Think physical meetings are a thing of the past? Think again.
In the business world, we’ve all experienced the shift from breakfast in the boardroom to a coffee over Zoom. ‘Meetings’, in all of their different forms, have undergone a major upheaval and existed solely online for much of 2020.
However, convenience aspect aside, we at Avenue HQ believe that face-to-face meetings (with distancing measures in place of course) trump video-conferencing time after time, and here’s why:
According to a study by Forbes Insight, 85% of people said that they build stronger, more meaningful business relationships, during in-person meetings and conferences.
Whether you’re conducting an internal team meeting, or hosting an external pitch to a client, building trusting, long-withstanding relationships is imperative, and it seems physical meetings are the best way to achieve this.
It’s safe to say that we’ve all experienced enough frozen screens to last a lifetime and we never want to hear the sentence – ‘Can everyone please mute themselves?’ again. Despite technology issues being arguably comical in the preliminary period of lockdown, they can actually be extremely distracting for meeting participants and impact productivity levels.
To put it bluntly: your coworker’s temperamental WiFi can’t interfere with your conversational flow when you’re both in the same room. Less distractions due to technology should aid a more productive meeting all round.
Interestingly, it’s believed that video calls require more focus than a face-to-face chat. And there’s science behind this statement. Humans must work harder to process non-verbal cues when using video-conferencing software, as opposed to when meeting in-person. Facial expressions, the tone and pitch of the voice and body language all play important roles in business meetings, but are more difficult to read over a screen, meaning the conversation can feel unnatural and lack flow.
The risk of miscommunication is lower when you’re conversing directly with another human being, rather than via message, email or video call. If you want to get your point across in the most direct manner, it seems physical meetings are the most reliable medium.
We’ve all heard the phrase: ‘Let’s put our heads together’, haven’t we? It seems to be an age-old rule that getting individuals into one room around one table, will immediately assist ideas sessions and promote problem solving. With participants present in the moment, bouncing creative opinions off one another, (without a delay caused by internet speed) – you may just arrive at that breakthrough idea.
There’s no denying that video-conferencing is convenient and a great option when time is tight, however there’s no real substitute for meeting another individual in-person, whereby you can become real, tangible acquaintances. Don’t get lost in the noise of the hundreds of Zoom calls that your client has experienced over the past few months. Ensure your next coffee date is within a professional meeting space.
Avenue HQ’s city centre meeting rooms in Liverpool and Leeds are now open and bookable online. We’re extremely proud that our East Parade meeting venues have been classified as officially ‘COVID Secure’, by leading inspection specialists Bureau Veritas.
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