I walked into my ophthalmologist’s office for a follow up to some minor eye surgery I had and the first thing to greet me was an iPad kiosk. It instructed me to put in my driver’s license and then my insurance card. Then I had to answer a series of questions. All fairly ordinary stuff. But as I sat in the waiting room, I noticed the staff behind the counter rarely took their eyes off the iPads in front of them. The medical assistant who took me to the exam room sat down, asked me questions and focused his entire attention on his iPad as he input information.

The first person who actually made and held eye contact with me was my doctor. She has a warm smile and a genuine kindness to her interactions.

The office is designed for efficiency. And I understand the importance of digital medical records and ROI in a business. But as we move deeper and deeper into the technology age, the ultimate business differentiator isn’t going to be technology alone. It will be the marriage of knowing how to use technology in a way that doesn’t replace people interaction skills.

People skills, now more than ever, are the great differentiator—in any setting, not merely formal presentation skills.

When your iPad becomes your Eye-Pad and it’s the only place you are looking, then technology is running the show. Technology is a competitive equalizer. It’s not a competitive advantage. Apple has shipped almost 700 million iPads globally in the last 15 years. They’re everywhere. Most people who do what you do for a living have one too.

Technology is a baseline, not a difference maker.

Your eye doctor’s office probably looks and operates a lot like my eye doctor’s office. The difference isn’t the technology. The difference is the doctor, her medical skills and, drumroll please, her people skills. And she is exceptional in both of those areas.

Here's a simple, but effective communication skills training: for businesses to reach great levels, everyone must engage at a human level, not merely a transactional digital level.

I want to emphasize that I’m a huge fan of technology. Always have been. But many years ago, I realized the latest version of the operating system I’m using is not actually going to dramatically improve anyone’s business but Apple’s, Microsoft and anyone else who is selling operating systems. Sure, you get better photos, documents, and a myriad of capabilities, but so does everyone else!

The real path to standing out and making one-of-a-kind interactions that build business loyalty is getting your eyes off the iPad and putting them back on people.

Here’s one of the great tells that you are putting more attention on your iPad (or any other form of technology) than on people: your voice falls flat and monotone. You sound a little disconnected and your salutations lack sincerity. There’s nothing that rings quite as false as an insincere salutation.

People feel that. They may not verbalize it or consciously think about it, but they feel it. They feel more welcome one place than another. They feel more seen one place than another. They feel more connected one place than another.

And people return over and over to the businesses that make them feel welcome, seen, and connected.

No matter what your business, you need technology. That’s a given. But the more technology, AI, and whatever is coming next, spread around the globe the more your ability to interact with people will help you stand out from the crowd and become a leader no one can compete with.

For the record, I own a couple of iPads. I use them in many ways—including for my flipcharts during Ravens broadcasts. But I never let my iPad become my Eye-Pad. I never let the screen replace the power of human interaction and real eye contact.

If you want to stand out, look up. Use your iPad but stop letting it use you like it’s your Eye-Pad.

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