Why now, more than ever, we need to remember the value of real life meetings.

I might be just a little biased being an event planner, but I’d like to stress the importance of meetings and events as they are a crucial business practice. We need to keep meeting! In a social media frenzied world, it’s easy to lose yourself in online conferencing, chatting and communication.

The idea of reality has become so blurred that some may have forgotten the true benefits of meeting in person. Now don’t get us wrong, we are all for using social media to further your business, but when it comes down to it, there is no real substitute for face time. Corporate meetings enhance employee and partner performance, fuel company growth and profitability, support the needs of local communities and aid the American economy as a whole.

Check this video out…Ben Stein talks about the importance of business meetings.

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Image via www.citehr.com

Keep America Meeting’s petition gained more than 22,000 signature in support of the events industry that the USTA delivered to the Senate Commerce Committee in May. TBA Global’s new whitepaper “The Value of Meetings” shows the perception issue facing the meetings industry and how companies can make their meetings more appropriate and effective during these times.

http://www.keepamericameeting.org

Here are some of the reasons why face-to-face meetings are still important:

Numbers Don’t Lie
While its hard to exactly quantify the importance of face-to-face meetings, it is clear that many people still believe they are an integral part to successful business practice. In an article by Richard Arvey, a professor in organizational behavioral phycology, he discusses a research project conducted by Hilton Hotels. In their findings, they showed that 85% of people believe that face-to-face meetings are “more likely to result in breakthrough thinking” and 82% believe that “meetings bring out the best in people”. (asiaone.com)

Conference Calls Just Don’t Cut It
Think a conference call might be a substitute for meetings? Think again. Conference calls allow for people to become easily distracted and unfocused. Look at these further findings from Hilton Hotels to really understand the ineffectiveness of a conference call:
During a conference call:
81% Admit to checking their email,
75% Admit to having sideline conversations with colleagues, and
35% Admit to going to the restroom!
(asiaone.com)

Efficiency
There is no doubt that in person meetings are the most time efficient. You can give and receive feedback in the moment, and will probably arrive at the same page more quickly than back and forth emailing.