Exploring face-to-face communication with Dan Gregory

“Face-to-face meetings are critical because you need to be exposed to real people and their quirks – we can’t capture non-verbal cues through virtual meetings, nor can you hear the real timber in someone’s voice,” Dan says.

Multi-million-dollar deals are only possible face-to-face. “People want to be comfortable with who they are getting into business before signing a contract. This is where the casual, organic conversations outside of official meetings come into play and can be make or break for a business,” he believes.

The science backs him up. A research paper published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology in the US found that face-to-face requests are 34 times more effective than emailed ones. And numerous studies have proven that a physical handshake influences positive negotiation outcomes.

Ready to book your next trip? We recommend you go one step further and work with an experienced travel management company to ensure everything runs smoothly.

“Having a travel management company by your side has never been more critical,” says Corporate Traveller General Manager Tom Walley. “It’s our job to provide you with the support you need and to undertake the heavy lifting so you can concentrate on returning to face-to-face meetings and sales and nurture the growth of your business again.”

About Flight Centre Travel Group

The Flight Centre Travel Group is one of the world’s largest travel retailers and corporate travel managers. The company, which is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, has company-owned leisure and corporate travel business in dozens of countries, spanning Australia, New Zealand, the Americas, Europe, the United Kingdom, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, and Asia. ASX listed Flight Centre Travel Group (FLT) also operates the global FCM corporate travel management network, which extends to more than 100 countries through company-owned businesses and independent licensees, along with Corporate Traveller, the flagship business specific to the small-to-medium-sized enterprise sector. For more information, visit fctgl.com.