Apply these 6 tips to make your virtual meetings better and more productive than ever!
Due to the ongoing pandemic, several people work from home and spend a significant amount of their time on meetings via video conference. This reality might not be changing any time soon hence the importance of making your virtual meetings better.
There is no doubt that virtual meetings are notably different from in-person interactions and usually end up being very bad. They are exhausting, often poorly executed, and lack constructive engagement.
This article aims to discover ways that can make virtual meetings better and more engaging.
Let’s start by discussing six practical tips to make those unbearable virtual meetings productive.
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6 tips to make your virtual meetings better
Tip 1: Encourage and Boost Engagement
The biggest problem caused by virtual meetings is the lack of engagement among video participants. This is owed mainly to the fact that it becomes very easy to get distracted and zoned out when you are one of a dozen faces on the screen. Several people start working on other things and lack engagement and attentiveness.
A virtual meeting that lacks engagement is merely an announcement. So what is the point of conducting one in the first place? If you are the only one talking, with a few exceptions, the same message could have probably been delivered via an email. An excellent way to encourage team members to share their thoughts is by asking them a question. Call on someone, and based on their answer, ask someone else’s viewpoint on what they think about the matter.
By doing this a few times, meaningful conversations will be fostered, and it will also let the team know that you value their opinions. Moreover, they will become accustomed to the fact that their participation is not just encouraged but also anticipated.
Tip 2: Keep it Short
The best tip to make your virtual meetings better is ensuring that the meeting is scheduled for the least amount of time required to accomplish the main objective. It becomes exhausting for people to sit in front of a screen for hours and often cause strain to the eyes.
Combat this issue by setting a time frame for the meeting and try your best to stick to it. If more time is needed to achieve the meeting’s objective, try to find an alternative time to pick up the conversation or make things even better by figuring out if the rest can be handled offline.
Likewise, if the meeting objective is achieved sooner than you expected, allow the participants to have their little slice of lives back.
Tip 3: Avoid Unnecessary Meetings
Although face-to-face communication is the most effective form of interaction; still, that does not mean every conversation or decision requires a virtual meeting. Some matters can be better resolved via emails or casual chats. Therefore, set up a virtual meeting only when it is essential and requires multiple perspectives to make an important decision. Otherwise, it is better to stick to other mediums of communication.
Tip 4: Be Purposeful
Before setting up a virtual meeting, make sure that it has a substantial purpose and plan. Inform all participants beforehand about the objective that needs to be accomplished by the end of the meeting. This will allow you and the other members to better prepare for the meeting and develop effective solutions to tackle the problem. Conducting a meeting without a proper plan will possibly lead to a significant waste of your and others’ time.
Tip 5: Use Available Tech Tools
Companies tend to have their preferred video conferencing apps, and each one has its advantages. As a result of technological advancements, there are a variety of live video tools that you can benefit from regardless of the app.
With a virtual webcam and live video software like ManyCam, you have access to features that make your virtual meetings more dynamic and engaging. Connect ManyCam to your video conferencing app and familiarize yourself with the features to make the entire process more fun and productive for everyone.
Some live video tools to use on ManyCam and enhance your virtual meetings are:
- Picture in picture layers to keep attendees engaged
- Virtual backgrounds to replace your background
- Add different video sources to your meetings
Here is a ManyCam demo on Zoom for you to get to know it a bit more:
Tip 6: Meetings Can’t Judge Productivity
It is crucial to understand that virtual meetings are not a parameter to judge productivity. An employee might attend five to six meetings and yet accomplish nothing by the end of the day. Confusing productivity with participation can be a grave mistake as it may hinder the efficiency of an employee. Therefore, do not conduct virtual meetings just for the sake of having one.
Final Thoughts
We hope the six tips mentioned above allow you to foster engagement among participants and ensure productivity during your future virtual meetings. Moreover, to achieve the most with your next meeting, download ManyCam for free and enhance your live video sessions by the plethora of features it offers.
What are your best tips to make virtual meetings better?
If you haven’t yet, download ManyCam for free today!
