Currently, in the economy focused on social media, it is becoming more frequent to have long-term, complex and lasting business relationships with other people, without having to deal with them in person or even by telephone. Moreover, business support and even customer service are moving through the web instead of being handled in person, to which we must add that with the reduction of costs the events, conventions, conferences and meetings are all done in virtual way

In this environment it is logical to assume that we have no need to meet face to face, but we could be wrong. The white paper of Cornell University, conducted a scientific research and found that events in person are better than virtual at the time of capturing the attention of attendees, creating positive emotions and building relationships.

The report called “The future of meetings: the face-to-face case”, “aims to help companies organize events using scientific criteria to determine when a virtual approach, a face-to-face approach or both is required. The researchers found that face-to-face works best three times:

1 – To capture attention, especially if something new is being launched and that confirms that virtual assistants are more likely to perform multiple tasks with which they filter certain information, not getting the attention we would require, because “use another part of the brain with what the information does not remain in the long-term memory “. On the contrary, the range of stimuli in a face-to-face event helps people to be more open and creative.

2 – To inspire a positive emotional reaction. An event that involves interaction with other people creates a positive emotional experience, opening us to new experiences.

3 – To build networks and relationships. The study establishes a distinction between the exchange of information and the creation of networks or relationships, which still require human interaction. The study reveals that in person, relationships are stronger. ”

This study focused on the big events and meetings, but it is also valid for the small ones and even those of two people because we can use all the means of social communication that we want, but there is nothing that compares to the energy that we transmit when we are in person.