9 Ways To Get Your Virtual Meetings Effective

Since the last 8/9 months, we have shifted our work to remote mode. Whether its client meeting, internal team meeting, stakeholder meeting, vendor meeting etc. everything is now virtual or not happening in-person anymore.

There are challenges of not having an in-person meeting like

-         Low attention span of people

-         Distractions around the audience

-         Technical glitches that could make the audio, screen share or video difficult

-         Moderating the meeting may not be as easy.

-         Multiple people may try to talk at once

-         Audience could be on video & audio mute, and you may not know whether they are present in the meeting

-         Maintaining the time in a virtual meeting could be challenging

If you are the one hosting the virtual meeting, follow these 9 steps and ensure your meetings are

Engaging. Interactive & Productive

1.      Block meeting time in advance -. You can use google calendar and link the online platform with the calendar invite. If you are fixing up a meeting with a client and wish to give the client two or three dates or time options, you could use apps like Calendly, Youcanbookme, Acuity Scheduling, etc. These have a free as well as a subscription model and allows a lot of branding facility to help you create a positive impressive

2.      Send the meeting agenda well ahead in time – This allows for pre-meeting preparation if any. Remember, in general, every meeting should have a specific outcome. Meetings are not to sit and think. If there is any thinking required, let the participants know to do it before and come with the ideas.

3.      Announce housekeeping & the meeting ground rules at the start - This prevents deviation or chaos from happening during the meeting. E.g., let the audience know about the duration of the meeting, meeting etiquette to be followed, breaks if any, Q&A format, the platforms, or software to be used during the meeting, parking lot questions, etc.

4.      Keep the video on during the meeting - This allows you to influence your audience and impress your ideas. Even if you are not the host. Ensure your personal environment is properly lit with your face clearly visible, no clutter or distractions around you. You may want to use a ring light and a virtual background to get the much-needed effect.

5.      Have clear communication - Take your audience’s name often. This will keep them engaged and alert. Be precise & relevant to your content. Do not beat around the bush, or you will lose your audience’s attention. Get your vocals & body language to express emotions and thoughts. Do not lose the humour. And let your audience save face all the time.

6.      Keep the meetings interactive - Certain apps or platforms like Mural, Mentimeter, Google PowerPoint or Google sheets, slack etc. will allow information & thoughts to flow without hesitation. Use breakout rooms if your meetings need small group discussions.

7.      Respect time - Adhere to the scheduled duration of the meeting. If you think you will cross the time, check with your audience if it's okay to extend. They may have lined up some other meeting. In that case, schedule the follow-up meeting.

8.      Summarise the meeting highlights - Clearly outline the outcome of the meeting, the next action steps to be taken, by whom and by when, next meeting time if any, delegation authority matrix if its an internal meeting etc. One productive way to get this done is by asking each member to speak out their responsibility or task, as discussed during the meeting. This develops accountability

9.      Post meeting wrap up email -. Always do send a thank you email with the recap of the meeting and the decided action steps. You may use notetaking software like Fireflies or Cassette 2.0, Zapier etc. This software records the entire conversation and produces transcripts. You may either attach the entire transcript or recording or create your recap notes from it and share it with your meeting audiences.

Follow these 9 steps, and you will find yourself producing highly effective & productive meetings.

I have a bonus for you readers, go to this link below and access my video on -

How to use calendar apps to create a positive impression on external stakeholders.

Which step do you miss out mostly? share your comments below

About the author:

Pritha Dubey is an international sales trainer and a sales mentor to senior leaders who have long lost touch with the art of selling. She is also a Women in Sales champion. Her mission is to inspire & influence more and more women to take up sales as a career. She coaches women professionals to sell their value and their worth within an organisation to advance their career without compromising their personal values.

If you wish to speak with her and discuss a specific work-related or personal development issue that's been troubling you, you can email her at [email protected],

You will find many free learning resources on her Website.