Connection and The People Side of Business. Human Interaction (H.I.) in an AI-Driven Word

Busy routines can make it hard to focus on your health goals, but MedExpress offers a simple way to explore weight management treatment online. Complete our short eligibility consultation with no need for face-to-face appointments or travel. If eligible, treatment is delivered discreetly, with UK-registered clinicians offering support along the way. Visit medexpress.

co.uk slash podcast to get started today. Welcome to another episode of Making Waves at Sea Level. My name is Tom Singer, and I've been hosting the show now for close to 17 years.

I started it as Cool Things Entrepreneurs Do, and about five years ago, we switched it over to be making waves at sea level. And the show has been for years an interview show where I've had the opportunity of interviewing some really smart people who make waves and shake things up in their business world. And I haven't done a lot of shows the last few years. Three years ago, I launched a podcast for the Austin Technology Council called Austin Tech Connect.

And on that show, I interview leaders in the Austin community who are shaking things up and succeeding and helping grow one of the country's largest, fastest growing tech hubs, Austin, Texas. However, I don't ever want this show to go away. It's part of me. I've been doing it for so long.

And so every now and then I drop a solo episode and every now and then I think about getting back into doing weekly interviews here on this show. So stay subscribed. If you're not subscribed, subscribe now. But today's episode is going to be a little different.

I'm working on a presentation for a special event where I have to speak for about 15 minutes. And my normal keynote that I do for companies and associations is anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half. Sometimes I get asked to do it in 45, but 15 minutes, it's a little bit harder. In fact, Mark Twain once said, I would have written you a shorter letter, but I didn't have enough time.

And the same thing is true with giving a speech. It's harder to do a short talk. And so I thought I would kind of go through the rough draft. It's going to take some changes before I actually present this next week.

But I thought I would go ahead and just record it as a practice for myself. And I thought actually some of you might enjoy listening to this because in 2026, 2027, and into 2028, the biggest topic that's going to be talked about in business, certainly at industry conferences and association annual meetings, the biggest topic is going to be around human connections, about the people side of business, about what I call human interaction, HI in an AI driven world. And so this little talk, I hope is something that will inspire you and get you thinking because this year there are, wow, there's like 12 books coming out this year from famous authors like Adam Grant and Angela Duckworth, heck, the CEO of LinkedIn that all hit on this topic of people and why in our digital world, it is so important that we get back to relationships.

We're living in a world where people are disconnected. People are lonely. And it's important that we connect because human beings, we're pack animals. We connect.

That's what we do. So I've created this speech to sort of talk about that and have some ideas. So I welcome your feedback if you listen to this all the way through. But thanks for being here and thanks for listening to my talk, Human Interaction, HI, Your Advantage in an AI-Driven World.

I have lived through enough waves of technology to know that this is not the first time the world has changed. Every time, there is a mix of excitement and panic. But we are living right now in one of the most exciting times in human history. Artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and other breakthrough technologies that are coming out are going to impact every aspect of our world and our life.

And in 2026, we're starting to notice that it's not just about the technology, that it's really about the human connections and the people side of business. This year, there is going to be over a dozen books that are released by major publishing houses from well-established authors, best-selling authors like Adam Grant and Angela Duckworth and the CEO of LinkedIn, all talking about why people matter in this world that is dominated by technology. And here's the thing. We've actually been here before at the prepotence of change.

Do you remember when having a website made your company look cutting edge? Fax machines, emails, voicemail, cell phones, the internet, smartphones. With all of these changes, people said the same thing. Oh this is moving too fast This could replace jobs This will change how we live And every single time they were right But they were also wrong Because technology has never been the whole story.

Going back in time as far as the printing press, technology has always brought change, but technology has just been a series of tools. The rest of the story is about the people and how we use those tools and how we adapt. And this is what gets lost in all of the noise. Markets have cycles.

Technologies change. But human nature does not. People still want to feel seen. They want to be heard.

They, people want to, they want to be doing business with and referring people they know, they like, and they trust. and with all of the changes going back to the printing press the industrial revolution the computer age and what we're going through now people are still very much the same and yet because of these technologies right now in 2026 we are facing a crisis of trust and truth we have so much information coming at us right now and so much misinformation coming at us that it's hard to determine what is the right information.

What is the true information? There's deep fakes, there's AI generated content, and there's so much, so many lies and marketing speak everywhere that it's really hard for us to grasp what we should be paying attention to. Several months ago, I had a little problem with my foot and I went to my doctor and I was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. And he prescribed, he gave me a cortisone shot and he prescribed some inserts for my shoes, but I was still having problems.

So I did what any one of us would do. And that is I Googled plantar fasciitis. But as soon as I did that, it changed the algorithm on my phone, on my social media. And all of a sudden, every time I log onto any site, I started getting ads about how to cure plantar fasciitis.

And these ads were full of excited people who had changed their lives. And just for $50 for this insert or $75 for this vibrating rolling machine or, you know, $20 for this sock wrap that you could wrap around your ankle, et cetera, you were going to cure it in a week and you were going to feel better for the rest of your life. And I believed some of them because some of them were endorsed by doctors. Some of them were endorsed by people who were so happy and they were out for a run that I believed what I saw.

I spent a couple hundred dollars on different things for my plantar fasciitis. And in the end, it was just what the doctor prescribed that helped me get better. It was simply doing the stretches, resting my foot. There was no magic in any of the things that I bought.

So who do you trust when everybody is bringing you information and a lot of it isn't true? You trust the people you know, and that's why human interaction, what I call HI, is the secret weapon in a world of disconnection where we don't know who or what to believe. And this isn't new. I wrote my first book, Some Assembly Required, How to Make, Grow, and Keep Your Business Relationships in 2005.

And I wrote it back then because there was a huge tech wave and people were thinking as technology came out and as social media began to emerge that they weren't going to have to attend events anymore, that they were just going to be linked to people and everyone was going to have everybody else's phone number and it was going to be so easy to engage. For those of you who've been around since 2005, do you feel more connected to people than you did back then? Most people feel they have more phone numbers but less connection.

And so it is the real relationships that I have always believed is the advantage. And no algorithm can replace your human interaction and the relationships that you build. And AI, it is making changes. In fact, one of the biggest things it's doing is it's leveling the playing field for everybody.

You see, knowledge used to be power. And it took years to acquire that knowledge that would separate you as an expert in your field. but now anyone can have that knowledge. I could take any topic that you gave me and I could spend this next weekend in a deep dive with ChatGPT, with Claude, with Perplexity, with Gemini and I could research the topic and I could get the talking points so that I could stand up here in front of you next week and deliver a speech that would be interesting, informative and believable but what I wouldn have is I wouldn have the experience or the context behind that knowledge I wouldn be a real expert because I was there for a weekend But you wouldn't necessarily be able to tell if I was able to speak eloquently about the subject.

So nowadays, anyone can obtain the knowledge. So if everyone has the knowledge, then knowledge is not a differentiator. Knowledge is now the price of admission. We're assuming that everyone that we talk to has the knowledge in their field.

That's what gets you in the room. But being able to communicate, not just have the knowledge, being able to share the expertise, your motivation, your purpose, and the context, that is what matters. But you can't show that through a LinkedIn post. You have to show that through personally being engaged and having a little bit of back and forth.

So human interaction, it's a strategy. It's how we relate to people. And how you connect on that human level, it's going to matter more than it ever has before. This is not about being an extrovert or being charming at a party.

This is about being present. It's about being interested. It's about being intentional. We are now talking about being the kind of person who people want to know and want to refer.

A real connection is when people think of you when you're not in the room. And human interaction has to be, it has to be a staple. It has to be, excuse me, it has to be a strategy. It has to be a strategy for your company and for yourself.

Much the way if you run a business, your marketing plan has a strategy. Your finance has a strategy. Go to market has a strategy. human interaction must be an intentional strategy that you and everyone you work with is paying attention to and thinking through how are they behaving.

Because the best data, the perfect prompt, the smartest AI, they're not enough. I want you to sit with that for a minute. The best data, the perfect prompt, and the smartest AI are not enough. And yet we are being told from every direction that the answer is better technology, better tools, better models.

And yes, all of those things are important, but more of it, but none, excuse me, but none of it replaces how the other people, the other person on the other side of a relationship feels about you and vice versa. None of it builds trust that turns into a conversation, none of it builds trust that turns a conversation into an opportunity. That is 100% on you. And whether you know it or not, your personal brand precedes you, and you already have a personal brand.

Now, some people say, what do you mean? I'm a person. I don't have a brand. Coca-Cola is a brand.

Nike is a brand. I'm just a person. What are you talking about? Well, all of us have a personal brand, and it's already been established in our companies, in our industries, in our communities, because people are always watching you and they're always judging.

Now, sometimes people say, wait a minute, Tom, that's not fair if they're always watching and judging me. I didn't say it was fair. I just said it's the way we are. We did it during the networking before this program started.

Many of you are judging me right now, and it's just the way it is. And so that personal brand that you work on and you build and you cultivate matters because that's your reputation that gets out in front of you. So in a world where everyone has the same AI tools, it's those connections are how you are going to stand out. So remember this.

A contact is someone who has your email address. A connection is someone who says your name in the right room at the right moment. Relationships like that don't happen by accident. They have to be built and cultivated.

So I'm challenging you to choose people. at work, in your industry, in your community, in your faith community, in your family. It's not about if AI is going to change the way the world runs. It already has.

The question is, are you going to be the type of person that people know, like, and trust? And are you going to be the type of person who gets to know, like, and trust them so that you can refer them when opportunities show up. But you're all busy. We're all busy.

And nowadays, studies show that the average American is spending two hours and 20 minutes on their phone. Now, some of you are saying, wait, wait, wait, wait a minute. I don't spend two hours and 20 minutes on my phone. Well then the person sitting next to you is spending four hours and 40 minutes because that what the studies are showing But imagine if you just took 30 minutes every day to stop and sit and engage with people on a one-on-one basis.

Now, this could be in person over a cup of coffee or a meal, or this could be a phone call, but I'm not talking about a text or a group blast email or a post. I'm talking about real back and forth engagement. And yes, a phone call is good. A Zoom call is better, but getting together face-to-face, that's where the magic happens because it is through shared experiences that we build relationships.

Anytime you can find something in common with other people, it's going to fast forward that relationship. So several years ago, I was up to be the speaker at a conference and before jumping on the call with the CEO, it was a tech conference and he only put engineers on the main stage. and I don't have a degree in engineering, but his meeting planner had said he should talk to me. And we did a phone call.

And before we got on that call, I looked him up and I saw that he went to Carnegie Mellon university. And when we got on the phone, I said, in preparing to be with you today, I looked you up on LinkedIn and I see that you went to Carnegie Mellon. Well, this guy got so excited. He loved his alma mater.

He was so thrilled. And he said to me, did you go to CMU? and I said no, all my money does because my daughter at the time was a freshman at Carnegie Mellon University and he laughed and we talked and we talked about the university, we talked about the city of Pittsburgh and we made a real connection and he ended up hiring me even though I didn't have that engineering degree because even though it wasn't at the same time, we found a shared experience. But society has gone through massive changes and looking for those connections isn't something we do naturally.

In fact, we have become so focused on tech and productivity that we have become a society of efficient strangers. We get the work done, but we don't necessarily know what our coworker does when they go home. Now, do you manage a team or do you plan a conference? Is that what you want for your employees or for the participants at your event?

Do you want them to be efficient strangers? I don't think you do. I think you want them to have a culture of connection. I think you want them to have more community, collaboration, and conversations when they interact.

So I have a vision for the future. And it involves the growth of this cutting-edge technology that will add to humanity and that there'll be breakthrough discoveries. There'll be discoveries in science and medicine and in business. But I also see it being a future where people share the reality in good times and bad of what it is to be human.

I see a future where those who have more help others, not because the government says so or they're taxed, but they do it because it's the right thing to do. Technology is not the advantage. And I know this sounds counterintuitive right now, but if your competitors have the same tools you do, if they have the same knowledge, if the person who wants your job can access all of the information, then what is the advantage? You are the advantage.

Your relationships, your reputation, the trust you have built through consistent behavior over time. That is what nobody can copy with a prompt. So be intentional. Build those connections and choose people.

human interaction is not optional in an AI driven world it is your path to success thank you very much for listening to that uh like I said it's a a work in progress as I'm writing a new shorter version of my speech uh but I came in right about on time so that's a good thing uh and if you're a regular listener of making waves at sea level thank you for being here If you're not a regular listener, go ahead and subscribe. There'll be more stuff coming down the pipe in the future.

But thank you for humoring me with this short speech as I work out sort of the new version of it. We'll be back soon with another episode of Making Waves at Sea Level. If you're ready to grow your business, at Barclays, we say, let's go from opening that second store to boosting your production. Let's get growing.