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Usha Padmasola

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<h4>
 <spanundefined
 >USHA PADMASOLA wrote this article
 pre-Covid. Little did she realize just how relevant her thoughts have
 become in the current era, where most of our connection and communication
 in the business world are via screens. How can we adopt her suggestions in
 2021?
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 <spanundefined
 >Recently over a breakfast meeting, en route to a business site, we held
 some purposeful engaging talks with our 75-year-old negotiator. Needless
 to say we were sold for his wisdom, business acumen and the warmth that
 every bit of his personality exuded. Extending his firm handshake, he
 invited us to visit the NGO he was running in Himachal Pradesh, and we
 bought a lifetime of friendship.
 


 <spanundefined
 >As opposed to such rich invaluable human experience, a recent digital
 engagement hit me hard. The fear of automation and machine-age gripped me.
 This is what happened:
 


 <spanundefined
 >Since I had an issue, I dialed a toll free number of an outsourced
 customer service center. As the automated voice walked me through the
 15-minute route, I was made to feel like a 16-digit numeral by the end of
 the call. I realized that the modern business houses were hitting an
 all-time low on customer service and relationship building.
 


 <spanundefined
 >I wondered: Why doesn’t any company want to speak with their
 customers?


 <spanundefined
 >No doubt technology on one hand has allowed us to be more efficient, more
 productive and more profitable, but technology has also depleted the very
 humane essence from humans and from the many important aspects of business
 today. Today when I have a query and make a call to a business house, I
 expect to speak with a live person and not with an automated digital
 replica that is designed to maximize profits and minimize interaction.
 


 <spanundefined
 >I face the paradox of having to interact more with my plastic cards and
 humans with iPod ear-buds. I am made to feel like a prisoner with a code,
 I feel more like a numeral than a human. Where are all the humans and
 where is the humaneness?

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 <img
 decoding="async"
 alt="emoticons-emotions2"
 class="w-100 lazyload"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/emoticons_emotions2_6d169f7548.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T05:25:56.447Z"
 />

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 <spanundefined
 >Business is not just about analytics, conversion rates and clicks
 through, but it is about making a connection. The feeling of helping a
 customer tackle a problem and presenting them with a solution is a very
 palpable achievement. I wonder if I can put a laugh and empathy on an
 Excel sheet and mark my business. Likes, tweets, shares, posts, upticks
 and chats, although a few mouse clicks help us express ourselves faster,
 it’s a fallacy to think that people are more connected than ever. The crux
 of the matter is that people are connected
 <spanundefined
 >more to technology – smart phones, tablets, laptops and hardware – and
 not to real people.


 <spanundefined
 >Real people build real, face-to-face, human-to-human relationships. Real
 people smile at one another and interact. If we’ve forgotten what it’s
 like to be real humans, let’s:


 <spanundefined
 >Use technology as an invertendo to aid us. <spanundefined
 >Network digitally to connect in a real way. <spanundefined
 >Get to know someone, earn a relationship, and their business. <spanundefined
 >Do it the old-fashioned way and make a connection that will last a
 lifetime.
 


 <spanundefined
 >Real people express themselves through real emotions not emoticons.

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<h4 style="text-align: center">
 Article by
 <spanundefined
 >USHA PADMASOLA <spanundefined
 >Illustrations by ARATI SHEDDE
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