49: Engaging and Productive Virtual Meetings

Virtual meetings are laden with problems. Incorrect or missing call-in numbers, strange echoes, and the occasional choppy connection delay and interrupt what is already a difficult situation. But even without technological issues, virtual meetings have all the typical challenges of in-person meetings and more. So how do we make virtual meetings engaging and productive?   Get the free mini-guide with suggestions for virtual meeting practices and how to use technology to enhance your online gatherings.   When you join the Modern Manager community, get the full guide with step-by-step instructions for using Trello to facilitate brainstorming, along with access to prior episode guides and guest bonuses.   Subscribe to my newsletter to get episodes, articles and mini-guides delivered to your inbox.   Key Takeaways: Virtual meetings feel less important than in-person meetings, so we treat them with less respect. It’s easy to hide during a virtual meeting which enables multi-tasking, coming unprepared and not being noticed, and/or avoiding participating in general. For teams that are not generally co-located, virtual meetings may be mis-used for relationship building. To make virtual meetings more engaging and productive, treat them more like in-person meetings: (1) Have a desired outcome, agenda, and prework. Be more intentional in planning them and take them seriously even though they may feel informal. (2) Clarify your virtual meeting practices as a team. Consider norms for processes, technology, and participation so everyone is aligned and expectations are shared. (3) Use technology to drive focus and engagement. Use video over audio. Use Trello to mimic sticky-note brainstorming. Use Zoom breakout rooms to mimic small group discussions, etc. (4) Use a chat tool to build relationships between meetings. Create ‘water cooler’ channels so people have a place to talk about interests outside of work instead of using meeting time to connect.   Additional Resources: episode 33: Do You Really Need That Meeting [email protected]