The Year we Became Virtual Experts

I believe it is an indisputable fact that relationships are hard work. Relationships come in many shapes and sizes, personal, professional, romantic, familial...the list goes on, but they have one thing in common, some sort of personal connection. In my professional life, I've always preferred to do business with people that I make a connection with and when I do business locally, I make a point of connecting to the person I'm working with. That small connection truly makes the interaction. In the wake of 2020, it has never been more apparent just how important relationships are. 2020 brought forth so many emotions and so much change. I'm amazed by the amount of change that has occurred in such a short time. In one short year, our habits have completely changed. We stopped going to the office and seeing our co-workers face to face. The gym was closed. Our local coffee stop was suddenly unnecessary and likely closed. We started having groceries and takeout delivered. Sick family and friends spent their time isolated and lonely in health care facilities. Activities, events and travel were cancelled. This undoubtedly changed our personal relationships, but it also dramatically changed the way we "do business". Our relationships suffered as personal connection hit an all-time low....but we adapted. As 2020 ends, we have really enhanced our relationship skills, to adapt to the lack of personal and face to face contact. We became virtual experts! We can do anything via video conference, host meetings, conferences, classes, parties, game nights and even school! The pandemic has really caused us to hone in our virtual skills to become excellent at communicating in written and video form. In light of this, technology for communication is at an all-time high. I'm excited to see where we go from here. Will we continue to adapt to this new virtual world, where we can use communication technology to better our relationships? Or, will well go back to a world where we can attend in person events and meetings? My best guess is that we will do a little of both. I hope we get to a point where we can have conferences and in person events, but have also grown to love the ability we now have to keep our relationships alive virtually.