How do you create a sense of community and connection among remote meeting participants?

1 Define the purpose and goals

Before you invite anyone to a remote meeting, make sure you have a clear and specific purpose and goals for it. What do you want to achieve, communicate, or decide by the end of the meeting? How will you measure the success of the meeting? How will you follow up and hold people accountable for their actions? Having a clear and shared vision for the meeting will help you plan the agenda, select the appropriate tools and platforms, and invite the right people.

2 Choose the right format and platform

Depending on the purpose and goals of your remote meeting, you may want to choose different formats and platforms to facilitate it. For example, if you want to brainstorm ideas, you may opt for a video conference with a shared whiteboard or a collaborative document. If you want to collect feedback, you may use a survey or a poll. If you want to train or educate, you may use a webinar or a screencast. Whatever format and platform you choose, make sure you test it beforehand, provide clear instructions and guidelines, and ensure accessibility and security.

3 Engage and interact

One of the biggest challenges of remote meetings is keeping participants engaged and interactive. You don't want them to zone out, multitask, or feel left out. To prevent this, you need to design your remote meeting with various elements of engagement and interaction. For example, you can start with an icebreaker or a check-in question to break the ice and build rapport. You can use polls, quizzes, or games to stimulate interest and feedback. You can use breakout rooms, chat, or annotations to encourage discussion and collaboration. You can also use gestures, emojis, or reactions to express emotions and opinions.

5 Be inclusive and supportive

Finally, to create a sense of community and connection among remote meeting participants, you need to be inclusive and supportive of their needs, perspectives, and experiences. You don't want anyone to feel excluded, ignored, or marginalized. To achieve this, you need to be mindful of the diversity and equity of your participants, and address any potential barriers or biases that may affect their participation. For example, you can use inclusive language, acknowledge different time zones and cultures, provide captions or transcripts, solicit feedback and input from everyone, and recognize and appreciate their contributions.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?