Effective Strategies for Leading Better Virtual Meetings
If you’re more used to in-person meetings, you might
struggle to adapt to virtual ones. However, virtual meetings seem here to stay and you need to improve your virtual meeting-leading skills.
As a project manager, it’s your job to organize a productive
and efficient virtual meeting no matter how frustrating you find it.
The most common issues with virtual meetings are fragmented,
other times people talk over each other or the louder ones dominate the
conversation. Whatever the case, if not organized well, virtual meetings can be
messy and a complete waste of time.
To help you avoid issues like this, here are all the
strategies to help you lead better virtual meetings.
Ensure that a meeting is essential
Before you roll up your sleeves and organize a virtual
meeting, start by determining if and why the meeting is necessary. The best way
to improve the meeting quality is to reduce the number of bad or unnecessary virtual meetings.
You can evaluate whether or not having a meeting will
benefit your team. If all the information you need to share can be easily
discussed or shared via an email, or some other channel, try those routes
first. Only if you notice that not everyone has understood your message the
best, do you have a good reason to hold a meeting.
Prepare the meeting agenda in advance and share it with everyone
If you’ve concluded that the meeting is truly necessary,
next up is creating the meeting agenda. Never start a meeting without a clear
agenda that you’ve shared with the rest of your team.
The meeting agenda usually consists of a short set of
talking points that will inform all the meeting participants what will be
discussed. The goal of the agenda is to provide your team with advance notice
so they can prepare effectively. When everyone knows what the meeting is about,
there’s less chance of it being chaotic and going off the topic.
Choose the right meeting technology
If you want to lead successful and efficient meetings,
choosing the right technology is crucial. However, choosing one won’t be easy
because there are so many meeting software and tools to choose from.
To find which one suits you and your team best, you’ll have
to try out a few options. The most common options include Skype, Zoom, and
Google Hangouts. When trying them out, look for specific features that can be
useful to you and your team.
The best way to find the perfect meeting software is by
experimenting with your team. If you find one that has everything you need and
is easy to use, that’s the one for you.
Set some ground rules
The best way to keep your meetings organized and orderly is
to set some ground rules with your team.
For instance, ask all meeting participants to log in five
minutes early to the meeting, ask them to mute the line when not speaking, and
encourage everyone to actively participate in the meetings. On top of
everything, encourage courteous behavior and application of virtual meeting
etiquette.
Allocate specific speaking time for each participant
In virtual meetings, it’s harder to know when someone is
about to speak due to the lack of non-verbal cues. In turn, this can lead to
miscommunication and feelings of exclusion.
Your job as a leader is to foster an inclusive atmosphere
where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts. Promote open dialogue,
practice active listening, and show empathy. Utilize video conferencing to help
close the communication gap and strengthen connections within the team.
Work on your leadership skills
As the leader of the meeting, everyone will be looking to
you for guidance. So it's crucial to acquire the skills and tools necessary to
excel in this role.
First of all, make sure you’re completely familiar and comfortable
with virtual meeting software, its features, and tools. This will make leading
the meetings so much easier.
Then ensure you know how to create a comfortable
environment. If participants are meeting for the first time, encourage everyone
to relax and get to know each other before you start talking business. To
achieve this, you can incorporate some ice-breaker games.
Overall, it’s important to know how to create an inclusive
atmosphere where everyone will feel comfortable sharing their thoughts.
Be mindful of the time
Make sure your meetings stick to the planned meeting
duration. This will show your team that you respect their time.
To be able to do this, you’ll need to keep the discussion on
track and avoid getting into unrelated topics. Streamlining meeting lengths can
enhance efficiency and boost productivity throughout the organization.
Try to use a consistent meeting schedule. You can schedule
weekly, bi-monthly, and post-project meetings and be consistent with them. This
will help your team manage their workload around the meeting time and help them
be prepared for the meetings. Unplanned meetings can still happen but they
won’t be as frequent.
Encourage breaks
Extended virtual meetings can cause reduced focus and
fatigue. Encourage your team members to take brief breaks during longer
sessions to refresh their minds. You can also include team-building activities
or icebreakers to sustain energy.
Go a step further and adopt audio-only breaks - turning off
the video occasionally can help alleviate visual overload.
Follow up
Once the meeting is done, you should share with your team
key information and other action items. This will help everyone on the team
clarify any potential confusion.
You can also leave the meeting recording, in case someone
needs to refer back to it.
Lastly, ensure your follow-up includes a request for
feedback. The point of feedback is to find out from your team if they think the
meeting was effective and how you can improve future meetings.
Conclusion
Virtual meetings have become a cornerstone of today’s
collaboration. Your goal, as a meeting leader should be to organize a
successful and productive meeting. With these strategies, you’ll be able to
streamline your virtual meetings and make them more efficient, enjoyable, as
well as productive.