Virtual meetings have existed since the 1990s, but their use has become more widespread and sophisticated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Schools and businesses switched en masse to video conferencing to continue the business, and even after the quarantine was lifted, the popularity of these meeting methods was largely retained.
But why are they still used, and how do you ensure their productivity? In this article, Real Business will outline the unique benefits of online meetings, including how to master them and measure results.
Why Choose An Online Meeting?
Virtual meetings allow individuals and businesses to meet and discuss important matters easily. Thanks to clear microphones and webcams with enhanced video quality being incorporated into many laptops, it’s easier now than ever to connect digitally to others without the need for additional hardware.
The reasons you should opt for video meetings are as follows:
- Flexibility – At the click of a button, businesses and individuals can host meetings between several people to discuss important matters. This means that meetings can be booked and initiated within a matter of minutes, sidestepping the need for booking a physical time and place in the future. Not only does this increase response times for urgent or otherwise important scenarios, but it also cuts the need for any travel, allowing you to use your business hours for business rather than avoidable travel.
- Logistics – Travel costs money, and some organisations or individuals that businesses interact with are not even in the same country. Video meetings address this perfectly, bridging the distance and eliminating the costs that come with venue costs.
- Scalability – Virtual meeting platforms can host anywhere from two people to hundreds, meaning you can not only replicate an in-person meeting but even widen their reach.
- Better communication – Virtual meeting software typically offers a range of tools that can improve communication and increase productivity, such as file and screen sharing. Sharing the contents of your laptop in an in-person meeting previously meant utilising projectors, but this quality-of-life feature makes it easier to share ideas straight from your hardware.
- Convenient tools – An online meeting platform has all the advantages of modern technology and more. For example, noise suppression can increase engagement by blocking out distracting sounds, and real-time translations can make it so that even people who do not speak the same language as you can share ideas accurately, and faster than having a translator.
What Are The Cons Of An Online Meeting?
As video meetings are used more extensively, many have highlighted downsides that get in the way. For example:
- Technical issues – The number one issue that can get in the way of a meeting agenda is technical issues, especially in cases where individuals are responsible for their own hardware as opposed to having one screen for an entire team. Issues can range from unstable internet to simply not being able to use features like file sharing either due to lack of experience, or incompatible software.
- Reduced engagement – No matter whether it’s team or Zoom meetings, it’s a fact that it’s harder to gauge body language and non-verbal cues over these virtual events. One of the more common expressions that is lost and reduced over video meetings are cues to speak, often resulting in slowed and clumsy communication.
- Meeting fatigue – The convenience of a video call typically means you can fit more meetings into a day, and it’s common for this to result in burnout.
- Lacking security features – Sometimes, improper implementation of waiting room passwords and other security features can lead to unauthorised access. This can range in consequences from vital information being leaked to outside parties, to bad actors deliberately causing grief (see the many YouTube Zoom workplace pranks exploiting poor security for laughs).
- Lacking personal interaction – The fact of the matter is that Zoom and team meetings do not hold the same quality of interaction as in-person meetings from a pure rapport-building standpoint. Whilst they are productive, it’s also less “human”, meaning they can’t replace real meetings for situations where trust or close work is required.
What Are The Best Tips For Successful Virtual Meetings?
The phrase “that meeting could have been an email” describes the sentiment of a lot of workers who experience poorly planned work meetings, and this translates just as well to virtual meetings. Abusing the convenience of video meetings can quickly lead to burnout, meaning it’s just as important if not more important to approach these gatherings with a good philosophy and etiquette.
Pre-Meeting Preparation
When preparing for a meeting, you need to identify the specific needs required by or for both meeting participants and the meeting agenda. For example:
- Required features – What exactly will your meeting consist of and require? Will this event require meeting participants to splinter off and speak amongst themselves via breakout rooms? Or will you need virtual whiteboards to create real-time brainstorming sessions?
- User accessibility – Try to gauge beforehand how experienced the meeting attendees are with virtual meetings, and choose your virtual meeting platform based on that information. Zoom meetings remain one of the most compatible platforms, due to their compatibility across devices and accessibility features like closed captioning.
- Understand the software – Practice using your chosen platform(s), testing features such as screen sharing and virtual backgrounds before your scheduled meetings.
- Meeting agenda – Having a clear meeting agenda ensures everyone joins the call on the same page. This gives the meeting direction from the start and allows people to prepare their documentation etc.
Optimise Virtual Environment
Hosting virtual meetings means being a conductor. By mastering your virtual surroundings, you can ensure your ability to direct the meeting is a lot more effective.
- Proper lighting – Place your light sources in front of you so that you can illuminate your face evenly, avoiding shadows that obscure your face. Natural light is more balanced. This is important to convey expressions properly, which aids in communication.
- Professional backgrounds – Using neutral or branded backgrounds can not only set the tone but also minimise the distractions that a lot of premium virtual backgrounds cause. Engagement is key in virtual meetings, as burnout is an ever-present threat to productivity.
- Noise suppression – Select a room with minimal background noise, or test and perfect the noise cancelling features present in your chosen virtual meeting platforms. By doing everything you can to minimise background interference, you increase your capacity for engagement.
Engage Participants Actively
The number one way to dull the effect of your online meetings is to fail to engage properly. This can cause participants to zone out, which is the exact opposite of what you want. Ensure that you:
- Promote video usage – Video meetings are as effective as they are because more than your ears and mouth are engaged in communication, which is why even courtrooms utilise virtual meetings for less severe legal matters. Lead by example, keep your camera on to set the standard and encourage, or mandate, others to follow suit. Address concerns regarding discomfort or technical issues to make the setting more palatable to those who are inclined otherwise.
- Collaboration tools – We have already covered that you should plan to use features available in your chosen online meeting platform, but using them ineffectively can hinder a meeting rather than help it. Plan when to use tools such as polls to break up monotony and promote engagement, and use the results of these features to further the conversation. Having people use the integrated chat to give reactions to foster a sense of active progression.
Communicate Efficiently
A huge part of creating engaging narratives, both fictional and non-fictional, is cutting out anything you don’t need. This is hard to pull off in real-time, but so long as you approach your online meeting with the mindset that you shouldn’t mince or waste words, you can go a long way in ensuring the time spent is worthwhile.
- Speak universally – When you speak, ensure you’re speaking with language that is directed at all participants rather than just to whom it may concern, even when you’re speaking directly to one person.
- Acknowledge participants – Including participants by name is a fantastic technique for ensuring relevancy. Instead of forcing it, try making small references to individuals when you bring up things related to them, such as when you speak of ideas you know specific members have an interest in.
- Check for understanding – Online meetings have phases, and when you transition between phases, asking if everyone understands or has anything to add saves time in the long run. Information missed means time wasted.
Manage Time Efficiently
Having meetings that were supposed to be an hour run on for an hour and a half is the most surefire way of making people dread having to log on to Microsoft Teams. A huge part of maintaining the integrity of your online meeting is to break it up into digestible chunks.
- Start and end on time – Set clear expectations for when the meeting is going to start and end. Have all necessary materials at hand and ready to get started right away.
- Avoid banter – Some banter is fine, especially at the start, but avoid allowing banter to interfere with the topics at hand. It derails the conversation and may require you to retread old ground, adding to the meeting time.
- Allocate time for each item – Outline specific topics with assigned time slots. It may be worthwhile to have someone monitor time for each, and it may take some practice to ensure your estimates are correct, but so long as you make a real effort, participants will notice.
- Ensure long meetings have breaks – For meetings that go on for more than an hour, burnout is inevitable. This is why you should have a quick break to break up the runtime and allow refreshment.
Follow Up After The Meeting
For meetings that have a lot to digest, it’s always worthwhile to ensure you follow up later on for comprehension’s sake.
- Send meeting minutes promptly – Aim to write up, finalise and distribute meeting minutes within 24 hours to ensure information retention. All action items should be clearly documented and detailed, with names being assigned where relevant for maximum efficiency.
- Track progress – Action items should be tracked when doing a follow-up. In particular, checking off completed items does a lot for morale. It shows that the video conferencing had a point, with work being done towards the goals.
When Should You Not Opt For An Online Meeting?
Video conferencing is convenient, but it’s not always the go-to answer. Knowing when to book a traditional face-to-face meeting goes a long way in demonstrating understanding and commitment.
- Hands-on requirements – Virtual meeting platforms may be sophisticated, but they can’t replicate the tactile or hands-on experience necessary for certain scenarios. For example, a product prototyping session that requires physical interaction with materials or equipment.
- Confidentiality – The more people that are inside your team meetings, the more potential there is for data leaks.
- Relationship building – If you are planning for a long-term relationship with a client, nothing beats personal interactions. Audio and video go a long way, but nothing beats the distance human connection can cover.
- Complex discussions – Discussions that require a lot of back and forth, especially for issues that some people may feel strongly about, are much more effectively done in person.
Conclusion
Virtual meeting software is developing and finding more widespread use within businesses, and features are becoming ever more sophisticated (see AI companion modules). But at the end of the day, an online meeting is only as good as your approach. As with everything, keep at it, and refine your performance to stay ahead of the curve.