Making virtual meetings more effective

Amara’s law states that we tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run.

He may as well as be saying this about pretty much everything in our lives, especially about the impact of COVID on our lives and society, both short term and in the long term. 

While futurists are busy trying to predict the long-term impact of this pandemic, one of the immediate effects of this has been the need for large swathes of corporate employees to work from home. What was once hitherto seen as sign of corporate “flexibility” and providing a “work like balance”, is now the de facto way of working.

While employees have moved to this virtual world, many of them continue to operate as if they are still in the physical work environment, except that they are doing so virtually by using Zoom, Webex, Teams, Skype etc. As an example, most employees are conducting virtual meetings in exactly the same way as they would a physical meeting.

This is a mistake.

There are fundamental differences between the way an employee should conduct say, a virtual meeting as opposed to a physical meeting. Understanding these differences will increase the effectiveness of these virtual meetings. This is even more important today with endless virtual meetings, one after the other and many of them sounding the same thereby making it difficult to remember why the meeting was there in the first place!

The basic difference is that virtual meetings are akin to broadcasts whereas physical meetings tend to be more like conversations.

What do I mean by that?

A physical meeting is often a conversation with a free flow exchange of ideas & information. This is effective because the individuals are able to use a full spectrum of communication methods – verbal and non-verbal. The physical presence, the force of personality, usage of words, the tenor of voice, the usage of hands, the body language, eye contact and so on are all important communication methods that make or break a meeting. In a virtual World, this is not possible simply because of the absence of many of these communication methods. The only two modes available are voice and for some, video images. And even then, videos are hardly a substitute for a physical presence with a range of emotions at play.

The best example of an effective method of virtual communication is the news broadcasting industry. New anchors are in essence, having a virtual meeting with the viewer and using a range of methods to effectively communicate with the viewer. However, many of these methods such as usage of audio-visual aids, different locations, multiple anchors, sharp editing etc., are not available to an average corporate employee.

Nevertheless, there are clearly some cues available that will make a virtual meeting more effective -

Shorter meetings

Physical meetings often stretch into hours, and some workshops span across days. Studies have shown that an average meeting is between 31-60 minutes and this has increased by over 10% in the past decade. Indeed a HBR study showed that an average American executive spends 23 hours/week in meetings! Studies have also shown that upto 50% of these meetings are considered ineffective.

Clearly there are a lot of meetings and having meetings of such long durations is even more ineffective in a virtual World. Any meeting greater than 30 minutes duration very rapidly loses its value with every passing minute. There’s a reason why most news broadcasts last 30 minutes.

Multiple interactions

Have you noticed how most news broadcasts repeat the message multiple times across their schedules. By doing so, they are not only informing the viewer about the specific event that is covered in the news, but also building multiple interactions with the viewer.

The same principle applies to virtual meetings. It is important and necessary to have multiple frequent interactions to drive greater cohesion and understanding. Akin to the news, while repetition may sometime be an irritant, it also increases comprehension and retention.

Speaking slower

JFK talked fast, very fast. During a speech in 1961, he spoke 327 words in just one minute. However, during his inaugural address, he slowed down his speaking rate to 96.5 words per minute.

This becomes even more important in a virtual meeting and the same principle applies here. Speaking at 50-75% of a person’s normal speaking rate will make the meetings more effective. This takes time and practice but will make the messaging sharper and more comprehensible.

Demonstrating progress

In order for a relationship to build, a meeting must demonstrate progress towards a specific objective. In a physical world, this is a lot easier as individuals can meet face to face and build relationships through multiple methods. In a virtual world, this is not possible.

Hence to demonstrate progress, employees should commit to specific deadlines or objectives against which they can measure success. This could be in the form of metric, a deliverable or any other measurable objective. This will help build momentum in a business relationship and establish trust that progress is being made.

Handing over to the next meeting

If you watch any virtually any serialized form of television news or entertainment, you will always notice that the end of an episode in that serialized story will have a hook that will create interest in the viewer to watch the next episode in the story.

The same applies in a virtual meeting as well. It is imperative that a meeting is concluded with a specific objective set for the next meeting. Again, this creates momentum, shows progress is being made and creates a reason for the next interaction.

Using audio-visual aids

Recently I heard a colleague mention that he started his meeting with the organ music from the movie “Dracula”. Now I don’t suggest everybody starts to use music from horror films, but the point is that there could be creative use of audio-visual aids that can make meetings stand out from the crowd and make them memorable.

Lastly and finally, use video where possible. Studies indicate that visuals are processed 60,000 times faster by the brain than words and over 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual. While there may be reasons and occasions when using video isn’t possible, there’s enough evidence to suggest that the usage of video in a virtual meeting helps personalize the meeting, keeps participants engaged and significantly increases their effectiveness. 

Working from home, and consequently virtual meetings will continue to be a way of life in times ahead. Increasing the effectiveness of these virtual interactions by adopting some of these techniques will enable employees to be more effective in their professions.