Most companies believe that they should be focusing more on virtual meetings, particularly due to the squashed budgets and fall in attendees. And although companies all want to be taking advantage of virtual meetings and have all the technology they need to do so, they just don’t know how to use it.
According to Michael Schüller (VP EMEA Meetings & Events, American Express) and Peter Manning (Director of Corporate Groups and Events, American Express) who spoke at International Confex; companies need to have a strategy or policy in place for virtual meetings as content and presentation are completely different than with face-to-face events.
So here are a few tips to get you started with virtual meetings:
Preparation for virtual meetings should be done thoroughly prior to the time set for the meeting. All participants should be emailed all the essential information of the meeting such as agenda, titles and names of other participants. Ensure all attendees have all the required software and hardware to effectively take part in the meeting as well as the login and password to join.
Identify and introduce all attendees at the beginning of the meeting. Solicit participation and ask attendees to be vocal - regularly ask attendees if they have comments and encourage participants to post a message or join in the conversation.
The venue from where you host in the virtual meeting greatly influences the success or failure of the meeting. Ensure that you find a quiet location so that participants can communicate with each other clearly.
Consider the different time zones of all the attendees. Set a time when all the participants will be available without having to wake up at night or be forced to arrive at work earlier than usual.
Just like other meetings, virtual meetings should have a start time and end time. All attendees should be available at the start of the meeting for better follow up. Good collaboration is the key to success of virtual meetings.
Regardless of the place you attend a virtual meeting it is prudent to follow proper meeting etiquette. You should stay focused on the meeting and avoid distractions, such as answering calls or checking emails while the meeting is in progress.
Are you already running virtual meetings? Or are you planning to run them? If you find these tips useful or you have any useful tips yourself please get in contact.
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