Virtual Meetings Are Less Engaging Than In-Person, Study Confirms

Can virtual meetings engage participants to the same degree as in-person, face to face meetings? Researchers at Yale used a novel method of measuring brain activity to answer that question. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the answer is “no.” Virtual meetings produced substantially less activity in brain areas associated with facial processing and social interaction.

‘In-Person’ Vs. Live ‘Zoom-Like’ Faces

The researchers studied interactions using eye-tracking, EEG brain wave measurement, an fNIRS – functional near infrared spectroscopy. The latter is a novel technique that allowed the scientists to simultaneously measure and compare the brain activity of two subjects.

The pairs of subjects sat across from each other and interacted either through clear glass (”face-to-face”) or via monitors that showed the other person in a “zoom-like” condition. Twenty-eight subjects participated in the study.

If anything, the lab setup for virtual is a best-case condition. On a typical virtual call, the participants may have to choose between looking at their counterpart but away from their webcam or vice-versa. There are small webcams designed to sit directly in front of the screen to allow better eye contact, but only a small fraction of users have these.

And, according to Zoom’s latest data, 42% of call participants don’t have their camera on. In the lab, the participants were free from distractions like other devices, pets, children, etc.

Longer Gazes, More Brain Activity

The eye tracking data showed that people spent more time looking at real faces than virtual faces. Notably, the measures of brain activity showed “increased cross-brain synchrony” and higher signal strength levels for in-person interaction.

The researchers note that in-person interaction afford us richer social context and better processing of facial expressions than virtual.

What Does This Mean For WFH?

Executives pushing for a full return to the office will use these findings to bolster their case that more and better work will get done when when people meet face to face. But, the research merely confirms what most of us knew already: there’s less engagement in virtual meetings. That’s even more true when some participants aren’t on camera, a condition not examined in this study.

Good News For The Metaverse

Currently, there aren’t practical virtual meeting solutions that allow robust, real-time displays of participants’ facial expressions. Meta’s Quest avatars are currently cartoonish simulations. Even adding legs proved to be a major challenge.

Nevertheless, Meta seems to understand the importance of not just body movement but facial expressions. Its Quest Pro VR headset now includes eye tracking and “Natural Facial Expressions” that enable avatars to mimic the wearer’s eye movement and expressions.

Important Meetings Should Be In-Person

In virtual meetings, we lose most of that non-verbal component. This means we are less likely to pick up on subtle cues, such as when a meeting participant says they agree with a decision but whose body language signals otherwise.

Virtual meetings will still offer a richer experience than email or Slack for quick updates and status reports, but in-person meetings will remain the gold standard for deeper conversation, group idea generation and discussing difficult topics.

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