As we move seamlessly from an over hot July into a baking August, where travelling anywhere can be challenging, I find myself drawn again to the theme of the virtual versus the actual world in professional working life and in particular business meetings and conferences.
Bearing in mind what actually getting people together in one location for a conference, or to work on a specific project, actually costs in terms of time and travel and personal inconvenience, surely we are better off with some combination of Skype (with videos of course), IM, email, text and even old fashioned telephone calls – plus whatever AI, virtual reality and robotics process automation can bring to this particular party.
Meetings generally as I research the topic seem to get a bad press. As James T Kirk the fictional captain of the Starship Enterprise once said A meeting is an event where minutes are taken and hours wasted.
And of course in the future we might never have to attend a meeting in person at all – see this articleI came across about our “Digital Twin” where:
Early adopters of technology could soon be able to send a digital stand-in to attend face-to-face conferences. The participant’s digital twin would be a software incarnation of the person embodied (or not) by a hologram or device that can see, hear, and observe the event in real time.
However, is this right? I get that meetings will be supported by technology and conferences will aided and enhanced by apps, but there are occasions where real face to face encounters really add value. I have just spent most of this week co-located in a suite of offices working on a project – and it really mattered to be able to go into the next room and ask a question of a subject matter expert or bring them into your room to solve a problem.
This industry report on The Future of Meetingscomes to some interesting conclusions that support the continuation of face to face conferences and meetings, but with their nature changing using technology so participants become more interactive rather than just passive listeners to talking head speakers.
A plethora of online meetings take place all over the world, however it has not disrupted the core desire of people to interact face to face. Four in five respondents (86%) believe that attendees will continue to place a strong importance on meeting face to face.
and
Audiences went from wanting passive experiences in which they were listeners, to wanting to be active participants; learning and applying what is being taught to them.
The report also uses a word I had never seen before voluntourism giving attendees an opportunity to experience the local culture and give back to the community as part of the meeting. I have certainly experienced this attending and speaking at, for example, ITechLawconferences around Europe where you learn about cutting edge developments in IT law, network with other delegates and get to know the local law firms in the country hosting the event.
Leading figures from politics to sport espouse the value of true meetings. Tiger Woods observed: The amount of meetings I've been in – people would be shocked. But that's how you gain experience, how you can gain knowledge, being in meetings and participating. You learn and grow.
While Hilary Clinton commented: I could sit in my office and do videoconferences nearly anywhere in the world, but because that is so easy, people actually expect you to show up more, to make the effort and demonstrate the respect, to sit across the table and look eye-to-eye.
Maybe the best last word on the subject comes from the American investor Warren Buffet: You will never see eye-to-eye if you never meet face-to-face.
Bearing in mind what actually getting people together in one location for a conference, or to work on a specific project, actually costs in terms of time and travel and personal inconvenience, surely we are better off with some combination of Skype (with videos of course), IM, email, text and even old fashioned telephone calls – plus whatever AI, virtual reality and robotics process automation can bring to this particular party.
Meetings generally as I research the topic seem to get a bad press. As James T Kirk the fictional captain of the Starship Enterprise once said A meeting is an event where minutes are taken and hours wasted.
And of course in the future we might never have to attend a meeting in person at all – see this articleI came across about our “Digital Twin” where:
Early adopters of technology could soon be able to send a digital stand-in to attend face-to-face conferences. The participant’s digital twin would be a software incarnation of the person embodied (or not) by a hologram or device that can see, hear, and observe the event in real time.
However, is this right? I get that meetings will be supported by technology and conferences will aided and enhanced by apps, but there are occasions where real face to face encounters really add value. I have just spent most of this week co-located in a suite of offices working on a project – and it really mattered to be able to go into the next room and ask a question of a subject matter expert or bring them into your room to solve a problem.
This industry report on The Future of Meetingscomes to some interesting conclusions that support the continuation of face to face conferences and meetings, but with their nature changing using technology so participants become more interactive rather than just passive listeners to talking head speakers.
A plethora of online meetings take place all over the world, however it has not disrupted the core desire of people to interact face to face. Four in five respondents (86%) believe that attendees will continue to place a strong importance on meeting face to face.
and
Audiences went from wanting passive experiences in which they were listeners, to wanting to be active participants; learning and applying what is being taught to them.
The report also uses a word I had never seen before voluntourism giving attendees an opportunity to experience the local culture and give back to the community as part of the meeting. I have certainly experienced this attending and speaking at, for example, ITechLawconferences around Europe where you learn about cutting edge developments in IT law, network with other delegates and get to know the local law firms in the country hosting the event.
Leading figures from politics to sport espouse the value of true meetings. Tiger Woods observed: The amount of meetings I've been in – people would be shocked. But that's how you gain experience, how you can gain knowledge, being in meetings and participating. You learn and grow.
While Hilary Clinton commented: I could sit in my office and do videoconferences nearly anywhere in the world, but because that is so easy, people actually expect you to show up more, to make the effort and demonstrate the respect, to sit across the table and look eye-to-eye.
Maybe the best last word on the subject comes from the American investor Warren Buffet: You will never see eye-to-eye if you never meet face-to-face.
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