What does it take to host a good online meeting? I’ve been running into some issues when using Zoom as a host, people getting distracted, lack of motivation, lack of participation etc, and looking for ways to prevent them. What kinds of issues have you been running into, especially as a host of a meeting or a workshop, and how have you been dealing with those situations? Saving Changes...
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Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Dawid,
online meetings do not forgive lack of preparation and followup. The meeting itself then is easy.
Follow standard meeting wisdom.
Make it easy for participants, make them feel valued and welcome, engage with them upfront. Agree on an agenda and send it out days before. Limit the number of participants. Talk to key people 1:1 before. Send out minutes the same day, latest after 24 hours. Do a debrief with key people.
Make sure upfront technology works, maybe send out a guidance before (no 'you are muted'). Make sure you love the audience. Start with a relationship topic, use the chat, involve everybody.
If they do not open the video, they probably lack trust. You cannot force it.
Thomas pointed out many good tips. I actually became so frustrated with ineffective meetings many years ago that I wrote my own meeting manifesto containing many of the same point.
The first thing I focus on is making sure the content is valuable enough that people realize participation well worth their time. That takes preparation. I try to always start on time (which might be 5 minutes after the hour for people switching between meetings), but then we roll through an agenda with assigned times so people who can't attend the whole meeting know when the key topics touching them will be discussed. I try to follow the set agenda rather than devolving into a stream of consciousness discussion.
Since I find structure helps productive meetings, offsetting that by starting off with something lighthearted or a relationship topic as Thomas mentioned helps set a more engaging tone. We can discuss serious business and have fun at the same time. It also helps if you have others discuss their own issues, rather than you lecturing the whole time. If you get others engaged and sharing, you can often referee much of the discussion rather than digging for inputs. People love to talk about themselves, so use that to your advantage. It's harder to manage time that way, but that's the balance you need to find because the more engagement you get, the more people will take away from the meetings. Saving Changes...
1. Use multiple methods for engagement - video, audio, polls, games
2. Lots of micro-breaks. When I teach or do virtual workshops, I give a 5-10 minute break at the top of each hour.
3. Consider use of a virtual collaboration tool such as Miro or Mural as it can act as a good platform for active engagement
Kiron Saving Changes...
Anton OosthuizenSenior Business Analyst / Project Manager| Self EmployedPretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Lack of participation and distractions are not so much a symptom of disinterest i.e. thinking that the meeting is not worth my time, as it is a symptom of us overestimating our ability to multitask. Much like using your mobile phone and driving most of us think that it is well within our ability to respond to emails while attending a meeting. IT IS NOT!
Try rotating responsibilities when it is a long (30 min) meeting. These responsibilities could be for people to share documents during a specific agenda topic, so instead of you doing everything you just facilitate. If you know that you will be called upon to do something at any moment you tend to be more present. Saving Changes...
Andrew SoswaTechnology leader| Leading global financial institutionElk Grove Village, Il, United States
Professional Metaverse. Working on delivering this presentation soon. Saving Changes...
Peter RapinSubject Matter Expect; Project Delivery| Independent ConsultantOntario, Canada
I recognise that the initial question relates to 'online meetings' however the same issues are present for regular meetings. If one can't run a regular meeting don't expect online to be any better - in fact its harder to maintain group interest as there is more opportunity for distraction. Instead of playing with your pen, doodling, or even having a snooze you can be occupied with many activities off-camera.
Any good meeting needs structure, content and active participants. If anything positive comes out of online meetings it is a return to these basics. Maybe we can bring this back to the table when life returns to normal. Saving Changes...
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