Slack is a communication tool for initiating video calls and chat sessions with other teammates, fostering teamwork. Achieve this step efficiently by selecting invitees that will play a role in the discussions. Thus, they will not feel out of place and will become attentive throughout the remote meeting. Once the catching-up concludes, mention the meeting agenda briefly to the participants. You could share the meeting agenda beforehand to make the session smoother while saving precious time. You might discover that some agendas don’t require any form of meeting to handle; they need an individual polishing up or done in smaller groups.

• It’s essential to check with the attendees’ own schedule before fixing a time for the meeting.
• And remember, supplier or customer conversations may require your team to familiarize themselves with different software packages.
• She is an avid reader, a budding writer and a passionate researcher who loves to write about all kinds of topics.
• If so, you’ll need to know how to do that before the meeting starts.
• Video conferencing plus VoIP platforms offer a more enterprise-appropriate solution to remote meetings.

A little planning goes a long way when you’re trying to get your team together. But not every conversation between team members needs to be a lengthy video call. Amanda Athuraliya is the communication specialist/content writer at Creately, online diagramming and collaboration tool. She is an avid reader, a budding writer and a passionate researcher who loves to write about all kinds of topics. If you are using a task management tool, you can quickly plan everything on it.

common virtual meeting mistakes to avoid

They will be able to prepare their necessary contributions, gather any questions they may have, and share completed work and tasks. People tend to respond more effectively and efficiently when they are aware of expectations ahead of time, so this will help your meeting run more smoothly. Late starts to virtual meetings are enormous time-wasters. And the risk of running over can mean that people miss other meetings or critical work time.

Gathering and processing high-quality input during a virtual meeting can be challenging, especially since visual cues are harder to read. Use a phone-based survey tool like Poll Everywhere to collect on-demand feedback from attendees on specific topics in real time. Keep the polling open, separate from the videoconference to avoid disrupting the conversation. Participants will need clear instructions on how to use the system and practices, but groups get the hang of it very quickly and it’s well worth the effort. To create focus, which is often lacking in remote meetings, try organizing the agenda as a set of questions to be answered rather than a set of topics to be discussed.

Planning a virtual meeting

Then, compare the various times to identify whether you can create a schedule that works for everyone. If not, you can choose something closer to the time they gave you. Ensure to designate someone to note the main points, decisions agreed upon, and the subsequent plans in the meeting. If applicable and valuable, take advantage of your conferencing software’s feature to record the proceedings.

During a video conferencing call, better conversations happen when the attendees can see each other virtually. The enhanced communication is due to observable facial cues that increase the virtual connection while discussing any points. Utilize such meetings when offering expertise and skills to the attendees, especially if they are new team members. Also, you can set them to occur weekly or bi-weekly for workers who need help or want to brainstorm ideas. Hybrid meetings are discussions attended by both remote workers and in-person participants. It aims to synchronize the overall objectives of the organization.

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You can also use an action plan template (check out the one below) to get things prioritized. A virtual meeting though requires a lot more upfront preparation. It’s essential to check with the attendees’ own schedule before fixing a time for the meeting.

This can include using video conferencing tools, instant messaging platforms, or other types of communication software. The purpose of a remote meeting can range from team check-ins and project updates to training sessions and larger corporate events. Overall, running an efficient, productive, and effective remote meeting how to run a effective remote meeting takes work. However, by following these six tips for how to run remote team meetings, you should find they are just as successful if not more successful than their in-person counterparts. Not being able to work together in the same room with colleagues may become a major challenge due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Plus, as a manager, you can use Hubstaff Insights to determine how much money is being spent on payroll while your team is in meetings. This can be a great way to determine the cost of unproductive meetings — a data point that interests executives, stakeholders, and employees alike. Hubstaff Insights can identify and deter excessive meetings.

Poorly run meetings have a tremendously negative impact on team success, innovation, creativity, and on individuals’ well-being and stress. In fact, experiencing a poor meeting can even result in meeting recovery syndrome, where employees lose additional time and productivity mentally recovering from a bad meeting. I’d also suggest uploading the video to a system that allows people to watch it at different speeds.