Just bought my first Go board and stones! 
What would you say is the biggest difference between playing in real life vs playing online?
Is there a poker face element when playing in person as I imagine there might be, more suspense or sense of victory?
And finally any tips on convincing people to learn to play Go as where I live it’s practically non-existent but could suggest it to some of my friends who now see it as “That weird Chinese game you play” lol
Peace 
More respect and interest in your opponent. Rewiew is much easier too.
For getting people to play, have your set with you, short intro of the game and the rule (don’t talk about ko and seki) and play!
Convince is a wrong idea, people will like it or not, but that’s more linked to their own taste, personality.
A suggestion: bring your go set to some cafeteria in a university. Some uni have a room for foreigner students too, which sometimes is filled by Asian students (Korea, China…)…
Last, contact the go federation of your country, there is one almost everywhere. They can provide you with more contacts, help and advices.
I find IRL play more relaxing due to the human connection involved. Also, I’ve mentioned in another thread that I am able to see the board better IRL because of the tangible quality, but that may be because i am old and am not really comfortable online.
I found it weird to play in real life because I was used to the top down view from playing on ogs for so long.
But it’s easier to play in real life, and it’s more fun.
Body language is a big part of in-person play. You miss all of it online, such as how they place their stones, where their eyes go during their turn (and during yours), and what they do with their hands.
Much greater human connection IRL.
I’ve found my reading strength will swing wildly between the two depending on which I play more, I think maybe because the different perspective affects pattern recognition or something…
Yes, you can not just read the games, but also read the opponent. How you act and dress is also a part of the game in person. My opponents usually don’t expect me to be suddenly aggressive if they haven’t played with me before.
And in a ko fight, during time pressure, it’s easy to get away with confidence fake threats if you are quick and calm enough.
That exists in chess but not in go, well not in english at least: we miss a book about go and psychology.
(Btw It’s the only chess book i very quickly read as a 1 elo chess player)
I weirdly found that I missed some threats when I started IRL games due to the different 45° viewing angle as opposed to the top view in front of the screen 
Biggest difference between playing IRL vs online: when I play online, it’s mainly about the Go; when I play IRL, it’s mainly about having fun with my friends. Sure, there is an element of social connection online, but it’s just not the same as seeing familiar faces, feeling the tension together, and laughing about it afterwards.
There is a good reason why some players would just move closer and closer, and lean forward to the board as the game progress.
As an 7-9 kyu player, I pick my fights and strategies differently, because - without the online tool of analyze mode - I avoid situations that require complex reading or tricky tsumego type situations. My ability to read things in my head is just far below my abilities with that visual tool
I mostly try to play a strong opening/midgame, and then focus on big moves/solid moves rather than more risky tactics/strategies
I find it enjoyable to play a light-hearted game in person with friends, much more enjoyable than playing online.
I have a board and stones and have tried to get my friends to play with no success.
I hope you are able to find people that want to play.
IRL beers during/after a match taste better than the online beers.
In real life you do not see the shadow of a stone where you are about to move (and waving stones above the board tends to irritate your opponent), so you have to read one move further in your head and are less likely to spot a blunder at the last moment. But in both situations the ideal way to play is not to start to make your move until you have definitely decided where to play.
@Groin: Review is easier to understand and discuss in real life, but it only works if you can remember or have recorded the moves! I am terrible at remembering my games and even what I was thinking when I see my move again later (probably something I ought to work on, though I am not sure how).
Using an analysis tool makes a completely different game of it. To me it would feel a bit like cheating, but if you and your opponent are happy with it, then fair enough.
I feel it has different effect for those who learn early on with real board and who learn online (especially the critical period learning to read ahead). Compare pros who mostly compete in real life before COVID (but are now forced to compete online with broadcast including live footage), and those who stream Go, one big difference is pros almost always move their mouses till the last few seconds before making a move (which contributes quite a few overtime incidents early on), but not for players who mostly play online. Although a few younger pros start streaming regularly in recent years also pick up this habit of using mouse to read (at first just for showing their reading, but later more and more like a ritual… duk, duk, duk)
During these special time of covid/online games are there players who chose to still play on a board but then with a video transmission, instead of directly on a screen (via a go server)? Is that possible in online tournaments ?
It’s one of the skills that requires hard labor. One of the first things to do is to review with your opponent right after the game, and both can help each other picking up critical moments during the game. The second is to record the game sequence (still a literal mandatory paper work in some large tournaments where players have to write them down after each game), and sometimes it would requite records from both sides to correct some sequences. And the third is to replay many many famous games over and over, move by move, which is still one of the rigorous training homework in many Go schools.
People don’t learn this overnight, and over time forget most of them, and a few noncritical exchanges out of order is very normal. But as players get stronger, the intention of each move will be more and more well-defined and clear, which also make them easier to remember.
When you play tournaments often (or when you play at the go club that two-stones-stronger player you so want to win one day) which means you play very seriously putting a lot of effort to do your best with a generous time setting, and then you review the game just after with a motivated player like you were, It’s not that difficult to remember your moves, at least until late middle game.
To rebuild the game, you try to follow your ideas you had. It’s not an exercise of pure memory (like for a list of names).
The effort to retrieve these ideas you had when playing each move is very valuable and a good preliminary to discuss these with your opponent.
For the very last moves (yose) you have still the stones in front of you to help too.
It’s true that a recording is convenient (which is automatically provided with online play.) but you lose the opportunity of that “retrieving the move” exercise.
The few times i tried was really painful. It took away an important part of my focus, generated sometimes time management problems, was not funny in itself and on top of that i didn’t use these kifus afterward that much!