Virtual vs. In-Person: Which One Works Best in 2025?

Virtual vs. In-Person—where do events REALLY belong in 2025? Let’s settle the debate once and for all!

Are virtual events still relevant, or has the industry shifted back to in-person experiences? In this episode, we break down the pros, cons, and future trends of virtual, hybrid, and in-person events in 2025.

Topics include:
✔️ Why in-person connections still matter in event planning
✔️ The true ROI of virtual vs. live events
✔️ When to choose virtual, hybrid, or in-person formats
✔️ How audience engagement differs across event styles

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#VirtualEvents #InPersonEvents #HybridEvents #EventIndustry #MeetingPlanners #CorporateMeetings #EventEngagement #NetworkingInEvents #EventStrategy #EventROI #EventProfs #EventManagement #HospitalityIndustry #BusinessNetworking #LiveEvents #MeetingIndustry #EventMarketing

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to event therapy. Today, we're gonna be talking about in person or virtual. That's the question. Is that still a thing? I mean, I think I think virtual is I I think we get it's all safe to say virtual is, like, here to stay.

(00:01):
Yeah. I just think maybe how it's being used in the component of that has changed. Yeah. Because it's not just virtual events. I mean, it's virtual, virtual coffee, virtual meeting, virtual, learning.
Mhmm. It was a for a variety of different Yeah. You have, like, so much more. You hear LMS, LMS, like, where that wasn't as prevalent of a I think, you know, people will come together, have in person trainings, and, I think there's still value in all of it, but how does that fit, and how do we put those pieces together without, I'm gonna say, a line from, another area that we use without losing that human element. Right.
Well and and, also, the the value or the or the ROI can be looked at differently. Like, you know, we do some facilitating of things. And just from a facilitator standpoint, you really see the difference between when you're facilitating something virtually and when you're facilitating it in person. So ROI isn't just monetary. Right.
And I think sometimes people get so caught up on, like, the ROI, the ROI. And ROI is return on investment. Yeah. And that return may be monetarily, but it also could be a better workforce. It could be better education.
Yep. It could be a better mindset of your employees that go out there and in return rejuvenate some, get some excited again. They're selling more, like so then it does eventually become monetary, but sometimes that monetary isn't instant. Well and you've heard of the other r as well. Right?
Like, ROE, so return and engagement. Right? Like, you gotta think about the return on engagement. You you can you can consider, you know, 200 of your people engaging on a virtual, you know, on a virtual learning platform situation. But, again, as a facilitator, I I mean, I can sit there and be facilitating a program and almost simultaneously tell you everybody who's not paying attention to me whatsoever just by where their eyes are, just by Body language.
Body language and everything else. So as the as the stakeholder or as the person that's made the investment, you know what I'm saying, it's it's important to realize that there is that component as well. And we all learn differently. So, I mean, me, personally, I learn better in person. I kind of can get a little checked out sometimes with virtual.
Yeah. Not saying I I don't like virtual or I don't wanna do it. Yeah. I think it's great when it's in a short time constraint. Anything when you start getting into longer periods, that's when I think you start to lose.
So many distractions too. Right? Yeah. Like, when you're in person, like, you don't wanna be that one person that gets called out for making too much noise or something like that. But when you're sitting there virtually, you know, paying attention to something and I know early on, like, when virtual really started becoming a thing, it was this whole thing about nobody can turn their cameras off and blah blah blah blah blah.
But even now, like, people don't even care about that. Like, people just turn their cameras off and don't even think anything about it. Mhmm. And now you're really trying to figure out whether somebody's engaged or not when you can't even see them. Yeah.
But talk about the fatigue from having your I'm like, you know I used to say that all the time. I would tell you all the time. Like, I am so not the same person in that environment. Like, if I'm at a table with people in person, I'm super involved. I'll speak out.
I'm super engaged because I feel like I can manage the conversation. I know when it's the appropriate time for me to add value or to ask a question or whatever. When you're on virtually and you're expecting that same collaboration from people that you would get, if that's the intent of the program, somebody like me who's a super extrovert who want who is an engaged learner, who is like I'm the total opposite on that. I'm gonna probably say on mute. I may have my camera on, but, like, I'm just not as comfortable in the chat as I am collaborating in person.
So I'm like, it's a different style for me. I'm not as comfortable coming off of mute to talk because I feel like we're all tripping on each other. You don't wanna talk over? So I just know for me personally, I'm I'm I'm going to get a lot more out of something if you want based on what you're looking for me to get out of it. Like, if it's just an hour training where you're I'm needing to learn something that we can check the box that I'm trained in that now, sure.
Okay? That don't fly me out for that. But if we're really collaborating with each other and you want that collaboration, and I think having a host for that is I mean, I've seen you do this as a facilitator. Like, having a great facilitator that knows how to do that is important. Yeah.
And that that might not be somebody with your company either. You know, you might think you're great at it, but also bringing in a facilitator who can facilitate that kind of engagement is important. I think we all learned that through, you know, the COVID days, but, I just think people are different types of learners. And if you can get all turn off your camera and be doing writing a contract or sending emails during something, like, what was even the point of having, you know, the training? I mean, I'm gonna be focused on getting the business.
So yeah. I mean and when the camera is on, it's so much different than being in person. Because when you're in person, you're in the moment. You're engaged. You're listen.
You're not thinking that, oh, are they looking at me? Like, does my hair look? Like, I mean, I've been being honest. When you're on the camera Or you're watching other people when they're doing they're talking to their coworkers. Staring at you, and it's like the fatigue of, hi, guys.
Like, let me keep my smile on. And, oh my goodness. Is this piece out? Well, there's a number of other people too because you've got people on mute, but they're talking to the crew. Like, oh, session.
So I'm fully engaged to watching that one. I'm not person you can blend in more. Right? Like, you can really blend into the audience more and and so on and so forth. But, yeah, I I mean, I don't know.
I think it's, like, I think it's becoming more and more difficult to really define when it makes sense to do something virtually anymore. You know what I mean? I think if it's small. Yeah. The I and I think that the, like, my, like, micro, what do you call, like, micro programs or something like that?
Twenty, twelve minutes, fifteen minutes, seventeen minutes, something like that. Microlearning, that's the term I was looking for. Like, if you can if you can create modules that create, like, this microlearning experience, I think it does make sense because also it did I mean, it goes by so fast. You must have to pay attention. Yeah.

(00:22):
We we are as human beings, we have been completely reprogrammed no matter what anybody ever tries to argue with me. We've been completely reprogrammed by social media to just, you know, have no attention span whatsoever. By the time you open up think about any app that you have for social media. The minute you open it up, you're already exposed to something. And then that quickly, you wanna go to something else, and and our brains have been trained that way.
But when I'm sitting here, you know, together talking to people, I'm not, like, scroll you know, scrolling on Elizabeth so I can go to you or something like that. Right? Like, it's a whole different experience. We're missing that engagement and that communication. That's why being in person, I think, is so important.
Yeah. Because at the end of the day, if you're trying to get a sale or you're trying to educate or you're trying to build a connection, that's gonna happen a lot quicker in person where it could take you a lot longer to do virtually, whether it's a Zoom meeting or if it's actually, like, a Zoom. Like, I I I think there's nothing wrong with, like, what you were saying, short programs, short meetings, but I think we've got to get more back to that in person Yeah. Especially when it comes to face to face. Not saying all business deals, let's take events out of it, have to happen every time in person, but maybe in the beginning The initial one.
Yeah. The initial one, and then the rest can be virtual. I get that in saving cost and not having to have all that travel. I also get it if you're you need to quickly train the entire workforce on something A new rollout on something. A new rollout on something.
I get it. Let's not fly everybody in. But if it's more than I mean, if it's a day program more, like, it needs to be in person. I used to say all the time, I I've missed in my previous company. We used to have come togethers where it would be, like, sales and marketing and, like, all the key departments, and everybody would, like, pitch and talk about what their plan is for the year and what they're gonna do.
We would brainstorm, and the vision and the goal of the company would be rolled out. Like, that went away. It became an hour, like Yeah. Call. Yeah.
And you're building relationships with your peers at that event where you're not getting that when you're on a Zoom. You might now know someone. You know you can exchange emails on there, but you haven't built the rapport and the really built the relationship and the network like you would if you were in person. And if that's your Yeah. Goal is to bring together these people in your company to to collaborate.
I think if that word collaborate is anything you want to get out of it, it shouldn't be on a Zoom. And I worked really hard to build those relationships with, like, internal key players, but it took me so long because I had to build those relationships virtually and through email and through phone call. And And a lot of people would say, like, how are you able to get so much done so quickly? And it's like, because I took the time to figure out who was the person I needed for each step, and I built a relationship with them. Whereas, like, if that had been in person, gosh, everybody could have that, and the processes would be so much more streamlined Yeah.
For the company. Also too into something else I was thinking was, like, the amount of people. Like, who how how many people are you talking about bringing on to this online? Because if it's more than the amount of boxes on the screen, you you've lost everyone already. SMH.
There will not be a camera on. Yeah. The cameras will be off. I mean, I think people just immediately do that. And if it's gonna go any longer than the scheduled time too, because if people are accepting a one hour Zoom training, like, they're probably backing that up to another.
And now more and more when I'm on an hour Zoom, people are dropping at thirty minutes. They've got something else or Yeah. They're getting prepared for something else, so they're dropping at forty five minutes. So, I mean, I think people are completely exhausted. Some things a meeting, a a committee thing.
Like, there's things that are just gonna have to be on Zoom. But if it's that impactful and you want your employees or your members or whatever the situation is to have any collaboration from it, it I it needs to be a meeting. Interesting how, like, it used to be a default that meetings were, like, an hour long, and, like, now you keep seeing more and more, like, it went to forty five minutes, thirty minutes. Like, I have gotten requests for fifteen minute meetings. I think it's smart.
I I do too. It's like, why block out the whole hour? It was like we were so, like, programmed to a meeting is an hour. It's an hour. It's an hour.
But does it need to be an hour? I love the people who have that. Like, when you book a meeting with me and is it a chat fifteen minutes? Is it a, you know, conversation thirty minutes? Is it a deep dive an hour?
Like, I think that's great. Yeah. Yeah. At least we have to be careful with this, though, is that now you're gonna get potentially this argument that, well, if we're only meeting for fifteen minutes, why do I wanna do a, you know, twenty five to to forty five minute round trip travel to just sit down with you? No.
I'm not saying for embarrassing. I was happy in the virtual. Like, no. It would definitely not do When we start talking to better at least if I'm traveling to you, you're giving me at least an hour, and we're probably going to dinner. Yeah.
Or lunch. Enjoy. Yeah. Yeah. I know.
I I think a lot of this just falls under that just because we can, does that really mean we should? You know what I mean? Because, because yeah. But but but I do think that there does become a time where the efficiency of meeting virtually can make sense. I just don't know that leading into it.
I just don't know that leading into it. Right? Like, if I'm gonna do business with anybody, I just call me old school, but I truly believe in the know, like, and know, like, and trust theory. And there's no way you can know, like, and trust me in a virtual. I I just some some people will disagree me, and that's okay.
That's what's great about us being humans is we all have our own, you know, viewpoints on things like this. But I just don't think you make the same connection. And that's what I'm really that's to me, that's what I'm really talking about is creating that connection. I agree. Once that connection is created, yes, there are different ways that we could be more efficient.
Then you will be virtual. Then maybe you see each other once a year at, like, a conference, but I agree. That first initial or one of the first, like and even if it's, like, maybe the second or the third. Like, in the beginning, you have to have that face to face interaction because people like doing with business with people they like. And if I don't know you and I don't have and and I I like the word trust because I say that as well.

(00:43):
Like, people wanna feel like they have to trust. And it can be like it doesn't have to be like, I trust you with my life. You know? It just means, like, you're a nice enough person. Yeah.
I I that you're, you know, that you're gonna do what you say you're gonna do. Yeah. That was it. And then from the learning standpoint, I mean, we gotta remember that there there's a variety of different ways to learn. And, you know, you're you can sit there and bang out information all day long on a computer screen, and you the there there is statistically, there is a percentage of people that are they're gonna be there because they have to, but they're not gonna learn a damn thing from that because that's not how they learn.
And that's why a lot of these in person training, situations, and to your point, Liz, about hiring people who truly understand how people learn. The information is disseminated in all the ways that people learn so that everybody in the room gets a chance to learn the way that works for them. You know? Mhmm. Virtual doesn't allow that same opportunity.
Mhmm. Nope. Yeah. I completely agree. I mean, I I I've seen a lot of talk about this on LinkedIn lately where it's like, you know, people are saying, like, you've got you've gotta go back to in person events, and that's across the board.
That, like, across companies, that's across, like, trainings or external sales or building relationships. Events is where stuff happened. You know, think about the days that your executives were at every trade show. Mhmm. And they were out there because that's where that's where you shook the hands.
That's where you made the interest. That's how businesses were made and grown. Yeah. And I get it. We have to evolve with the times and stuff, but at the end of the day, we are human, and we can't change who we are deep down as course.
We are emotional human beings that need to see somebody, build that relationship and that rapport. And I just don't think that that's something that's gonna be changed from a virtual component. Well, think about this. When you're when you're around people, you can feel their energy. Mhmm.
Right? Like, you can immediately feel if somebody is comfortable or not comfortable. You're pumped. I'm pumped. Right?
Like, you you you that can be much or or that can be deceived much better on a on a virtual screen. But in person, like, you immediately can tell whether just it's just this kinetic I guess you I I I don't know. I hope I'm not speaking, but I feel like it's like this kinetic thing that just doesn't happen if you're not in person. And Yeah. And and depending on the context of of why you would be meeting with somebody in the first place, that that's an important thing to think about.
I think that's why so many, like, you you see all these companies where it's like people are coming out and just saying, like, the company is just so disjointed or not connected. And I think you're starting to see a lot of CEOs are not connecting with their employees Yeah. Or their staff. And there's this huge disconnect, and it's causing these fractures in the system. And I think coming out and just saying, like, oh, remote remote work versus working in an office, you're not really even building a connection in an office.
Like, you're going in doing the same thing you do from remote. I think the focus needs to be shifted. It's not a difference of where do you work every single day. It's how do you bring everybody together in an in a way Yeah. To make them collaborate and empower them to Yes.
What are you doing to foster collaboration? And what does that look like? Because that that is key. That's the difference. I mean, and I say this all the time on a Zoom.
Like, what you you just were talking, and I was nodding my head. I was saying yes. I was in agreeance. Like, you we were connecting. Right?
Yeah. But when you're on Zoom, everyone just sit there silently. You're leading the conversation. People aren't even looking. You know?
You don't get that same, like, what y'all are doing to me right now. Right? You're nodding your head. You're sly locking. You're like, I sit in your head.
Is anybody listening? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. As Does anybody even Well, what I'm seeing it? And but people don't even Same thing. I'm one of the people that doesn't do it.
I don't sit and quietly on mute go, mhmm. Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep.
Yep. Yeah. And I mean, you don't see people doing that, so you're not even getting that same human element, that little bit of connection of, like, yes. Like, that resonates with me. Even though it could be happening, you as the presenter are not you have no idea if anything that just happened resonated.
You you hang up the Zoom, and you have no clue how that went. Sure. You have no idea. Yeah. But you check the box if that meeting happened.
You know? And but you don't know what happened. But when you're in a person together, you walk out of that room. You know exactly what happened. You you it's just it's completely different.

(01:04):
You're right. A feeling. You know if it went well or not. Yeah. And it has a lot to do with how humans connect with each other.
Mhmm. And I and that's not to say, like, like, you know, we keep saying Zoom, but it could be Google Meet or whatever. That's right. Any type of version. Any any type of platform, but Zoom I know.
We're not talking bad about you. But, you know, I think if it's, like, a quick touch base call or a quick meeting, me and you, we could have a little bit of that connection. Like, you're I'm probably gonna feed off of, like, what you're saying a little more or if it's the three of us. That's fine. Right.
And I think that's okay. Whenever we're talking about when we're getting in bigger again, if y'all can't fit on the screen together, then it's too many people to collaborate because Yeah. It that though you you the minute it gets beyond that is when you start noticing that people don't have cameras on except for the first ten on the call, you know, that got bumped up and whatnot, and it's just a totally different experience. So And there it's a small group, and it makes sense. And I actually love Zoom meetings because I do work remotely.
Like, I I am used to that environment of, like I love that it's an intentional conversation with a small group of people because you know it's on your calendar. It's a disruption when you're in an office, and people just walk in and demand you a time. Oh my gosh. Like, and I could be the person that's saying that to my boss. Yeah.
Exactly. You're constantly just, whoop whoop whoop whoop. And then they'll get coffee with somebody, like, trying to tell you about their entire week. Yes. Now you're having a meeting with someone that you didn't set aside time for, that you're in the middle of something else, that you've got something else coming up.
So I do like, you know, these the ability to have these Zoom virtual things scheduled so that you know it's on the calendar to talk about. So there's a lot of good. But that's that's a conversation. That's a small group thing. That's not a meeting and a learning environment.
Agree. But I think the difference is it's gone too far. Yeah. I think I think executives and leadership are like, whoop. We could get up and do this and, like, we'll do a break.
Pay the money. Like, yeah. Let's let's go for it. And it's like, okay. I don't know that that's ever, like, should have ever been the intention.
I think it like, you know, people executives saw flat out saw the cost savings. And they saw the dollar signs of the money they were gonna save from this, and they were like, yeah. Let's do that. Well, it it's now I think you're starting to see, detrimenting a lot of the businesses. Well, it was see, it was taken too far.
I mean, the we we gotta realize and and and remember, these things were designed out of necessity because we weren't we were they were they didn't even exist really somewhat. Yeah. They weren't preplet. Preplet. We weren't so like, they weren't such the go to.
Right? Now it's Beforehand, now it's like, let now that the mindset has been shifted to, well, let's just do let's just jump on a virtual thing. But to your point, there are times. I mean, even, like, for some of the the, the guests that we will have on this podcast, you know, in future episodes and things like that, Yeah. They'll be joining us virtually.
It doesn't make sense to pay for them to fly in here to sit at this table with us. So there are definitely times where it makes sense to do it. But I think have them in person. Love to. Trust me.
Yeah. We'd love to. And the experience will be different. Right? And I think that's what we're trying to say in all of this is that if you're seeing a a difference in if you're seeing a difference in the productivity and the efficiency of your workplace, of your work environment, of of any things like that, this could be a byproduct of that, and we don't even realize it's happening until we address it.
Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Well, thank you all for tuning in today on event therapy podcast. Hopefully, we've given you a little food for thought to maybe just rethink a little bit more what your actual ROI means and if it's more important to be in person or virtual, and and maybe give a little more consideration to that in person.
And, hopefully, we gave you some tools to kind of go back to your leadership with. So make sure to follow us at event therapy podcast, and we'll catch you at the next event.