As remote work is largely becoming the standard way to hold team meetings, companies and numerous industries increasingly need video conferencing applications such as Zoom, Skype, GoToMeeting, and FaceTime to hold their group sessions. While the purpose of video calls is to bridge physical distances and increase social interaction, for many, the countless Zoom meetings, video conferences, and virtual team-building events are becoming exhausting and emotionally draining.
For that reason, listed below, you’ll find a helpful, easy-to-apply virtual meeting guide to best practices applicable to your next video call.
Prepare and circulate the agenda before the meeting.
Agendas help to keep Zoom meetings on track and make them more productive. Prepare your plan beforehand and then distribute it to all attendants to allow participants to become familiar with the topic being discussed and formulate their opinions.
Trim your list of attendants.
Is everyone on the invite list actively required to attain your meeting’s goal? If the goal is collaborative, limit the discussion to five to seven individuals. Otherwise, you may end up having a large number of people at the conference and only a few contributing.
Start the Zoom meetings early.
Generally, people crave connection, especially when working across different locations. Therefore, it’s important to always arrive 10 to 15 minutes early for Zoom meetings so you can say hello and chat with the folks.
Making a personal connection is a fantastic approach to developing rapport and bonding with your team, resulting in a more effective session. It also discourages casual chatter from consuming meeting time.
Establish Rules.
At the start of a meeting, ensure that everyone is on the same page about expectations and time. For example, inform attendees if you’ll be calling for participation so that they are not caught unaware. You could also request that they put away gadgets and refrain from doing any other work.
Assign Responsibilities.
For the Zoom meetings to run more smoothly, assign a co-host to take over if you experience technical difficulties, a moderator to track and reply to chats, and a coordinator to keep track of time and write notes.
Collect Feedback.
Regular feedback sessions can assist you in assessing the various difficulties that your team is facing. If the group is still getting used to working remotely, take advantage of the transition time to improve your video conferencing efforts. Inquire with your staff about what is and isn’t working.
Here are some questions to get you started. Are you having trouble connecting to the calls? Was the meeting valuable, or could the topics discussed have been addressed through email? Do you require us to include muting rules?
Demonstrating to the team that you care about making Zoom sessions effective can go a long way.
Conclusion.
For many companies, getting the hang of virtual meetings is a learning opportunity. By consistently employing best practices, your team will eventually discover that they can function just as efficiently as if they were in the office, if not more.