Meetings are an essential aspect of corporate culture. It’s estimated that the average office worker in the US spends a third of their time in meetings, and the figures are even higher for executives and senior staff.

The widespread adoption of online communication tools has transformed the way meetings take place, prompting a debate between the merits of in-person and virtual meetings. In this article, we examine the pros and cons of in-person vs. online meetings and discuss why face-to-face interactions continue to have value.

Online meetings: Pros and Cons

In a relatively short period of time, virtual meetings have become the norm in most office-based companies. Data from 2022 shows that in just two years, the amount of time spent in virtual meetings had increased from 14 hours per week to more than 21 hours per week, matching or even exceeding the time spent in face-to-face meetings. There are several advantages and disadvantages to this virtual meeting format.

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The Midwest region of the United States is home to some of the most impressive and versatile event spaces in the country. Whether you’re planning a large corporate conference, a small business meeting, or a full-scale trade show, the Midwest has something to offer for everyone. In this post, we’ll be highlighting the top ten Midwest conference and convention centers that will be sure to impress your attendees and make your event a success. From state-of-the-art facilities with stunning architecture to versatile and modular spaces, these centers have it all. So, without further ado, let’s dive in and explore the best conference and convention centers the Midwest has to offer!

The Full List

McCormick Place

With more than 2.6 million square feet of space, McCormick Place is one of the largest conference venues not only in the Midwest, but in North America. The venue is located 3 miles away from Chicago’s Magnificent Mile, and can be easily accessed from the downtown area and from O’Hare and Midway airports. 

McCormick offers conferencing and convention space in four buildings, which are interconnected for the convenience of visitors. The venue can accommodate assembly-style seating for 18,000 people, and additionally offers a 10,000-seat arena, three theaters with a capacity of 300 seats each, and a large theater that sits more than 4,000 attendees.

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No one wants to just tread water for their entire career. Doing “just enough” to get by at work doesn’t just hurt your career, it hurts you personally. After all, the amount of money you make can directly influence your quality of life. If you are unwilling to put in the work it takes to get ahead, then you can more or less expect to be unsuccessful forever.

A look at some of the most popular business lunch venues in Seattle, Washington.

Bistro Baffi Italian Fine Dining

Bistro Baffi is one of those amazingly well-kept secrets of the Seattle dining scene. While it does the majority of its business during the dinner hours, there is a great lunch menu that allows you to have a professional lunch out with clients. They specialize in northern Italian cuisine at Bistro Baffi, and there are a wide range of menu options to satisfy any type of craving in your party.

Georgian

Georgian is one of the more expensive lunch options out there, but they are definitely worth it. The atmosphere is one of supreme class, and it presents an air of finesse that will make any business lunch go off without a hitch. While there are some extremely fancy things on the menu here, there are a lot of very basic options as well. Read the rest of this entry »

It can be difficult to get audience participation during a meeting. How many meetings have you been to where the chairperson asks a question only to be met by deafening silence? – Cue the tumbleweed. There are lots of reasons for this, from fear of saying the wrong thing, to genuine shyness to people just not listening. Getting people to contribute is important, you need fresh ideas, opinions or just to make sure your audience understands what the key issues are.

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Love em or hate em, face to face meetings are still a necessary evil even in this digital/cyber/online world. People still need to get together and discuss issues, make decisions or just to get their point across. It’s important not to waste company time with unnecessary, long and boring meetings, which sometimes just seem like an excuse for the key speaker to yak on and listen to the sound of their own voice. Yes, their Mom may have told them they are fabulous, but we don’t all need to hear everything they have to say.

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