Why I loved my first in-person professional meeting in years

I’ve just wrapped up my first in person professional meeting since the pandemic and I was blown away at how productive and exciting the in person interactions were compared to remote meetings, and the sheer level of electric energy in the room. The rule was no electronics so closed laptops and phones put away on silent. There were so many ways we interacted and communicated in the room beyond voice, with body language and real time facial expressions and the “mood” of the room carrying as much weight as the spoken words. I missed the electric energy of the conversation sparking between one person and another, with each person leaning in or holding out a hand or raising an eyebrow to give a queue that they have something to say now so others made space for them. The 1:1 or small group discussion at the coffee breaks were just as valuable, with some heading to the lobby between the end of the meeting and dinner to sit with their laptops to explore ideas together. The technical discussions continued over dinner, but there was plenty of more general conversation which was important to welcome guests and new members to the community, to get to know each other at a personal level, and to better understand how each of us tick which in turn leads to so much better in person communication and interaction.?

The in person communications rapidly stave off misunderstandings that would otherwise fester, leading to suspicions of others, groups forming their own silos, and all kinds of physical and verbal cues that could be misunderstood due to cultural differences, but are quickly resolved with some lightly probing inquisitive smalltalk and appropriate body language.

I desperately missed this so much.