Beyond the Zoom room: The upside of meeting in person

We live in a time when many a conversation includes the words “before Covid” or “during the pandemic.” Many of us miss some parts of life we took for granted in the “before” period, but at the same time, we’ve come to see value in a few of the changes that resulted from the “during” period. Now, in the “post” period, we are trying to mix elements into our lives from the before and the during.

At West Coast Editorial Associates, we feel we’ve had some success at making a mixture that benefits the partnership.

In the before times, the WCEA partners met face to face quarterly to discuss our business, our projects, and the industry, as well as to socialize. Between those quarterly meetings we emailed and called each other to discuss various projects and other work-related items.

Then, in the during times, our in-person meetings came to a halt, of course, and we began Life on Zoom. None of us loved meeting over the internet, but doing so was de rigueur, and we quickly realized that we could chat more regularly as a group, which was a plus.

So, as well as discussing business quarterly, we began meeting monthly to share professional development ideas, learn more together about topics such as inclusive language and plain language standards, discuss the mindboggling technological changes appearing in (and in some cases assaulting) our profession, and sometimes just catch up on each other’s latest goings-on.

Now well into the post period, we have resumed our quarterly in-person meetings but also maintained our monthly online discussion and catch-up sessions. The mixture suits us all well, and we feel more connected with each other than at any time before.

Most recently, we chose to combine our quarterly business meeting with a long weekend retreat in Parksville, and by the time we said adieu, we all felt rejuvenated and invigorated by our conversations, beach walks, meals in and out, and exploration of local attractions.

The retreat was a wonderful reminder of how valuable it can be to occasionally pause regular routines to spend time together—the kind of together that simply can’t happen over a screen.

It also occurred to us that while many professional organizations and other groups are connecting with folks farther afield and finding new audiences thanks to the newfound comfort most people now have with online meeting spaces, there’s still a place for face-to-face gatherings. With this in mind, we began tossing around ideas at our retreat for another get-together, one that includes a wider group of professionals working with words.

Please stay tuned for more news to come!