Virtual or face-to-face: business meetings of the future

A virtual lockdown

Flexible, time-saving and environmentally friendly, video meetings have been an essential part of previous lockdowns. No boardroom? No problem. Guest appearances from your colleagues’ children? No worries. Weeks of social distancing have forced us to shift our expectations and get used to more casual video calls.

Now rules are lifted, companies will find themselves asking whether they should continue this virtual approach. After all, few calls are without their technical issues. They also require more focus; we need to work harder to process facial expressions, tone of voice and body language, often resulting in ‘Zoom fatigue’ [1], and time delays can make the responder seem less friendly or focused [2].

Above all, with even the best technology at our fingertips weeks of social isolation have taught us how much we value – and miss – face-to-face communication.