AI and Human Connection | Why People Skills Still Matter | Etiquette Speaks

There is an interesting tension emerging in the way we live and work.

Technology gives us more ways to communicate than ever before. AI is rapidly becoming part of how we work, learn, research, create and solve problems. Gallup reported this year that more than half of U.S. employees now use AI in their work, with nearly one-third using it frequently.

Yet the conversation happening alongside all of that technological advancement is increasingly about something very human: connection.

More Connected, Yet More Isolated

Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2026 found that 22% of employees worldwide experienced significant loneliness during the previous day. Among both remote and hybrid employees, that figure was 24%.

At the same time, organizations are looking carefully at the human capabilities that become even more important as technology advances.

The Human Skills That Still Matter

Deloitte’s 2026 research on high-performing teams found that qualities including connected teaming, emotional and social intelligence, curiosity and adaptability remain central to how successful teams perform. Their research makes an important distinction: technology can enable the work, but the human capabilities surrounding it still matter. We are seeing something similar in the way organizations are choosing to gather.

Cvent reported this year that 70% of event professionals expected the number of in-person events to increase in 2026, while 95% expected spending on meetings to increase. Their research reflects a continuing investment in face-to-face engagement even as our working lives become increasingly digital.

I find that fascinating.

The more technology allows us to accomplish without another person physically present, the more valuable some very human abilities become.

Where Etiquette Shows Up

As I was putting together a recent reel for Etiquette Speaks, I found myself thinking about all the places etiquette shows up in everyday life.

A parent asking a child to put the phone away at the table. Meeting someone and offering a confident handshake. Walking into an interview. Joining a conversation. Dining with people you don’t know well. Attending a celebration, business event or gathering where you want to feel comfortable and know how to engage.

These may seem like very different moments, but they have something important in common: knowing what to do allows us to spend less time worrying about ourselves and more time being present with the people around us.

Feeling comfortable enough in an unfamiliar environment that we are able to focus on the people around us rather than worrying constantly about whether we are doing the right thing.

Being in the Room Is Only Part of It

Technology can help us prepare for those moments. It cannot have them for us.

Perhaps that is part of why organizations are becoming increasingly intentional about creating opportunities for people to be together. The gathering itself matters, but so does our ability to participate well once we get there.

For me, that is where etiquette remains especially relevant.

Not as a collection of rigid rules or an attempt to make everyone behave the same way, but as a set of tools that can help us move through different environments with greater awareness, consideration and ease.

Sources: Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026 and 2026 workplace AI research; Deloitte, Human Capabilities Are at the Heart of High-Performing Teams, January 2026; Cvent, 2026 meetings and events research.