Introduction
The modern-day work landscape has changed drastically, especially ever since COVID hit. With the rise in hybrid work culture, virtual meetings have become a part of our everyday work life, eliminating the barriers of distance and physical presence. While it does have the advantage of connecting remotely with anyone across the globe and saving travel time, let’s be honest—how many times have you sat through a virtual meeting that felt like a complete waste of time?
Hence, it is advisable to follow some of the best practices for virtual meetings to ensure they are productive, engaging, and efficient. Here are a few practices that we can follow:
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 Set a Clear Purpose and Agenda
Every virtual meeting should have a clear goal. Define and send out a detailed meeting agenda to help participants understand the main objective of the meeting and come prepared. Additionally, including time allocations for specific parts of the meeting can also help keep the meeting focused and efficient.
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Prepare and Test Your Technology
Before you hop onto any virtual meeting, always ensure your camera, microphone, and internet connection are working and stable to avoid technical delays. Also, ensure your selected video conferencing platform—be it Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet supports your VC needs.
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Create a Professional Virtual Environment
Your background creates an impression of your professionalism. Ensure that you take virtual meetings from a clean and well-lit space. If your surroundings are distracting, you can also use a professional virtual background that is neat and free from distraction.
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Be Mindful of Time Zones and Scheduling
Working with global teams can mean globally varying time zones. Always be mindful and considerate of time differences when scheduling virtual meetings. You can also use time converter tools to verify and find a convenient meeting time that suits you mutually. Also, ensure you specify the time zone of your meetings when scheduling to avoid confusion.
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Establish Clear Communication Protocols
Set clear ground rules for communication such as raising the hand to speak, staying on muting when not speaking, using the chat box for side discussions, usage of camera, etc. This helps maintain order and avoid chaos over online meetings.
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Start and End on Time
Respect everyone’s time by starting and ending meetings as per schedule. In case the discussion needs to be extended, try scheduling a follow-up meeting rather than running over time.
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Limit the Number of Participants
Too many participants in a virtual meeting can get chaotic and challenging to manage, leading to an ineffective meeting. Invite only those who are essential for the meeting so that keeping them engaged and interactive becomes easy to manage.
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Encourage Video Participation
Virtual meetings can make the speaker feel like they are talking to a blank screen if they do not receive any response from the other end. To tackle this, ask participants to turn on their cameras whenever necessary. This can help the speaker engage and communicate more effectively. As a participant, we can encourage the speaker by keeping our videos on when needed, and acknowledging them through visual cues like nodding and maintaining a good posture to convey active listening.
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Manage Screen Sharing Professionally
Can you imagine those times when someone shares their messy desktop screen with too many unwanted tabs open? Looks unappealing, right! Sharing your screen while on a virtual meeting can be a hassle if you have too many applications or tabs open in the background.
For seamless screen sharing, close all unwanted applications and keep only the required documents open and ready to share. Zoapi’s once-click share makes it all the more easy to manage virtual screen sharing! -
Engage Participants with Interactive Elements
Virtual meetings can easily get boring and monotonous as they are impersonal. Hence, take that extra step to keep participants engaged through interactive features like emoji reactions, polls, chat boxes, etc. Participants can also be encouraged to raise their hands to interact or be called upon by their names to ask questions.
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Assign Roles (Moderator, Note-Taker, Timekeeper)
To help keep meetings crisp and structured, you can also opt to assign certain people with designated roles like:
- Moderator to manage communication
- Note taker to record important points during the meeting
- Timekeeper to ensure the meeting stays concise and punctual.
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Record and Share Meeting Insights
Most video conferencing platforms today have the option to record a meeting. This feature comes in handy for members who weren’t able to attend the meeting or for participants who want to review it in the future. However, always ensure you have the consent of all participants in the meeting before you start recording.
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Summarize Key Takeaways and Next Steps
One of the most effective ways to wrap up a virtual meeting would be to summarize all the important points and action items discussed. This practice helps end the meeting on a clear note of the expected course of action and enables the retention of key takeaways. Sending a follow-up email with a meeting summary and assigned responsibilities can also boost accountability.
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Keep Meetings Concise to Manage Meeting Fatigue
An ideal meeting lasts upto 45mins and it is a fact that virtual meetings are more exhausting than physical ones because it involves constantly staring at a screen. Hence, the best way to manage this virtual meeting fatigue is by keeping meetings concise and taking small breaks between long sessions.
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 Gather Feedback for Improvement
Lastly, becoming proficient at virtual meetings doesn’t just end after hitting the “leave” button. It is important to seek feedback from attendees, stay updated on new collaboration tools, and be open to adapting your approach.
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Upgrade Your Virtual Meetings with Zoapi
Whether you’re a remote worker, team leader, or global professional, mastering virtual meetings is no longer optional, it’s essential. By implementing these 15 best practices for virtual meetings, you’ll not only improve meeting efficiency but also create more meaningful, engaging online interactions. Leveraging smart meeting solutions like Zoapi can further enhance your virtual meeting experience by providing seamless connectivity and collaboration tools.
So, embrace these strategies and watch your online collaborations reach new heights!
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