in Italy as a digital tentmaker; not to mention how awesome it is that my kids can easily video chat, email, and stay in touch with family and friends with their computer and tablets.
My wife, who grew up on the mission field over 20-years ago, remembers life on the mission field much, much, different than what we are living, today—and we are very grateful. 🙂
But despite all of these technical advancements, there’s nothing that is quite as dynamic as face to face meetings.
The infographic below starts with basic stats about face to face meetings and then dives into more specifics:
Sure, nothing replaces face to face, real-life human communication. This infographic outlines some of the advantages to face to face meetings that no virtual platform can replace—yet.
What If Meeting Face to Face Isn’t Possible?
However, not all is lost for those times when face to face meetings are not possible (like myself). I’ve found that video chat can offer many of the benefits that come with face to face meetings. KC Procter and myself have a weekly video call to catch-up and go over ChurchMag and ChurchMag Press stuff. While it’s not as good as meeting with KC at Starbucks over a hot cup of coffee, it does allow for more nonverbal communication and higher degree of connection.
In fact, I’ve found that ChurchMag Podcasts sound better when we use our video feed. If it wasn’t for fickle bandwidth at times, we would always keep the video on. It adds another layer and dimension to human communication that’s easy to overlook and take for granted. Like talking with my friends from the United States. Talking via Skype isn’t nearly as awesome as it was when we would meet face to face.
So if you are meeting someone or someones for business, discipleship, fellowship or any other reason, don’t forget that face to face communication is always the best. And if you can’t because you live too far away, consider video chat.
Do you agree?
[via Visualistan]
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