Online meetings are a great way to engage with remote employees without the hassle of travel. However, they require a bit of forethought and effort to be effective.
Here are a few tips to help you conduct your online meeting the right way. Start with a well-defined agenda, prepare your system in advance, and make sure you have a moderator to keep things flowing smoothly.
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Have a well-defined agenda.
A well-defined agenda ensures that meetings are focused and productive. It also helps attendees understand their role and how to contribute.
A meeting can become a complete waste of time for employees if there is no clear purpose or goal. This is why it is important to write down the purpose and goals of every meeting.
You should also assign a specific time for each agenda item or discussion topic. This will help your team members stay on track and prevent a backlog.
Prepare your system in advance.
The best way to conduct a successful online meeting is to prepare your system in advance. That includes the hardware – a camera and microphone – as well as software and a plan for how you will engage with participants. It’s also a good idea to choose a location with a high internet speed so you won’t be hampered by a slow connection.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of an online meeting is the ability to interact with colleagues on a more personal level. There are many tools out there to help make it happen. Some even offer features not found in the traditional conference room – like video conferencing and mobile app support.
Appoint a moderator.
When conducting online meetings, appoint a moderator who will keep the meeting on track and give participants their time to speak. This is particularly important during online meetings as there are a number of factors that can disrupt communication such as Internet connectivity and audio/video quality.
In addition, a moderator will need to be able to ask questions, answer them and ensure that everyone is on the same page. This can make the online meeting experience a lot smoother and more effective.
Time-cap your meetings.
One of the most important aspects of conducting online meetings is time-management. A well-timed meeting may not only enhance productivity but also improve morale and reduce distractions.
Limiting the length of the discussion is the simplest way to ensure that everyone gets a chance to speak their mind without feeling like they’re in the limelight.
If you’re looking for a clever way to squeak out the most time for the buck, look no further than Dialpad’s meeting countdown timer. It’s the perfect tool to help you plan and execute the best online meeting of your career. The best part is it can be set to a variety of parameters, including duration and recurrence.
Avoid distractions.
When you are conducting an online meeting, you need to avoid distractions to keep the conversation going. These distractions can include chat apps, email, and other tabs open on your computer.
These distractions can disrupt the flow of the meeting and may also make it difficult for you to hear your colleagues. To prevent this, you should mute the microphone when you are not speaking or if someone is talking in the background.
Ask for action items.
In the world of online meetings, it’s common for topics to veer off track or participants to become distracted. This can be frustrating for both meeting leaders and attendees, especially if you’re hoping for progress from the meetings.
In order to keep meetings focused and productive, you need to ask for action items from your team. This ensures that everyone is on the same page with what needs to be done and when.