For a lot of companies, running virtual meetings is the only way to manage cross-team communication. However, there are several challenges that come with attending online meetings. Usually, remote employees zone out or feel excluded from the conversation unless others force them to actively take part. If you are wondering how to lead a virtual meeting, here are some of the best techniques you can use:
Ensure the AV Setup is Perfect
You don’t want the technology to fail you. Thus, before you start the meeting, ensure everything works perfectly. If you will be running virtual meetings or hybrid meetings, look for a dependable and easy-to-use tool with excellent video and sound quality. Start the conference calls a few minutes early so remote colleagues have enough time to join and set things up on their end before the official start of the meeting. Also, as you test out your technology, ensure all meeting participants can hear you well.
Always Give a Warm Welcome
As your colleagues are joining the virtual meeting, give them a warm welcome and encourage participation. If you are meeting with more than ten people online, try to start the meeting by going through the list of participants and greet them by name. The reason is that you may not be able to see everyone who has joined a big group meeting.
Encourage Everyone to Turn their Cam On
To ensure you don’t forget someone from the group, try to encourage your team to turn their cameras on. Seeing people’s faces and reactions will help everyone become more aware of their presence and leads them to interact with their colleagues more. Also, it makes your meetings more personal for both sides and helps you to lead more productive discussions.
Give All Participants a Voice
To help your colleagues feel included, address them directly and encourage them to chip in with their ideas or comments. Consider asking them a certain question. If you are meeting with a bigger group, try to have a facilitator for the remote team to engage colleagues and drive discussions among them.
Ban Multitasking
Although multitasking is a way to get many things done at once, it can also be a way to do a lot of things poorly. It can prevent some of the meeting participants from focusing on the discussions and helping to achieve the meeting goals. You must set a firm policy that multitasking is not acceptable because everyone should be mentally present.
