The Value of In-Person Meetings [Infographic]

Despite the growth of telework and correspondence by e-mail, business leaders still crave face time with their coworkers, according to the results of a survey conducted by The Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by Cisco Systems.

75 percent of survey respondents believe in-person collaboration is critical and 82 percent said they felt better understood after in-person encounters. This speaks to the natural need for human interaction and feedback, which can often be lost in faceless communications by phone, social media and e-mail.

In-person collaboration also includes video conferencing and telepresence, which combines the best of both worlds by allowing for remote work without sacrificing the subtle strengths of face-to-face, real-time collaboration.

What makes in-person communication resonate so well? The survey breaks out the six key elements of successful communication.

• Focus and engagement on shared content
• Tone of voice
• Facial expressions
• Words someone is using
• Subconscious body language
• Conscious movements or gestures

Check out the full infographic from Cisco for more information on the power of in-person collaboration.