The U.S. Travel Association, with supporting partner Maritz, has crafted messaging from original research with business decision-makers and refined to resonate with executives who shape meeting-related decisions.
Following are three core messages that meeting and event professionals are encouraged to amplify and share when discussing, promoting and advocating for coming together in person.
1. Business runs on relationships--and the strongest ones are built in person.
- In-person meetings strengthen bonds with the customers, partners and colleagues who matter most to an organization's success.
- There's no substitute for being in the same room. Meeting in person creates connection and builds trust that emails and video calls can't replicate.
- Successful leaders invest in meeting in person. Nine-in-ten executives say in-person meetings advanced their careers--from developing stronger networks to forging deeper customer relationships.
- Organizations that bring teams and customers together in person build a competitive advance that differentiates them in an increasingly crowded market.
2. Meeting together in the same room accelerates decision-marking and strategic alignment.
- Meeting off site removes day-to-day distraction, creating space for leaders to focus and capitalize on strategic opportunities.
- Bringing decision-makers together in person speeds everything up--from building consensus, to setting priorities, to reaching a final decision.
- Meeting in person creates energy around organizational priorities and generates momentum toward accomplishing shared goals.
3. Getting out of the office to meet in person leads to richer, more productive conversations.
- Some conversations need a room, not just a screen. The nuance, spontaneity and give-and-take of in-person discussions lead to sharper thinking and better outcomes.
- Pursuing new opportunities requires new thinking. Meeting in person encourages the kind of candid, free-flowing dialogue where ideas get challenged, refined and improved.
- In-person meetings break teams out of silos and routines, enabling collaborative conversations that don't happen day to day.
- In a business world increasingly dependent on virtual interaction and artificial intelligence, coming together in the same physical location, to shake hands and deepen trust, has never carried more importance.
