We’re connected! And given the interconnectedness of today’s world, particularly within the virtual environment, we thought it timely to consider how to maximise participation in virtual meetings.
The catalyst to this was the desire to improve the weekly meeting I have with a team member in Malaysia. Scheduled on Friday afternoons at 3pm – we in NZ are winding down from an energetic week but in Malaysia, there are still some hours to go before that feeling sinks in…
So in an effort to improve the quality of these interactions we decided to research some handy hints. Luckily the internet provides screeds of advice, so we condensed some to make it simple.
Etiquette
As you would agree, like all modes of communication, etiquette is important during virtual meetings to promote a professional and productive meeting regardless of whether on the phone or a webinars – so the first obvious comment to note is that it is helpful to consider this interaction as though it’s a face-to-face interaction.
And a few quick tips to more professional virtual meetings:
- Staying engaged: To ensure people are focused throughout a call, keeping them on their toes to decrease the amount of time they spend multitasking. If you’re presenting, ask lots of questions and make calls as interactive as possible.
- Be organised: Send through a meeting agenda in advance. As attendees to come prepared with information they want to discuss in the meeting too. Not only will this help more people get involved, but it will also mean the meeting is likely to stay on track and not go off at tangents.
- Cut out the noise: You wouldn’t expect interruptions in a face-to-face meeting, so for those that are frequently on the move and have to take conference calls on the run, make sure conference details are included in the Outlook invitation, along with instructions to mute/un-mute their line to block out background noise.
- Seeing is believing: With technology opening up more doors than ever before, the ability to use web conferencing in conjunction with the telephone means that it’s possible to see people on webcams throughout the meeting too. Having some face-to-face time makes things far more personal.
Collaboration technology is making it easier than ever before to connect with clients, customers and colleagues, regardless of distance. Simple things such as muting your phone or minimising your email and instant messaging pop-ups will help you to have a more professional meeting.
