22 Mar 10 Why Are Face-to-Face Meetings Important?

Have you ever stopped to think about why human contact is vital to the corporate world? A face-to-face meeting is much more than getting away from the office, although that can be a contributing factor to a meeting. Psychologically speaking, humans are just hard-wired to be a social species.

Communication takes two forms, verbal and non-verbal. Webinars may be convenient and cost-efficient, and heaven knows they can be a godsend when some virus like H1N1 is on the warpath, but they simply do not have the same impact as a face-to-face meeting. If you have ever dealt with a misunderstanding that came about from a poorly worded email or a chatroom text conversation, you will appreciate the value of a traditional business meeting. Smileys will never replace a genuine emotion and it is difficult to shake hands via a video conference.

In-person meetings help participants build trust and establish social relationships. It is much more meaningful to work as an interactive team than it is to be corporate pen pals. Social interactions exemplify company norms and expectations and create an important sense of belonging. Humor is another aspect of social interaction that can fall flat in text. Shared experiences build rapport within a team and even a familiar accent can put team members at ease with one another.

Tags: Business Meeting, Genuine Emotion, Godsend, Human Contact, Interactive Team, Misunderstanding, Norms, Pen Pals, Person Meetings, Smileys, Social Interaction, Social Interactions, Social Relationships, Social Species, Team Members, Text Conversation, Traditional Business, Video Conference, Warpath, Webinars