COVID-19 changed the way we meet, at scale. While people used Zoom, Skype, and online meeting before, the world converted to doing online meetings all at once. Just with anything in life, change takes time, and it takes some figuring things out to get it right. While nothing every replaces meaningful in-person human connection, there are ways to make online meetings engaging and fun!
The following tips can help you run engaging online meetings:
Tip #1 Have a Purpose
Studies show that companies spend a ton of time, which translates into dollars, on meeting just to meet. Think about the purpose of your meeting and what each audience member will get out of it. If you can not identity a purpose that adds value to the people you are inviting, you are inviting them to meet just to meet, and this is a waste of people’s precious time. Great meetings have purpose and they leave others feeling a sense of purpose after the meeting is over.
Tip #2 Set an Agenda
Get organized and set an agenda so people know when they can contribute or if they can contribute in the meeting. The worst thing to do is invite really smart people to your meeting and not have the time to facilitate an exchange of ideas, perspective, strategy, and vision. Setting an agenda can also help you organize your thoughts on paper.
Tip #3 Start and End On Time
If you lead a meeting, it’s your meeting. Being late is not professional and shows a lack of respect to the people you invited to your meeting. Yes, people are busy and on back to back meetings. That’s why you need to set an agenda and know when to do time checks in your meetings. While setting a start and end time is essential, the most important element is knowing how to use your meeting time to drive people towards your desired outcomes. Knowing your desired outcomes ahead of time will allow you to facilitate stronger and more direct conversations, towards Tip #1, your purpose for meeting!
Tip #4 Send a Gift or Plan a Theme
One of the coolest things during my time working for Starbucks was the start of each meeting. Before starting a meeting, we would use this time to sample a new coffee and pair it with one of the many delicious food choices. We would discuss the flavor notes, the country of origin, and unique characteristics of the product. This made meetings fun and it also increased our knowledge of the products. Today, you can order champagne toast kits to candy, and more. Let your meeting guests know that they have a special surprise that is being sent their way and to hold onto their surprise until your meeting. You can build some anticipation of the meeting and what this gift box is all about. This keeps people engaged and feeling fresh when they meet. It also puts the human touch in that is lost when we can’t take a co-worker out to celebrate a birthday or big sales win. Sending a gift or planning a theme can make your meeting fun!
Tip #5 Allow the Option to Dial-In
Not everyone has a home like the CEO or senior leadership teams. People are embarrassed to be working from a one bedroom apartment or a studio with multiple roommates, who might also being working from home in expensive urban areas like San Francisco. The reality is this, not everyone wants to show you their home, because this is a private area of one’s life. Determine what meetings you’d like to see someone on camera, and let the others be optional so people have choice. Focus on desired outcomes instead of micromanaging every movement of your employees, and trust that they are doing their work, based on the results they deliver.
Tip #6 Learn the Art of Communication
When you are in a room you can pick-up on non-verbal communication and other behaviors that signal the engagement level of people. While video does not show everything, you can gauge how engaged your participants are by scanning the video boxes. If your audience looks bored, its on you to add more value and engage them. If you like to hear yourself talk, video is not the medium to do this. Remember, people are already use to watching fun videos and other entertaining things on their screen, so bring your A-game to each meeting to make it fun!
Tip #7 Facilitate Meaningful Conversations
If you want to talk at or to people, you will not get good results with online meetings. Learn how to speak with people and facilitate meaningful conversations. See what people are thinking, and if you can, encourage them to share their perspective. Remember, you’ll have to draw out things from people in your meetings just like you have to do in person. Allow time for people to respond and let them finish speaking before interrupting.
I hope these tips help you make the most out of the online work environment we are in today! If you have a great tip on how to make online meetings more engaging, leave them in the comments below ?
