Is the pervasiveness of digital communications making us lose our interpersonal skills? Maybe, according to new research. Send too many e-mails, and you start to forget how to talk to real people.

A U.K.-based poll found that e-mail has become the method of communication most heavily relied upon by working people, but the results also indicate that many find that this reliance has a negative effect on communication skills.

The study itself was conducted by officebroker.com and it polled 600 workers on their use of communications systems for professional purposes. A large majority – 68 percent of those polled – said that they use e-mail to communicate with people even inside the same building, but 97 percent readily accepted that putting a face to an e-mail address was an important part of business and communications.

Image via Shutterstock

The chief reason for the rise of the e-mail is speed, but the personal element is inevitably sacrificed. The team at MeetingZone (News - Alert), a company specializing in the provision of conferencing and collaboration solutions for business use, has seen a rise in inquiries from businesses looking to enhance their communications without losing the personal touch.

Many companies, however, report that they understand the need to maintain employees’ skills in a variety of communication methods, including face-to-face. These organizations are interested in finding the right balance between fast and effective communication and good business relations.

Teleconferencing is often seen as the best of both worlds; a digital media that helps save time and travel costs, but also allows workers to speak to each other face to face.