What are the best ways to handle online meeting disruptions?

One thing I have found useful is having a backup internet connection just in case. It could be your mobile hotspot as well. It has bailed me out several times. Another tip is to leverage the meeting options on Zoom/ MS teams. If there is a way to 'Mute all' at the time a new person joins in, 'ENABLE IT'. You don't wanna be distracted every time someone joins a meeting. You can proactively inform people that everyone is kept on mute by default and they can however unmute to speak.

One of the most effective ways to handle online meeting disruptions is to prevent them proactively. This involves thorough preparation, such as checking the internet and equipment and ensuring they test their devices. By addressing technical issues and communication norms in advance, you can significantly reduce the likelihood of disruptions, making your online meetings more productive and efficient.

The emojis and raising hands on either google meet or zoom are very underused and help a lot when avoiding disruptions during the discussion of a topic.

Test your equipment beforehand: Prior to the meeting, check your internet connection, webcam, and microphone to prevent any technical issues. Create a quiet workspace: Choose a serene location where distractions will be minimized. Inform your family members or colleagues about your meeting to avoid interruptions. Develop an agenda: Prepare an agenda and share it with participants in advance. This will help keep the meeting on track and focused. Assign meeting roles: Designate someone as a moderator or timekeeper to ensure meeting efficiency. Record the meeting: If disruptions prevent some participants from joining, consider recording the meeting for them to catch up later.

In my experience, I lean on one phrase "No agenda, no attenda". This ensures that the discussion points and steps/decisions needed are outlined before meeting.

In my experience, with the popularity of online meetings, I think more and more people are switching to using external USB microphones, which are more important than the webcam, and are installing fibre broadband. Very soon, this issue will resolve itself.

A lot of people don't set ground rules. Having these rules displayed or speaking about them before the start of the session for at least 30-45 seconds can minimise the risk of interruptions largely. Here are a few tips: - Encourage them to use chat constantly for asking questions - Take questions only from people who are on camera - Park questions towards the end of the module or session so others don't feel disrupted

An easy structure to follow that is effective is as follow: - Provide update on 3 tasks for the day - Provide information on any roadblock

I've found that if you ask everyone to go on camera, that can prevent people from multi-tasking while in a meeting. You can prepare people for this expectation even in the meeting invite - "Please be prepared to be on camera for this meeting."

In meetings or calls that I've hosting, I use the "Mute Speakers" functionality to my advantage. If its an ER conversation and me in conjunction with a group manager are coaching someone, ground rules are the first thing I speak of. If its an update call with agencies or other external parties and my team, same thing. If it's a regular team meeting, only basis ground rules are discussed. With the above^ in mind, when there is a disruption whether it's as small as a car honk in the background to a flat out interrupting when someone is speaking, that person is muted. Risk removal in its entirety.

Another method of communication that I found very efficient is the use of Slack workflows where we can automatically create messages and then team members provide an update under the thread of the Slack message. It's very efficient and ideal for engineering teams

Meeting participant engagement often can be enhanced when the hosts pause mid-meeting to solicit real-time feedback or to ask brief questions to check for understanding. This also gives agile meeting presiders the opportunity to reshuffle the agenda or tailor the content for maximized helpfulness. Allowing meeting attendees to be focused participants, rather than mere listeners, creates an atmosphere conducive to productive time together and reduces the potential for attendees distracting themselves with potentially disruptive diversions.

Handling online meeting disruptions hinges on our ability to stay flexible. If a disruption means a meeting needs to be cut short, be ready to pare down the agenda or reschedule to ensure critical points are covered. It’s true that few meetings are so urgent that they can’t accommodate some flexibility. However, if your meetings do carry that level of urgency, then having a robust backup plan is essential and should be established well in advance. Remember, while technical issues are a downside of the virtual workspace, the virtual world brings many benefits. And let’s not forget, in-person meetings come with their own set of challenges.

Here are few ways to manage disruptions: - Set clear expectations for meeting etiquette from the beginning. - Politely address disruptive attendees and encourage them to mute their microphones. - Pause the meeting to address persistent disruptions and refocus attendees. - Enable video pinning for active speakers to reduce distractions. - Lock the meeting after it starts to prevent latecomers from causing interruptions. - Control screen-sharing permissions to prevent unwanted distractions. - Utilize virtual hand raise features to manage speaking turns. - Set chat settings to "host-only" to reduce side conversations. - Remove disruptive participants as a last resort if necessary.

Be honest about your availability. It isn’t always possible to excuse yourself from the workplace for an online meeting. Full diaries sometimes necessitate a meeting on days that I am the only pharmacist, but I have found that sharing this information beforehand reduces the impact on the flow of the discussion. I have received deliveries while presenting in online meetings, without delaying the meeting. The others forgave me the background noise in those moments, because they had been forewarned. In those circumstances make sure you are well prepared. Rehearse your presentation so that you can continue regardless of any interruptions.

Address disruptions in online meetings by setting clear guidelines for participant… Using mute features.. Have a designated moderator.. Employ a virtual waiting room to admit attendees., Additionally, consider using collaboration tools for engagement and encourage respectful communication.