Do You Still Need In-Person Meetings? | Business 2 Community

You may be overscheduled, and wondering if you can cancel having some in-person meetings. After all, these days, there are so many ways to communicate without meeting in person. In addition to conference calls, there are things like email, Skype, videoconferencing and online chatting that can help you communicate without meeting in person.

You may not be sure whether in-person meetings are worth it any more. Perhaps you would like to do all your meetings via Skype or some other way. But there is still a time and place for those old-fashioned meetings. Let?s look at the reasons to meet ? and not to meet ? in person:

The benefits of in-person meetings

You get to look people in the eye and see whether or not they are paying attention. You can also notice things like tone of voice, facial expressions and other nuances that you won?t get via online meetings. Many times, hurt feelings are caused online due to such cues being missed with online or phone interactions. Career coaches note that nonverbal communication methods are very important, but they are really only noticed during in-person meetings.

You may also form and keep more of a human bond than you will by talking online or via phone. ?In addition, you can bond over a meal or snacks with in-person meetings. Many times, great relationships are forged and strengthened because of such interactions.

In addition, technology can fail, as anybody who has ever been on a conference call or a videoconference that went awry can attest to.

The benefits of not meeting in person

You can meet with co-workers and your staff members no matter where they are. This can save on travel costs and other associated expenses. If you have staff that works at home, and it will be a hassle to get them all into the office, it may be simpler for all concerned to meet via technology.

In addition, you can also meet on the fly, without some of the planning or arranging that in-person meetings can take. And you can communicate immediately, without having to plan ahead.

What is best for you?

Each of these types for meetings can have a time and place for your organization. However, there can be more communications benefits from meeting in person. It?s up to your individual situation to decide whether those benefits are worth the potential extra cost and hassle of doing so.

Source: http://www.business2community.com/leadership/do-you-still-need-in-person-meetings-0329501

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