How to Create R.O.P. in Your Next Virtual Meeting

Have you been in a virtual meeting recently that dragged on and on? Join the club.

The good news is, I participated in a virtual summit recently where the host did everything right. Thought I'd share what made his online event so successful, in case you host virtual meetings and want to follow his example of how to create R.O.P. (Return on Participation).

1. He started on time. Less than half of the attendees had signed in by 9 am, yet the host started anyway. That told us something about him. Instead of penalizing on-timers and rewarding the latecomers, he kept his time promise. Rewarded behavior gets repeated. Who are you rewarding? Do you let attendees know in advance you will start and end on time - no matter what - so they trust you to keep your commitments?
2. Speakers had 20 mins max. TED talks are 18 minutes (or less) for a reason. Studies show that our attention wanes after 20 minutes. By switching up the speakers, and by scheduling five minute "bio breaks" on the hour, every hour, we were on the edge of our seats the entire time. Variety is the spice of virtual. Are you giving people a chance to get up, move around, and re-energize instead of sitting for hours on end? Are you building in a variety of speakers and topics to keep people engaged from start to finish?
3. Facilitators were assigned and trained how to lead productive breakouts. Have you ever been put in a breakout room and no one knows what to do? It's frustrating, isn't it? Precious minutes are wasted while everyone looks at each other and waits for someone to go first. This host didn't leave thinks (not a typo) to chance. He had prepared a slide with a) meaningful, action-oriented questions, (e.g., "Which idea has resonated with you so far? How will you take action on it this week?") b) a timeline (e.g., Each person gets 2 minutes to answer the question,") and c) clarity about who would report out, when, (e.g., "In our third hour, facilitators will share highlights from their group discussions.")
4. He gave participants a chance to be the expert. Instead of the standard "sage on the stage" format where only speakers gave info and attendees were supposed to listen and take notes, he honored the expertise in the virtual room. He shared a quote from Calvin Coolidge, "I not only use all the brains I have, I use all the brains I can borrow," and tapped into the brain trust by asking for best-practices. There were no anonymous lurkers or silent spectators. He created a "rising tide raising all involved" community where we all felt seen, heard and included because we had opportunities to contribute.
5. He created intrigue so we never knew what was coming next. Predictable is boring. Surprise is intriguing. He had a surprise guest who wasn't on the agenda. He went "above and beyond" and exceeded our expectations by providing bonus value. He introduced every speaker with a diverse quote and with something we didn't know about them instead of just reading their bio (which we had already read). He motivated us to stay glued to our screens because it was like live TV. We didn't want to miss a thing.
6. He created a pipeline of ongoing connection and action. At the end, instead of just trailing off and thanking us (which meant the session was "one and done" and would soon be out-of-sight, out-of-mind), he promised to follow up with best-practices from the summit. He said, "If you'll put the most useful insight you received and how you plan to apply that into Chat, we'll compile your responses and email them to you within 48 hours." Wow. Tangible take-aways of how people were going to use what they learned and reap real-world results. Now that was a bottom-line win for everyone.

Will you be hosting a training webinar, zoom meeting or online conference soon?

Ask yourself, "How can I ...

1. Make this a R.O.P. (Return on Participation) for all involved?

2. Keep people engaged from start to finish with format variety?

3. Set up meaningful, productive breakout rooms so people feel well-led?

4. Build in surprise and intrigue so people are curious and want to pay attention?

5. Create a "rising tide raising all involved" experience by giving everyone a voice?

6. Ensure real-word results by reporting back how people applied what they learned?

If you do this, you will be be the exception to the rule.

Not only will people thank you for creating an experience that was time well-spent, they'll look forward to your next meeting because you've proven it will be worth their while.