The Power of Showing Up

After three days at The Print Show, I’ve been reminded of something simple but powerful. Nothing beats being there in person.

Online, we all work hard to show who we are. The LinkedIn posts, the profile pictures, the updates that give people a sense of what we do and how we work. I think that’s important. It helps people find you and start to build a picture of who you are.

Still, it only takes you so far. When you’re face to face, that’s where the real magic happens. You can see someone’s energy, how they listen, how they talk about what matters to them. You can’t get that through a screen. A conversation over a coffee will always tell you more than any email or post ever will.

It takes time and effort to show up. You’ve got to step away from the desk, travel, and give up parts of your day when it might be easier to stay behind the screen. I honestly think the return on that investment is huge. The quality of conversation, the trust that builds, and the opportunities that follow are all miles better when you’re in the room.

We see it in recruitment all the time. A Teams call is a good first step. It helps you build a bit of rapport and get a feel for someone’s personality. Meeting in person takes things up a level. You start to see how someone thinks, how they’ll fit within a team, and what drives them.

It’s exactly the same with our clients. Whenever we can, we go and visit. To walk the factory floor, meet the people, and get a feel for the place. I think that time is one of the biggest factors in our success. The partnerships where we’ve invested in that time perform around twice as well as those where we haven’t had the chance to get under the skin of the business. There’s no substitute for seeing it first-hand.

Technology makes everything quicker and more convenient, which is great. People still hire people though. Relationships are built on trust, and trust starts when you show up.

So next time you get the chance to meet someone in person, take it. Whether it’s a client visit, an interview, or an event, that bit of effort could be the difference between a chat and a real connection.