End Zoom gloom: 5 tips for better virtual meetings
If it was a struggle to get people engaged in meetings before the coronavirus, it’s probably a Herculean effort to get them engaged in virtual meetings.
“Most still see online as ‘less than,’” says Stephanie Scotti, a communication and presentation advisor at Professionally Speaking and the author of Talk on Water.
“It doesn’t have to be that way. Virtual events can be as effective, vibrant and engaging as their in-person counterparts.”
Here’s how to set up a solid virtual meeting and get employees to participate and engage with the content and each other.
Aim to connect, not perfect
Give employees links to apps and platforms – Zoom, Skype, Google Meets, etc. – you’ll use, instructions on how to launch them, plus links to other resources. Then be prepared for tech issues … because they almost always happen.
In meetings, move on if you can’t share a screen, audio gets clipped, videos don’t play, etc. Keep people focused on the meeting objective, not the technology that supports it.
Keep it simple
Virtual team meetings that get off track are even more useless than in-person meetings: People are less likely to refocus when things go off the track when sitting at their computers than if they were physically together.
So, set a clear, simple goal for each meeting and leave the complex information and learning for self-study and in-person sessions down the road.