How is most of your business, or even personal, correspondence conducted nowadays? If you said in-person, you’re a very rare (and lucky) breed.

When I worked as a Product Manager, I spent far more time communicating with clients and colleagues via email than on the phone or in person. Probably even as much as 90% of my correspondence was electronic. And that’s not because I specifically chose that method each time – in fact, I prefer face-to-face whenever possible – it’s simply the direction society has taken.

This concept transcends the business world and is also now very much true with personal interactions. Want to catch up with a long-distance relative? Send a Facebook message. Heading out with friends for dinner? Enjoy yourself in silence as they carry out a live broadcast of the entire experience on Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. You get the idea. Written communication now heavily outweighs verbal communication in all facets of our lives.

Going back to the business perspective, while leads may be captured and courted electronically, deals are still won in person. Big revenue-generating ideas are still presented in person. Promotions are still fought for and earned in person. We’re becoming more social in the sense that we’re connecting with more people than ever before, but our ability to effectively interact with those connections face-to-face is degrading.

This creates a powerful opportunity for the savvy businessperson who chooses to put forth the necessary effort to keep his verbal communication skills strong. Because while being able to write well is extremely important, many of the big moments in every person’s career will come down to being able to speak confidently and convincingly, oftentimes on the fly.

Being a strong speaker used to be the norm. Now it’s a big differentiator. What are you doing to make sure you stand out?