The Next Best Thing to Being There

By Seth Cohen

A first impression can only be made once.

Anyone who knows me will tell you my preferred technology for communication is video calling, such as Skype or FaceTime. Instead of spending the first twenty minutes of a traditional phone call trying to size up who you’re talking to based solely on tone of voice, a video call virtually puts us in the same room. Once upon a time “it’s the next best thing to being there” was the slogan for Bell’s long-distance phone service. With traditional long-distance calls all but obsolete, it’s safe to say that Skype, FaceTime, WhatsApp, and other video call platforms have taken its place.

We are a mobile society and video calls are an efficient and effective way to communicate with people no matter where they are. They are efficient because there is no travel involved, and they are more effective because the calls are highly focused. Think about it – how many times have we found ourselves on conference calls with colleagues in different locations? How quickly have many of those calls droned on and on, with various members muting the call, multi-tasking, and not paying attention? And of course, who hasn’t experienced a call where someone has failed to press mute, exposing the entire group to the sounds of clicking keyboards, barking dogs, noisy playgrounds, and on occasion, flushing toilets. It’s human nature to become distracted, especially when listening to disembodied voices on speaker with at least one computer screen, a mobile device, an open door with people passing by, or just an interesting view out the window to pull your attention away.

If we are going to take the time to have a productive conversation, there is nothing like eye contact. It’s much easier to see and hear how a person reacts to your words rather than relying on only their voice. Ever hear the saying ‘if my mouth doesn’t say it, my face surely will’? Body language speaks volumes. Does the person you’re speaking with seem uncomfortable? Has something confused them or do you see their passion coming through? There are so many visual cues that help us to get to know each other and communicate more effectively. It’s the difference between just talking and truly communicating.

Understandably, some people just aren’t comfortable with the technology. A colleague recently confessed that she was nervous about her first Skype call with me. It was her first-ever video call and she found herself worrying about how her office looked behind her, whether or not the light and angle of the camera was right, and how she would come across on video. Once the call began, however, her nerves subsided because she was able to make eye contact, read my body language, and see that I was taking in what she was saying, easing her concern about her surroundings, or the video lighting.

Ma Bell was right, back in the day, and I think she’d agree that today Skype and video calls are the new “next best thing to being there.”

Seth Cohen is the Managing Partner of Eleven Canterbury. He was a member of the Group Managing Board and Head of Group Offshoring at UBS AG.