Gregory S. Berns, M.D., Ph.D.
Distinguished Chair of Neuroeconomics
Emory University

We're social animals, and the benefits of going to a meeting go beyond just the raw material. There are networking opportunities. Typically that's where collaborations are formed. For me, the benefit is actually seeing what people are doing, because in neuroscience, oftentimes you go to meetings and you see work that's in progress. And, frankly, the things I find the most enjoyable are when I'm surprised by something, and I don't see that happening, at least in the near future, at virtual meetings. Most of the science gets done over dinner.

When I organize meetings, I try to build in plenty of time for those informal collaboration and networking opportunities. But it's a challenge.

Typically, there are a few meetings I'll go to at least every other year - the Society for Neuroscience and the Society for Neuroeconomics. I tend to be more faithful to neuroeconomics, because I'm one of the founders of that [discipline].

Robert E. Lang, Ph.D.
Associate Professor in Urban Affairs And Planning
Virginia Polytechnic Institute

Businesses convening are among the most critical elements of an information economy. Consider the case of Las Vegas - the place most cited as the poster child of the fun-packed junkets that should now be shunned by business. Because Las Vegas is such a "fun" place and has a large tourist capacity in terms of hotel rooms and meeting space, it attracts the nation's largest trade shows.

These shows form ad hoc market exchanges that gather whole industries to a common space to make deals and share ideas. Despite all of our advances in telecommunications technology, direct human contact is still needed as a foundational basis in a commercial relationship.

Without trade shows and conventions, networks will weaken, ideas won't be shared, and deals won't get done. Just about the worst thing that can happen to our already-fragile economy is for us to kill off the meetings business just to ensure that an employee of a bailed-out bank does not get a fun trip to Las Vegas.

Ronald L. Dufresne, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Management
Saint Joseph's University

In today's increasingly virtual world, many companies use tools like conference calls and Web meetings to communicate and bring geographically dispersed teams together. While these tools can be beneficial in terms of avoiding travel time and cost, the downside is that they tend to experience "noise" and they lack the richness of face-to-face meetings.

Dropped calls, static, and honking horns in the background are all examples of noise that can disrupt virtual communication. Also, research has shown that non-verbal communication - one's facial expression, posture, eye contact, and the like - conveys considerable meaning.

Even with high-fidelity virtual tools, however, these signals are either lost or greatly diminished. Through the rich, complex set of non-verbal signals, face-to-face communication allows each party in the conversation to monitor for real-time understanding and immediately clarify meaning or test inferences. This is why the gold standard of interpersonal communication remains a face-to-face meeting.