Most companies have moved to remote-work models, so most meetings are taking place via virtual conference applications. Don’t let this shift have negative impact on your business practices. Optimize your virtual meetings with these quick tips.
Establish “House Rules”
To keep everyone on the same page and keep the meeting running efficiently, establish rules for the meeting. Some helpful rules include:
- Create a meeting agenda and send it out ahead of your meeting. Inform participants of any pre-work that needs to be done, so everyone comes prepared to contribute to the meeting.
- Create time allotments for each topic and assign a timekeeper to manage the time for efficiency.
- Ask participants to mute their microphone when not talking to avoid distracting background noise.
Encourage Participation
Keep the discussion open by encouraging every participant to share their ideas and opinions. Some ways to encourage participation include:
- Open the meeting with introductions. Say hello or ask specific questions to individuals to make them feel included.
- Call on individuals for their input on a topic. Assigning pre-work helps to make sure participants aren’t caught off guard.
- Assign an individual to lead a certain portion of the meeting.
Wrap Up and Assign Next Steps
At the end of the meeting, it is important to recap important takeaways from the conversation to ensure alignment and clarity on next steps.
- Review next steps and assign tasks so participants have a clear understanding of their responsibilities.
- If there are areas that need further clarification, set a meeting to continue the conversation.
- Set the next meeting during the call. Have everyone pull up their schedules to eliminate back and forth email communications.