The Downtown Lowdown Podcast features everything new in business, events, development, and issues that affect Downtown Halifax.
Sara Ericsson sits down with Ivy Ho, the DHBC's Director of Communications and meeting organizer to talk about her experience meeting live and face-to-face.
“You can’t really replace that face-to-face interaction. We’re doing interviews, we’re talking, and it’s all about connecting with others, so it’s really important to be in person. We also need to be a leader in showing people we can do meetings in person, safely, especially with a big meeting room like this at the Marriott. We’re really pleased we were able to do this.”
“Virtually, there’s always a little piece that’s awkward when you’re doing it over videoconferencing. You can’t replace that face-to-face interaction. It’s really important, and I think humans by nature gravitate towards that.”
“Here, we just talk – it’s casual, it’s informal, we can interact more easily – because there are fewer barriers to communication.”
“I really want to emphasize this. I put in the request, and they took care of the rest. Jessica Muzzerall, with the Marriott, took care of it all. They had safety protocols in place already, so I didn’t have to worry. They actually thought through it already and organized it all and arranged it for us.”
“They knew exactly what we needed and arranged it all, with hand sanitizer everywhere and staff wearing masks. I didn’t have to worry about it – I knew we were in safe hands, literally,” she says.
“Yes, definitely. We’re definitely considering in more in-person meetings, or a hybrid of in-person and virtual meetings – we’ll just have to see as the meetings go on. This is our first, but it won’t be our last.”