Case Study: DLA Piper, Metlife, Pepsico and others: Telepresence is Finally Coming Age

Do you think meetings conducted through telepresence technology will be similar to face-to face ones as the technology becomes more pervasive? How would the rules of etiquette change for telepresence meetings? Which would you like best?

I personally do not think that meetings thought telepresence technology will be similar to face-to-face ones. It does not matter how advanced telepresence technology is, the transfer of emotional and non-verbal information from one to another person will always be less effective compared to meeting someone in person. Also, we need to talk about the quality and outcomes of the meetings. I mean meeting is not just about talking, it’s a lot about a handshake, sharing a glass of water and the room temperature. When you are present through telepresence technologies, you are somehow considered as a digital being not an actual being made of flesh and blood.

We might have more strict time schedule rules for telepresence than we have for physical meetings. Also, people might have to wake up in the middle of night to be present in a telepresence meeting because the other meeting partners are in other time zones.

I would prefer an actual human contact if I had to make a choice instead of a telepresence meeting.