In this current era of virtual work with teams spread out all over the place for the foreseeable future, knowing how to make the most of these new *virtual* meetings is more important than ever.
As the Center for Creative Leadership’s (CCL) Jerry Abrams notes, “In the midst of the pandemic, working from home has become the norm, not the exception, really necessitating the need to excel at virtual communication. Even though we’re not as comfortable with [virtual communication] as we are with sitting around the conference table, this form of communication isn’t going away anytime soon.”
Guess who’s pretty much the best at virtual communication? Yep, you guessed it. We are.
Not to brag, but as a 100% virtual firm with teams in North Carolina, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Connecticut, Tennessee, and Illinois (and reach and relationships across the country and the world) we’ve been doing this whole virtual meetings thing since day one. We’ve learned a few things in the process that we’ve distilled into 6 tips to ensure you have some best practices to employ next time you have to jump in front of the screen.
Tip #1: Set the scene.
Starting off with one of the most obvious tips, make sure your surroundings embody the aesthetic and level of professionalism you hope to portray. Carefully curated bookshelves or gallery walls tend to be a popular backdrop choice, but be careful they aren’t too distracting. With too many things in the background to look at, your fellow meeting goers might zone out while checking out the details of your space. Ensure the area is well lit, as good lighting can make up for even the lowest-quality laptop cameras. Natural lighting is often best. If you can, sit with a window to your side, rather than behind you.
Tip #2: Agendas are a virtual meeting’s best friend.
While having a detailed agenda to structure a meeting is a general meeting best practice, it’s even more important when things are virtual. Without an agenda, it’s easy for virtual meetings to go haywire, especially among a larger group, perhaps going into tangents that really only need to involve a few people on the call instead of the entire group. The agenda for the meeting should go out at least 24 hours (ideally, 48 hours) in advance of the meeting to give everyone time to prepare any materials, obtain needed information, or contribute edits or additions to the agenda.
Not only does the agenda allow participants to get organized and come prepared to the meeting, but it also provides an excellent template for an appointed attendee to add notes and action items during the meeting and disseminate it amongst meeting attendees afterward, emphasizing the next steps.
Tip #3: Pay Special Attention to Nonverbals that will keep your audience engaged.
It’s hard enough to keep people’s attention face-to-face. Add in a computer screen, kids home from school, and pets and your odds of full engagement dwindles. But here are several things our friends at CCL highlighted that you can do to increase your chances of engaging your audience virtually:
- Convey enthusiasm about the topic you’re presenting. If you’re bored, your audience will pick up on that.
- Vary the pitch, volume, and pace of your speaking. Speak at an audible, but not extremely loud, level so that your volume doesn’t detract from your message.
- Be appropriately “animated” by tailoring your behaviors to reinforce your message and content.
- Speak with your hands too, using gestures to reinforce your words.
- Be aware of and use facial expressions to reinforce your points.
- Increase your use of present tense verbs and inclusive pronouns like “we” and “our.”
- Look directly at the camera (not your screen) for several seconds at a time when speaking. We’ve found that if you place the screen that includes the attendees in the proximity of your camera, it makes it more comfortable to look at the camera.
- Lean in towards the camera to reduce the sense of “distance” between you and the audience.
- Use nods appropriately to acknowledge others’ feelings and thoughts.
- Avoid holding your posture rigid, frequently shifting, or appearing tense.
- Refrain from “nervous” actions like playing with your hair or fidgeting.
- Maximize your speaking fluency by eliminating stutters, omissions, repetitions, or noticeable pause fillers (um, er, ah…).
Many of these may seem overly simple or obvious, but that’s why they are ever the more important to pay attention to since nonverbal cues do not always translate effectively over technology. Overemphasizing some of these small details can make a difference in keeping your audience actively engaged.
Tip #4: Involve all attendees.
In virtual meetings, it’s sometimes hard to know when to talk so as not to interrupt or talk over another member. If you’re leading the meeting, be sure to actively engage all audience members, asking questions and soliciting opinions that involve everyone. It’s also helpful to request in advance that everyone turn their video function on unless they are absolutely unable. It makes for more engaging virtual meetings if there are real people in the boxes instead of names or stagnant photos.
Tip #5: Consider upgrading your tech.
If you’re doing more than participating in small meetings (think: leading webinars or virtual training), it might be worth it to consider investing in some upgraded audio or visual technology. This article from Time offers some ideas in this area, including different webcams, webcam software, or high-tech microphones.
If you don’t have the means (or desire) to upgrade your tech, then even plugging in a set of headphones with a mic often helps improve sound quality.
Tip #6: Consider the logistics.
Who’s leading the meeting? Does the calendar invite include a link and clear instructions on how to join the meeting and at what time? (Make sure to consider team members in different time zones on this point.) Is the person leading the meeting familiar with the chosen platform? Are they confident using features like “mute all” to parlay distracting noises? Do they know how to “let people into the room” if the meeting is set up like that?
Depending on the platform you’re using (Zoom, Google Meet, Webex, etc.), you may want to consider adding a passcode to your meeting room to avoid the modern “zoom-bombing” phenomenon where random strangers are able to pop into your private meeting uninvited.
All in all, you too can avoid the typical “Could’ve been an email” trope by employing any number of these tips to your virtual meetings.