Topics In Demand
Notification
New

No notification found.

8 TIPS TO ACE VIRTUAL MEETINGS
8 TIPS TO ACE VIRTUAL MEETINGS

July 29, 2021

48

0

Infographic

Whether it is a business meet-up or family get-together, virtual platforms have emerged as a new foyer to interact with people. The difference is, for the business world, this arrangement will stay for an extended period. Therefore, it is worth investing efforts in upgrading our communication and presentation skills to ace virtual meetings.

 

On a surface level, the rules, or implied rules of conducting a virtual meeting seem like the traditional meeting, but certain nuances make a lot of difference. For instance, the privilege of mute and no video functions allow participants to stay behind the closed curtains. As a speaker, it is hard for you to ascertain gesture-based or reaction-based feedback from your audience. However, the universal rule of any meeting or presentation remains the same – it is always presenter-lead, and it is the presenter's responsibility to make the meeting effective. If you have been strategizing on how to make e-meetings engaging, try these PERSOLKELLY recommended tips to start with!

 

1.Start on a light note:It is good to address participants individually and check on their and their family members’ health due to the times we live in. You can also start by talking about any common condition—weather or national news. However, try to pick the positive aspect of the subject. This will allow people to participate and express themselves, shifting their focus from everything else to this meeting.

 

2. Set the agenda: It is crucial to set the agenda so that participants feel involved and understand their role in the meeting. If you expect a few participants to present their views at the end, call out their names and mention your intention to do so. It will allow them to focus entirely on the discussion.

 

3. Make it interactive: Self-expression and inputs are an essential part of any virtual meeting. Ensure you have more people taking turns to present their views. If the session is one-to-many, you must have one or two co-hosts to avoid monotony. 

 

4. Use visuals:Most of the time, listening takes a back seat in virtual meetings. Also, most of the people are visual forward. Meaning it is easier for them to remember something if they see it. Therefore, use diagrams or videos, animation, or any other form of visual to capture the participants' minds. 

 

5. Take breaks if the meeting is long: Virtual meetings, especially with many participants, tend to stretch longer than expected. It is wise to introduce a 5 min break time every 40 minutes. It will allow participants to freshen up quickly, perform any home chore, and prep from the next round. By completing virtual meetings in a series will also allow you to divide your talk in such a manner to make it more engaging.

 

6. Handle chaos with wit: Chaos is bound to happen. Technical faults, lack of skills to turn off or on a particular function, and other aspects can certainly cause distraction shifting everybody is focus on the not-so-important activity. But still, people pay attention to it because it is funny or unusual. So, claiming back the attention of participants can be tricky in such a situation. However, by quickly responding with wit, you make the situation livelier and claim the participants' attention. The limelight is back on you, and it is implied that you are leading the meeting, not uninvited events.

 

7. Clarity in communication: Clarity is an important aspect. Many times speakers present contradicting facts or figures, leaving participants confused or spending the rest of the time trying to figure out what came from, where, and why. To avoid such scenarios, you can prep the talk points beforehand and prepare a mental plan for your talk. In case of any anomalies, you can re-check the facts and adjust accordingly.       

 

8. Demand attention: It is a fact that virtual meetings tend to split the attention of the participants, as distractions are hard to ignore and can go unnoticed by the presenter. It is common for most people to think of what they will cook for lunch or are just waiting for a break to take their food out of the microwave. 

 

So, what can you do in this situation? Of course, we cannot demand attention in literal terms, but the name-calling technique can be helpful here. For instance, you can take the name of participants at various points during your talk – “I am glad that Rita could help me in the research, she was great here and this is what she contributed to.” Or “So, Rohan, do you think we are going in the right direction here?” and more other ways. 

 

Psychologically, a human automatically pays attention to discussions that involve their names or their appreciation. How often have you turned to a stranger calling out your name, only to find out you share your name with that stranger’s friend? The same principle is applied to everything around us.

 

Bonus tip: You can also surprise your participants by doing a small ritual at the beginning of the meeting by asking them to stand up and perform some stretching or indulging in some action-based activity to break the day-flow and capture their attention. The idea here is simple. Our body language is based on our thinking, and psychology suggests we can trick our brains into thinking on a particular spot based on performing specific body actions.

 

Conclusion

Virtual meetings are our chance to further make our communication and presentation skills dynamic. With every virtual meeting, there is something new we can learn and improve; thus, it will be an ongoing process. The key to ace your next online meeting lies in the hindsight of your previous one. Is there anything unique you did and worked for you in the virtual meeting? Let us know in the comment section below! 

 

This article was originally published on PERSOLKELLY blog here

 


That the contents of third-party articles/blogs published here on the website, and the interpretation of all information in the article/blogs such as data, maps, numbers, opinions etc. displayed in the article/blogs and views or the opinions expressed within the content are solely of the author's; and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of NASSCOM or its affiliates in any manner. NASSCOM does not take any liability w.r.t. content in any manner and will not be liable in any manner whatsoever for any kind of liability arising out of any act, error or omission. The contents of third-party article/blogs published, are provided solely as convenience; and the presence of these articles/blogs should not, under any circumstances, be considered as an endorsement of the contents by NASSCOM in any manner; and if you chose to access these articles/blogs , you do so at your own risk.


Holistic Workforce Solutions provider with large reach across APAC region.

© Copyright nasscom. All Rights Reserved.