going from url to irl

I write weekly about the strategies, habits, and tactics around cultivating the connections that matter to you.

If you’re opening this for the first time, or you’ve been so engrossed in the US presidential race that you forgot what this is about - I write weekly on insights and tactics around building an incredible network of clients, collaborators, and community.

If you have yet to have a “has my life really come to this?” moment, I invite you to speak to any entrepreneur on the east coast of the US. Chances are, they can cite a specific instance; landing after a redeye from SFO, wondering how/where they can take a shower before heading into the office.

The pandemic presented many challenges, of course. But it replaced the miserable fundraising pilgrimage across the country and wrecked circadian rhythms - with a 45 minute Zoom call.

Now that we can go back in person, enough time has passed that we find ourselves not going back in person. Do I really want to spend 3 hours of my day heading across town for a coffee meeting, when I can just click a button?

But you know that meeting in person (IRL) vs online (URL) is just.so.much.better.

In-person 1:1 meetings foster stronger emotional bonds through eye contact and non-verbal cues. They build more trust. They flow better and reduce miscommunications. And on and on.

So do we have to go back to meeting everyone in person? What if I love my mid-day workouts and fuzzy slippers?

Some find themselves at extreme ends of the spectrum, I respect that. Today, I have an tool to guide you.

Is this for a connection, or for a transaction?

How I use this:

If I’m meeting someone for the first time, or catching up with a colleague or collaborator, I do my best to make it in person. This is meant to build and maintain social rapport.

So when the same person wants some advice or to discuss a particular opportunity - that’s a transactional conversation. We can book a Zoom for that. Actually, more recently I’ve done this funny thing where if we want to talk… we just call each other. I know, apparently your iPhone can still do that.

Yes, all the aforementioned research still applies - but if you have to draw the line somewhere, consider building a strong relationship first.

So what is your way of distinguishing between IRL vs URL?

Until next week,

-Zvi

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I’ve spent the past 12 years helping people like you grow their businesses and careers by cultivating the relationships that matter. I took everything I’ve learned and practiced and put it in a professionally produced online course.

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