More than the trust factor Yuan highlighted:
> to drive innovation that he claimed results from having more heated conversations and debates that just don't happen as often over Zoom. Yuan said that instead, to the seeming detriment of the company's ability to generate new ideas, "everyone tends to be very friendly when you join a Zoom call."
He's not wrong IMO.
I'll regularly get into these types of scenarios with colleagues and find them to be considerably easier to have in person versus over Zoom or Slack. It's very difficult to fully read someones body language or intent when remote but for me it's easier to go have this type of debate in person and then walk away on good terms or maybe just heading out for a walk together to cool off and rebalance.
I'm very much a "I need to come back to this in 12 months, do it properly" kind of person, while he just gets stuff working.
I've rejected PRs and spent many an hour bashing my head against the wall trying to explain these things to him, but at the end of the day we still have a beer after work and generally enjoy each others' company. Heated doesn't necessarily mean unfriendly
In a normal meeting your eye is not forced to look solely at a matrix of faces.
Your can focus on someones face if you wish but otherwise you are looking at the person normally from the waist up.
Looking at someones face forces you to make eye contact which has an emotional effect on the parties involved. Extended periods of eye contact is used in couples therapy to increase empathy and intimacy.