In our age of technology ruled by Facebook and tweets, personal connections have become rare but maybe even more important. Picture Anne Kendrick's character, Natalie, from the movie Up in the Air. She has the brilliant idea of firing people online, with the ultimate goal of reducing cost. The takeaway from this lesson is that technology is not always the best way to handle situations and communicate. A human being with feelings might relate more to the movie's central character, Ryan (played by George Clooney), who takes the time to travel to far-flung places to meet with people and deliver the news.

Though Ryan was delivering bad news, the principle applies to many situations. For example, helping people avoid bad news by preparing for their financial future. Personal interactions with participants about their retirement plans create a more powerful connection than could ever be achieved through technology. Clues from body language, along with audience participation (or lack thereof), allows the presenter to alter the presentation immediately to keep the participant engaged. Creating a need (money for retirement), providing a means (employer retirement plan), and offering immediate solutions (one-on-one assistance) give employees the ability to walk away with a sense of accomplishment immediately.

Face-to-face interaction is a critical component of your communication campaign and can be just the nudge people need to take action. Recently we had a client with a 9% participation rate. The client had a deep concern for its employees retirement readiness, and wanted to increase participation. After a week of meetings, including 24 group employee meetings (mandatory) and one-on-one appointments (optional), plan participation increased to 40%! Mission accomplished.

So, continue your tweets and emails, but just remember that, for many people, talking about hopes, dreams, and their financial future is deeply personal something that deserves a personal touch!