Good morning dear readers,
A few days ago I was in the office for the first time in more than six months. I met some colleagues there for a workshop. Of course we worked far away and with the windows open, but also discussed things calmly and laughed every now and then.
This worked so well because others were not only light, sometimes dark tiles on the screen, but sat in sight.
If you wanted to say something, you didn’t always start talking to someone else at the same time because everyone was watching their colleagues’ facial expressions.
And yes, everyone was more focused because they didn’t have to look at the camera all the time.
In the end I thought: we wouldn’t have done that much in a virtual session. And at the same time the actual exchange would have been much less. And that often gives a meeting a special dynamic.
Now we have talked about topics that fall far below the “world problem” category. As the job title suggests, it often varies with the heads of state and government. as with G7– Summit cornwall this weekend. I also discussed this with my colleague Mark Kruger podcast Spoken. Listen.
international summits – whether the G7, G-20 or other formats – do not enjoy the best reputation among many citizens: grand meetings are seen as costly, over-staged and now harmful to the climate. One need not consider this criticism to be completely false in order to arrive at any other decision.
After all, the same rules apply to relationships in major politics as to one’s personal and professional life. And there too, it’s almost always better to talk to each other than not to. And trust can usually only develop if you sit face-to-face at least occasionally. In the best case, it creates mutual energy that makes something grow.
There are also personal encounters you really don’t miss: Angela Merkel with Donald Trump at the G7 summit in 2018. (Source: Imago Images)
of course that applies to them chancellor or us President Similar to employees of a German or American company: You will save yourself a lot of travel and personal meetings in future as things can be clarified easily through video conference. But when it comes to something important, such as an open, honest exchange, you will continue to meet in person whenever possible.
Because real proximity cannot replace DSL, no matter how fast.
Look any way you like on the weekend: make something out of it! At this point Florian Harms will write for you again on Monday.
Your
sven spoke
Managing Editor T-Online
Twitter: @SvenBoell
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