Four Ways to Take Advantage of Online Meetings

I started a job in educational technology in 2011, the same year that Google launched its low-cost web-based Chromebooks. iPads had been around for about a year, and these lightweight and comparatively affordable pieces of technology started showing up on the school supply lists for the private elementary and secondary schools my company worked with. 

It was a fascinating time to be working with schools as they transitioned their curriculum to take advantage of these tools. The ones who did it well incorporated new ways of learning, added personalization, and were able to focus more on understanding than rote memorization. The ones who tended to struggle tried to shoehorn their traditional in-class curriculum to an online environment.

I see a similar struggle today as people are forced to transition their in-person meetings to an online environment. The ones that are doing well realize this is going to be different than when everyone gathered around a conference room table. You can’t restrict the devices in the meeting or you wouldn’t have a meeting. Here are some ways to take advantage of the tools to make your online meetings more productive.

Set ground rules: For the most part, people know how to behave in meetings. Pay attention. Be prepared. Take good notes. Virtual meetings provide more opportunities to participate as well as more ways to be distracted. Make sure everyone knows what is expected. Should everyone have their video on? Should everyone stay muted until they have something to add? Will there be a system for people to contribute to avoid people talking over one another, such as using the chat function for large meetings? Different meetings call for different ground rules, but it’s important that everyone knows what will be expected of them when they jump on the call.

Start with an ice breaker: Whether your team is typically remote or this is a new experience for you, give everyone a little time to connect before the meeting. It can be as simple as asking people to log on five minutes early and discuss a predetermined question, such as a great recipe they’ve made lately or their new favorite Netflix binge. If you have a large group, you can use Poll Everywhere to have people vote on a poll as they log in. 

Collaborate: One of the best things about everyone being online for your regular meetings is the opportunity for online collaboration. Instead of one person talking and taking notes, have a shared Google doc or use the whiteboard feature in your video conferencing platform so everyone can add, clarify, and expand on the notes and topics. Many tools also have synchronous sharing so you can adjust wireframes in Figma or create a workflow in Lucidchart while video conferencing, for example. 

Tip: Don’t simply share your screen with these tools if you want others to collaborate in them with you. Otherwise, your team members will have to choose between seeing the video and collaborating in the tool in real-time.

Do a quick exit poll: With online meetings, you won’t get to hear the after-meeting chatter to see if your team members are excited or confused. Get a feel for where your employees are by having them fill out a quick survey after important meetings. It can be as simple as a one-question Google Form or Typeform survey, or by having people respond with an emoji to a Slack message. You can also use acquainted to create a chatbot survey to send out after the meeting.

Living more of our work-life behind a screen has forced us to change the way we interact with each other and the ways we stay productive. As your meetings move from face-to-face to video conferencing, make sure you take advantage of the medium to engage and collaborate better with your team.