While I love AI for proofreading an article, recommending restaurants in a new city, or giving me directions as I drive, it does have its limits. One area where AI needs to stay in the backseat is when it comes to core people skills – also known as soft skills.
Over-reliance on AI
I recently had a conversation with a friend about this. She explained that in her workplace, there’s an over-reliance on ChatGPT for writing emails and reports. While it certainly has its place, she’s frustrated by how impersonal communications has become.
Her concern is by relying too heavy on AI, we’re forgetting the PEOPLE we’re communicating to and losing important personal connections.
One example she shared was an email to staff that was clearly run through AI. While yes, it was factually correct and provided the necessary information, it lacked any warmth or connection to staff. She’s seen the same in reports and even social media posts.
The result – staff are tuning out and becoming disengaged.
People first
In my corporate training, aimed at helping people strengthen their communications skills, I often hammer on how people don’t care about your programs, products or services. They care about people.
How does your program, service, or product connect with your audiences. What do they care about? Why should they listen? What’s in it for them?
This is a key piece I see missing in many AI generated communications.
I was actually on a call where one person bragged about how they hadn’t written an email in over a year. They use ChatGPT to draft all their emails.
I was flabbergasted. While they were clearly pleased with the time saved, I suspect they were missing valuable personal interactions and connections. Most people can spot the difference between a genuine response and a cut-and-paste massage.
Invest in people skills
With the increased usage of AI, I’m seeing an increase in requests for the workshops I deliver that focus on interpersonal communications and helping people gain the skills they need to communicate with confidence.
Coincidence? Hmmm.
Here’s the thing – we still need to talk to each other and work together. We can just “AI” a response to a co-worker or customer when we’re face-to-face. And we also need to be able to capture this same personal approach in our written communications.
I find it interesting how in the workplace people are criticized for having poor people skills, but some organizations don’t help them develop these skills.
Take an accountant. They went to school to learn how to manage finance with little to no training on how to:
- give an engaging presentation that people actually listen to,
- work with different (and sometimes difficult) personalities,
- use storytelling to share financial data with non-analytical thinkers, or
- write an email people will actually read and understand
These core people skills are not inherent to everyone. They need to be taught, practiced and coached.
And this is something AI simply cannot do.
Merging of the two
While I continue to use AI, and will even run this blog through ChatGPT to find any grammar or flow errors, it can’t replace the personal touch needed in our written and face-to-face communications.
We still need to take the time to understand our audiences (who are they as people, what do they care about and how do they like to receive information), get clear on our messaging (what do we want them to remember), tap into emotions and have a defined call to action (what do you want them to do with this information).
Sure, AI can help provide structure, but it can’t capture the nuances, stories, or words that truly resonate with our audiences and inspire them to pay attention.
At the end of the day, AI is a powerful tool—but it’s just that, a tool. It can support your work, speed up tasks, and even spark ideas, but it can’t replace the human connection that comes from empathy, authenticity, and genuine communication. The real competitive advantage in today’s workplace isn’t how well you can use AI—it’s how well you can connect with people.
So, use AI wisely, but don’t let it do the talking for you. Invest in strengthening your own people skills, practice clear and compassionate communication, and focus on building real connections. That’s where trust is built, engagement grows, and lasting impact happens.