This month we celebrate Global Meetings Industry Day, bringing together leaders from across the meeting and event industry to showcase to business leaders, politicians and the world the positive impacts that business meetings, conferences, conventions, incentive travel, trade shows and exhibitions have on people, business and communities.
It has been demonstrated that face-to-face meetings boost collaboration and creativity and create positive business outcomes, all while building strong communities. The Meetings Mean Business Coalition reports that 91 percent of business leaders believe face-to-face meetings improve engagement, and 94 percent say that they advance collaboration. Face-to-face meetings allow us to build powerful personal connections and break down barriers through the ability to shake hands, see facial expressions and detect other non-verbal cues that help to foster stronger, more trusting relationships. Research consistently demonstrates that we remember much more of what we see, experience and hear in person—which is why face-to-face interactions are so significant.
The impact of business events is far-reaching, with the 2017 Global Economic Significance of Business Events study showing that they generated more than US$1.07 trillion of direct spending, while also employing 10.3 million directly.
According to the Harvard Business Review, in-person meetings were 34 times more likely to garner positive responses than a non-face-to-face meeting, suggesting the success and importance of face-to-face meetings are amplified by the reduced number of personal connections we experience in today’s work environments.
In the coming months, we will be generating and creating experiences that only face-to-face meetings and live events can provide. MPI’s World Education Congress (WEC) in June in Toronto and IMEX Frankfurt in May are unique events that will provide a “shared” experience creating connections that make a lasting impact.
I look forward to seeing and meeting you face-to-face this year across the globe at live events, trade shows and chapter meetings. Great things happen when people come together, because when we meet, we change the world.
Paul Van Deventer
MPI President and CEO
pvandeventer@mpiweb.org
Follow me on Twitter @MPICEOPaul
