This post is an expansion of tip #60 in our post 101 Graphic Design Tips for Business Success.

Meet people in “real life.” Get outside!

“Get a life!”

You can’t live in cyber-land all of the time. It’s healthy to get out and mix n’ mingle. Break up your emails and social media activities with lunches, happy hours and other activities. Making an effort to meet in person with your vendors and clients will pay off in ways you can’t even imagine. A “drive-by” to drop off a coffee or have a chat is a small way to break up the monotony of texting and instant messages. Face-to-face contact builds an emotional bond that you can’t get through electronic communications.

“It’s so good to finally put a face to a name.”

Face-to-face meetings inspire coordination and help with persuasion. It lowers the risk of misinterpretation and allows you to convey information completely. Being physically present is key to receiving vital verbal and non-verbal information. You can easily gauge a reaction to a concept by being able to see an enthusiastic nod or a hesitant stroke of the chin. Through email this information might take several messages to become evident.

“It’s just human behavior.”

People are hungrier than ever to have “real” relationships. It is simply a primal need for humans to interact with each other socially. Most people are likely to do business with people they know and have a connection with. This bond can take a very long time to form with just an online relationship. Being there physically can help you create a deeper relationship through friendship, trust and a sense of commitment. While it might not be in your nature to be a social butterfly, it is always beneficial to make contact with the important people in your life. The key to having a fulfilling career
and life is to establish a network of people that are not only clients and colleagues, but also friends.