Whether you’re conducting an online team meeting for your company’s growth or your personal life, the right etiquette for such meetings is key to the success of the endeavor. Here are some tips for online team meeting etiquette:
Avoid multitasking
It may be tempting to take up another task while in a team meeting, but it can lead to missed information and even distractions. While video conferencing allows you to watch what everyone else is doing, it is not a good idea to multitask during an online team meeting. Video meetings are often more prone to being ignored than traditional meetings, due to the close-up view of the faces of the people you’re trying to interact with. In addition to the fact that video meetings can be difficult to attend to, multitasking is as damaging to your mental health as not sleeping.
| Have you tried Meetn, the new online meeting platform? It’s turning out to become a decent alternative to Zoom and to the other major platforms. |
In addition to reducing the effectiveness of your meetings, you’ll also hurt your work culture by distracting people and detracting from the overall work culture. If you have a team meeting, try to avoid multitasking during it to improve productivity and boost morale. Listed below are some ways to avoid multitasking while in a team meeting:
Avoid distracting factors
Web meetings are convenient, but they can be very distracting, particularly when you take into account all of the things you can do on the internet that can cause you to lose focus. One way to reduce the distractions you face while conducting your meeting online is to turn off your phone and computer notifications. This way, you can only respond to messages when the web meeting is finished. Also, try to keep as few things open on your screen as possible.
Avoid off-topic discussions
The biggest mistake that online team meetings make is allowing off-topic discussions. These discussions take up precious time and distract participants from the main purpose of the meeting. Avoid allowing off-topic discussions in your meetings by allowing them to unfold outside of the meeting. When possible, try to address such side conversations separately, allowing your team to focus more on the main topic. However, you must be vigilant and intervene when necessary.
Make sure you set a goal for each meeting. The purpose of the meeting should be clearly defined, so that participants know exactly what they are working towards. Highlighting this purpose before a meeting will help minimize the chance of discussions getting off-topic. When a meeting starts to get off track, ask whether the topic is related to the overall purpose and gently bring the conversation back to the core of the meeting. If not, redirect the discussion to another topic.
Create an agenda
Creating an agenda for an online team meeting is a great way to get your team to work together. Before the meeting, make sure you know the specific preparations you need to make, so everyone can attend and contribute their ideas. It is also helpful to list out who will be responsible for certain items, so everyone knows what to expect. Depending on the meeting, you might want to assign one person to lead certain topics, or assign someone else to manage other parts of the meeting. Once the agenda is finalized, it is time to choose the items that are most important for the meeting.
The agenda is also a great place to include any pre-reading materials that the participants will need before the meeting begins. This might be a presentation deck, additional context, or previous decisions. Having these materials available before the meeting starts can make it easier for the team to collaborate and reach a decision. As long as the team has everything they need to move the discussion along, the meeting will run more smoothly. Create an agenda for an online team meeting today.