Making online meetings more efficient
As technology gets better, in-person meetings are becoming a thing of the past. Although virtual meetings are incredibly convenient, they leave a lot of room for distraction. When employees are in online meetings, they are typically multitasking. They are not fully engaged in the meeting. This lack of focus leads to more repetition during the meeting and subsequently, an inefficient meeting.
A recent article by Microsoft entitled “6 ways to make virtual meetings more efficient” described some helpful tips to keep your online meetings effective:
- Create an agenda
Although formal agendas have been associated with in-person meetings, they can also be useful for online meetings. Agendas help to describe the expectations of the meeting. They can help to fulfill the goals of the meeting. If you receive an agenda, always read it. Agendas help to make everyone aware of all the discussion topics, perspectives, and concerns so that nothing is a surprise during the meeting itself.
- Prepare your questions
Bring a list of questions to your online meeting with any background information relevant to your questions. Being prepared with questions will make it much easier to facilitate the discussion. You won’t be pressured to come up with questions on the spot.
- Troubleshoot your technology
If it’s your first online meeting or if you’ve done it a million times, be familiar with your technology. Troubleshoot to ensure that everything is working properly. Prior to your meeting, check your dial-in number, wi-fi, speakers, microphone, etc. Dial in to the conference early, especially if you are the meeting host.
- Share information
If you’re presenting information with any kind of visual or statistical information, send out information that others can see before the meeting. This way, they will be able to follow along when such items as discussed on the call. This can also avoid people getting lost or distracted. Another great way to keep people on track is to share your screen rather than just talk about such items. If you are sharing your screen, be sure to shut down email and messaging notifications to avoid others seeing your personal messages.
- Be direct
Virtual meetings can be difficult. Everyone may talk over one another. There may also be long and awkward pauses. It’s difficult to tell who is supposed to be speaking. It’s crucial to be direct. Ask questions specifically to whom you are addressing. Being direct will help to ensure that everyone can voice his or her opinions.
- Let your personality shine
Virtual, online, and telephone meetings can be difficult because you can’t always read someone’s body language and get instant feedback. You can’t always tell if they are following along as well. If they can’t follow along, they will more than likely lose focus. Let your personality shine through these meetings just as you would for in-person meetings. Also, maintain a high level of energy. It will keep people engaged rather than distracted.