Making the most of Virtual Meetings

Introduction
A virtual meeting is simply a meeting that happens online rather than
physically with all the participants in the same meeting room. ... People
typically use virtual meetings for work, to involve remote team members from
around the world (or in different parts of the same building).

Compared with the face-to-face meetings he's used to, the online conversation
was fragmented and hard to follow. The loudest team members monopolized the
discussion, and Sam couldn't get everyone to contribute. He came away feeling
that he hadn't achieved anything meaningful.

Organizations use virtual meetings in place of face-to-face ones because they're

quick to arrange, they're inexpensive, and they bring the most relevant people
into the meeting, wherever they're based. However, virtual meetings can be hard
to get right, and they need a different approach from regular meetings.

In this article, we'll look at what you can do to prepare for and run an effective
and productive virtual meeting.

Running a Successful Virtual Meeting

While the basics of etiquette still apply, running virtual meetings requires a
different approach from chairing face-to-face ones. Use the strategies below to
plan and host a successful virtual meeting.

1. Choose the Right Technology

Look at your agenda to choose the most suitable platform to use. The best
platform for a quick "check-in" can differ from the right one for brainstorming or
decision-making sessions.

You can choose from several virtual meeting platforms, including:

 Skype™: This offers basic online group phone and video calls, which work
well for short update meetings or check-ins. You can also record calls for team
members who can't attend.
 Citrix™ GoToMeeting: With GoToMeeting, users can share screens, and the
platform works on tablets, smartphones and other mobile devices.
 Cisco WebEx®: This platform offers HD video, and allows participants to
work together during the meeting.

Take time to review each platform carefully before you decide which one to use.
Some features, like web polling (which makes it easy to gauge people's opinions)
or online whiteboards (good for group brainstorming sessions), can be worth
some extra cost.

Keep in mind that video conferencing has its benefits and its drawbacks. It can
provide participants with important nonverbal cues, and encourage them to stay
engaged. However, some people might feel uncomfortable and self-conscious
using it, which may stop them participating as much as they would in a voice-only
meeting.

2. Work on Specific Skills

A virtual meeting's success often depends on the guidance of a facilitator , so

it's important to learn the skills and tools that you'll need to succeed in this role.
When participants haven't met before, ice breakers can encourage everyone to
relax and get acquainted before discussing business. You could ask attendees to
introduce themselves and give some information about what they do; then do an
exercise that helps them find out more about one another. Think about and try
out ice breakers well before the event to ensure that they'll have the desired
effect.
And make sure that you're completely comfortable with the virtual meeting
software. Rehearse using its tools and facilities beforehand – you need to be
able to operate them effortlessly during the meeting.

3. Spend Time Preparing

Virtual meetings may need more preparation than regular face-to-face ones. For
example, how will you deal with conflict in this virtual space, and keep the
discussion focused and on track? What if software difficulties prevent your most
important team member from attending?

Work some extra planning time into your schedule, so that you can prepare
adequately both for the meeting itself and for any technical challenges that may
occur.
Next, think about your objective. Who should attend? What exactly do you need
to discuss? Decide what you want to cover, and estimate how much time each
item will take. Be punctual with your start and finish times; remember, just
because your meeting is virtual, that doesn't mean it's polite to arrive late or
leave early.

For longer meetings, try to organize your information into 10- to 15-minute
segments. This accommodates shorter attention spans and helps keep everyone
engaged and focused. Make it clear when you have reached the end of each
section – perhaps by a change of pace in your delivery – so that attendees are
ready to go onto the next part.

When you schedule the meeting, consider everyone's time zone. Try not to
arrange it so that it falls outside a participant's normal workday. When you cannot
avoid this, check in with them personally to make sure that the time is suitable. If
you set up regular meetings with the same team members, consider moving the
times around so that those people don't always have to attend before or after
their scheduled working hours.

Several days before your event, send out login details to everyone involved.
Include the URL where necessary, the agenda, a list of attendees, and the
meetings start and finish times.

And consider assigning someone to handle any technology issues that might
arise during the meeting. Delegating this task will allow you to focus solely on
guiding the discussion.

Our article on Running Effective Meetings has more tips that you can use to
prepare for your event.

Tip:
It's important to limit the number of participants attending virtual meetings,
whenever possible. This helps you ensure that everyone has the opportunity to
get involved. This is particularly relevant for brainstorming or discussion
sessions, and for when you need to make decisions.

4. Set Ground Rules

Ground rules are an important part of virtual meetings, because they guide the
behavior of everyone attending.
For instance, you might ask participants to log in to the meeting five minutes
early, so that everyone can connect and check their audio and video.

Another common ground rule is to ask attendees to mute their lines until they are
ready to speak; doing this cuts down on distracting background noise.

If the call is audio only, ask everyone to state their names before speaking. This
way, people in the group will be able to follow who's said what.

Last, encourage everyone to limit any distractions , such as background noise,

so that they can focus entirely on the meeting.

5. Communicate With Virtual Reality in Mind

In face-to-face meetings, people pick up important cues from facial expressions,

tone of voice, and body language. However, these are often lost in virtual
meetings, which is why you need to take this into consideration when
communicating with participants.

First, strengthen your active listening skills . Put your entire focus on the
person who is speaking. Demonstrate that you've paid attention by summarizing
what he or she says, or by asking a relevant question.
Make sure that you communicate how you feel through your choice of words –
this is particularly important if you're not using video. So, if you're unsure about
something, say this and ask for clarification. You might say, "Sarah, I'm really
excited that our numbers are so high, but I'm worried about the drop in new
clients. How do you feel about this?"

You also need to guide the discussion. For instance, imagine saying, "Hi,
everyone. Let's start with some introductions and background. Who wants to go
first?" In a virtual meeting, you'll probably hear silence, since no one is quite sure
who will go first. And then everyone speaks at once. This is especially true if you
don't use video.

Instead, guide the discussion by saying, "Hi, everyone. Let's start with some
introductions and background. Jan, why don't you go first, followed by Bill and
Dean?"
If your meeting brings together attendees who are there in person and others
who are on the call, pay particular attention to accommodating those who aren't
physically in the room.

For example, it can be difficult for virtual attendees to hear discussions between
team members in the room. Remind all participants to speak into a microphone
when they ask a question or join in the discussion. Encourage them to speak one
at a time: trying to follow multiple voices at once can be challenging for those on
the call.

6. Get Everyone Involved

One of the biggest challenges with virtual meetings is that participants can find it
hard to get involved and contribute. Your job as the facilitator is to make sure
that team members have plenty of opportunities to speak up.

During the discussion, pause regularly and ask for attendees' input. Use
the Round Robin technique and ask everyone to comment on the subject
matter. This encourages people to stay focused, and helps you monitor their
emotions and attention levels.

Keep everyone engaged by using activities and questions that require their
participation. If people are engaged, they are less likely to get distracted, and you
will retain their attention for longer. Some meeting platforms have a feature that
allows users to "raise their hands" virtually in response to questions, or you can
use integrated social media to improve engagement.

Virtual meetings don’t have to be seen as a waste of time. In fact, they can be
more valuable than traditional face-to-face meetings. Beyond the fact that they’re
inexpensive ways to get people together – think: no travel costs and readily
available technology – they’re also great opportunities to build engagement, trust
and candor among teams.

Several years ago, my company’s Research Institute embarked on an

exploration of the “New People Rules in a Virtual World” to explore how
technology is shaping our relationships and how we collaborate. This multiyear
journey also evolved my thinking on the subject, helping me recognize that virtual
is not the enemy of the physical if key rules and processes are maintained and
respected.

Going back through that research now, I’ve put together a comprehensive list of
some simple do’s and don’ts to help you get the most out of your next virtual
meeting.

Before the meeting:

Turn the video on.

Since everyone on the call is separated by distance, the best thing you can do to
make everyone at least feel like they’re in the same room is to use video. There
are many options to choose from, such as WebEx and Skype. Video makes
people feel more engaged because it allows team members to see each other’s
emotions and reactions, which immediately humanizes the room. No longer are
they just voices on a phone line; they’re the faces of your co-workers together,
interacting. Without video, you’ll never know if the dead silence in a virtual
meeting is happening because somebody is not paying attention, because he’s
rolling his eyes in exasperation or nodding his head in agreement. Facial
expressions matter.

Cut out report-outs.

Too many meetings, virtual and otherwise, are reminiscent of a bunch of fifth
graders reading to each other around the table – and that’s a waste of the
valuable time and opportunity of having people in a room together. The solution
is to send out a simple half-page in advance to report on key agenda items – and
then only spend time on it in the meeting if people need to ask questions or want
to comment.
This type of pre-work prepares participants to take full advantage of the meeting
by thinking ahead about the content, formulating ideas or getting to know others
in the group, which can help keep team members engaged, says business
consultant Nancy M. Settle-Murphy in her book Leading Effective Virtual Teams.
But one thing is critical: It has to be assumed that everyone has read the pre-
read. Not doing so becomes an ethical violation against the team. I use the word
“ethical” because it’s stealing time from the team — and that’s a disrespectful
habit. The leader needs to set the tone aggressively that the pre-read should be
done in advance.

Come prepared with the team’s opinions.

Not only do you need to do your pre-reads, but once you see the agenda, make
sure you discuss with your team what is going to be covered – that is, do your
own due-diligence. What happens all too often is that people get on virtual calls
with a point of view, but because they haven’t done any real homework before
the call, they end up reversing their opinions once the call has ended and they’ve
learned new information that they could have easily obtained in advance. If
there’s a topic that seems to have interdependencies with people who work in
our location, get their input ahead of time so you’re best representing those
constituents in the meeting.

During the meeting:

How to Work Remotely

Working in a different location than your colleagues can make you more
productive—and sometimes it’s just a logistical necessity. Here’s how to get the
most out of your time out of the communal office.
Show Reading List

Connect people.

People perform better when they are comfortable with each other, which affords
a greater degree of candor and mutual interest. Your job as a leader, particularly
when people may not know each other, is to make them feel connected so you
can have a productive meeting. How? Do a personal-professional check-in at the
beginning of each meeting. Have team members take one minute and go around
to talk about what’s going on in their lives personally and professionally. Go first
to model the approach for what doing it “right” looks like, in terms of tone and
candor. Remind everyone to respect each other by not interrupting and to only
say what they’re comfortable sharing with the group.
Encourage collaborative problem solving.

A collaborative problem solving session replaces the standard “report-outs” that

can weigh meetings down. It’s when the leader raises a topic for group
discussion and the team works together – and sees each other as sources of
advice – to unearth information and viewpoints, and to generate fresh ideas in
response to business challenges.

Give each person time on the agenda.

Along with collaborative problem solving, giving each person time on the agenda
fosters greater collaboration and helps get input from all the team members.
Here’s how it works: In advance of the session, have team members write up an
issue they’ve been struggling with and bring it to the table, one at a time. Each
team member then gets five minutes on the agenda to discuss his or her issue.
The group then goes around the meeting so everyone gets a chance to either
ask a question about it or pass. After the team member answers everyone’s
questions, people then get an opportunity to offer advice in the “I might suggest”
format, or pass. Then, you move on to the next issue. It’s a very effective use of
a collaboration technique that could easily be managed in a virtual environment.

Kill mute.

In a co-located meeting, there are social norms: You don’t get up and walk
around the room, not paying attention. Virtual meetings are no different: You
don’t go on mute and leave the room to get something. In a physical meeting,
you would never make a phone call and “check out” from the meeting. So in a
virtual meeting, you shouldn’t press mute and respond to your emails, killing any
potential for lively discussion, shared laughter and creativity.

As leaders, we need to establish a standard: Just because you’re in a virtual

meeting and it’s possible to be disrespectful, it has to be understood that it’s
unacceptable. We’re talking about civility and respect for people, so if you
wouldn’t do it in person, don’t do it virtually.

Ban multitasking.

Multitasking was once thought of as a way to get many things done at once, but
it’s now understood as a way to do many things poorly. As science shows us,
despite the brain’s remarkable complexity and power, there’s a bottleneck in
information processing when it tries to perform two distinct tasks at once. Not
only is this bad for the brain; it’s bad for the team. Managers should set a firm
policy that multitasking is unacceptable, as it’s important for everyone to be
mentally present.

Here are three ways to make sure the ban on multitasking is followed:

 Use video: It can essentially eliminate multitasking, because your

colleagues can see you.
 Have the meeting leader call on people to share their thoughts. Since no
one likes to be caught off-guard, they’ll be more apt to pay attention.
 Give people different tasks in the meeting, rotated regularly. To keep
people engaged, have a different team member keep the minutes of the
meeting; track action items, owners and deadlines; and even come up with
a fun question to ask everyone at the conclusion of the meeting.

Nick Morgan, president of consulting company Public Words

Inc., recommends constant touchpoints: “In a virtual meeting, you need to stop
regularly to take everyone’s temperature. And I do mean everyone. Go right
around the list, asking each locale or person for input.”

Assign a Yoda. Candor is difficult even for co-located teams, but it’s the number
one gauge of team productivity. To keep people engaged during virtual meetings,
appoint a “Yoda.” Like the wise Jedi master in Star Wars, the Yoda keeps team
members in line and makes sure everyone stays active and on topic. The
Yoda keeps honesty from boiling over into disrespect by being courageous and
calling out any inappropriate behaviors. At critical points during the meeting, the
leader should turn to the Yoda and ask, “So, what’s going on here that nobody’s
talking about?” This allows the Yoda to express the candor of the group and
encourage risk-taking.

After the meeting:

Formalize the water cooler.

Have you ever been in a meeting, and just when it ends, everybody walks out
and vents their frustrations next to the water cooler? Make the water cooler
conversation the formal ending of the virtual meeting, instead. Five to 10 minutes
before the meeting ends, do what everybody would’ve done after the physical
meeting – but do it in the meeting and make sure it’s transparent and conscious,
processing people’s real feelings.

How? Have everyone go around and say what they would’ve done differently in
the meeting. This is like the final “Yoda” moment – it’s the “speak now or forever
hold your peace” moment. This is the time when you say what you disagreed
with, what you’re challenged with, what you’re concerned about, what you didn’t
like, etc. All of the water-cooler-type conversation happens right now, or it never
happens again. And if does happen later, you’re violating the ethics of the team.

Most importantly in virtual meetings, civility and respect must be the norm. There
have to be inalienable, ethical rules that you follow before, during and after a
virtual meeting for it to be truly successful. And that means adhering to two
fundamental principles: Be respectful of others’ time, and be present. Failing to
do so steals precious hours from the team that can never be recovered. Co-
located teams have enough problems building candor and trust; teams separated
by distance really need to have great meetings to build these connections.

Abstract

Virtual meetings are a key part of the lives of today's project managers. The
trouble is that they are often difficult to handle and most conference calls, audio
conferences, and online meetings are frustrating timewasters. This paper
outlines the seven secrets that project managers need to know to have
successful virtual meetings, based on the author's work with hundreds of project
managers worldwide in multinational organizations from pharmaceutical and IT
companies to banks and government agencies.
This paper will help the reader to:

 Understand what goes wrong with virtual meetings and be able to diagnose
how virtual meetings can improve;
 Prepare for and structure the next virtual meeting in a way that makes it more
likely to succeed; and
 Think through all the aspects of virtual meetings beforehand to check that the
virtual meeting will be as productive as possible.
This paper explores the vital area of how to run effective project meetings when
you cannot be face-to-face with your team and stakeholders. Issues covered
include building trust remotely and being aware of cross-cultural issues. We will
touch on the tools used (but not go into detail on specific tools by vendor), look at
communication on global projects, how social media can help, and how to
prepare for and structure effective online meetings.
Why Are Virtual Meetings So Important for Today's Project Manager?

Exhibit 1: Cartoon showing two working groups in a virtual meeting with a

common, shared screen.
Over the last decade, the number of virtual meeting has increased dramatically,
from the occasional conference call to a situation where many project managers
spend a large proportion of their time on conference calls and other virtual
meetings. This increase has been driven by several global trends:

 The development of new technologies such as VOIP telephony (voice over

internet protocol, an example of which is Skype) and shared computer
screens;
 Project managers often being located away from many of their project team
members and stakeholders, with many more regional and global projects,
especially since the surge in outsourcing and off-shoring; and
 Telecommuting.
In the past year, the trend has been exacerbated due to these reasons:
 Volcanic ash clouds over Europe in Spring 2010;
 The fear of epidemics, such as swine flu; and
 The need to cut travel to reduce costs in an uncertain economic climate, with
ever-higher petrol prices.
At the same time, climate change is an issue. Around 8 percent of the world's
carbon emissions come from business travel, and perhaps a third of this could be
replaced immediately with virtual meetings, if people knew how to use them
effectively.
My story demonstrates how quickly a project manager may need to switch to
virtual working due to the environmental pressures. In 2001, I was running a
global project in a multinational company, improving processes in preparation for
the implementation of SAP. My project team was dispersed all over the world, so
I spent a lot of time travelling to meet people and run workshops.
Then something happened which changed everything. I was getting ready to run
a workshop in the United States. I was planned to fly out on 13 September 2001.
Unfortunately, two days before, 9/11 terrorist attacks happened. Air travel just
stopped. For several months, none of us were allowed to fly anywhere. I had to
work virtually. We had an early form of instant messenger. We had some
primitive screen sharing applications. We had audio conferencing. We even had
video conferencing. On top of this technology, I had the advantage of having
been trained as a facilitator. So, as one does, we made do. We found people to
advise us and got on with doing the project as best we could, learning all the
time. I’m still learning nearly a decade later as I work with people in multinational
companies who are struggling to be effective when they can’t meet face-to-face.

What Goes Wrong With Virtual Meetings Today?

Unfortunately, working virtually has not lived up to all the expectations. When I
speak to project managers at professional associations and on client sites, I ask
them how many hours per week they spend on conference calls. To date, I have
always found several project managers who spend more than 20 hours per week
on these calls, most often from the pharmaceutical or telecoms industries. When
I ask groups if they feel that their conference calls are the best use of their
valuable time, only one person has ever agreed. Hundreds have disagreed.
This seems to fit what others find. One survey showed that only 23% of
managers gave their full attention during conference calls, while 25% dealt with
their e-mail, and 27% did other work. This level of distraction is much higher than
in face-to-face meetings.
To find out more, I conducted a survey of project managers in 2008 (Pullan,
2008) and found out what they were frustrated about with their virtual meetings.
Here are some of the points that came up, in no particular order:

 People are easily distracted by other things such as work, e-mail, instant
messenger, Facebook and more.
 Sometimes you can’t hear clearly because of background noise. This can be
due to people using speaker phones.
 Actions are far less likely to be done after virtual meetings compared to face-
to-face meetings.
 The start of the meeting is often delayed, especially if you have complex
technology to set up and people who are new to it.
 Often there is no level playing field; people are expected to dial in to a face-
to-face meeting and sit listening all day, possibly in a different time zone.
 Not knowing who else is in the meeting let alone who is speaking at any
particular time.
 Lack of preparation.
 Not being able to get a word in.
 When you ask a question, nobody answers. When you ask for volunteers or
you want someone to take an action, there can be absolute silence.
 Conference calls and virtual meetings can last far too long and people's
concentration levels tend to drop.

How Can We Improve This Situation?

When working with virtual meetings, many different variables come into play that
the project manager must be aware of, including: the levels of trust in the team;
the urgency of the work; the potential for conflict; the need for in-depth
conversations; the mixture of cultures; the need for engagement and enthusiasm;
the variety of time zones; and the need for creativity and innovation in the team,
as well as both access to and familiarity with the technology involved among
team members (Pullan & Settle Murphy, 2005). Sometimes, especially at the
start of a project, given the mix of these variables, it would be a good idea to
bring everyone together before working virtually later on.
Once the project manager has decided that virtual working is appropriate, there
are seven secrets which, when applied, will make their virtual meetings much
more effective.
Secret #1: Technology Is Not the Silver Bullet

The range of technology available for virtual working is growing all the time.
Compared to when I started out in 2001, tools are very sophisticated with much
more life-like “tele-presence” video conferencing on the market nowadays.
I have learned from my clients that people often think that technology will
solve all the issues of virtual working. Examples range from the CIO of a
multinational spending six figures on tele-presence to the charity buying new
laptops with webcams for every employee. In both cases, they thought they were
doing the right things for their people. Although the tele-presence video suite is
much closer to real life, to use it means travelling to the video suite. Will
everyone be able to do this for each virtual meeting? No! Virtual meetings across
time zones often involve participants joining outside working hours. Would you
rather dial into a conference call at 3 a.m. or get dressed, drive into the office, go
to the video suite, have your meeting, go home and go back to bed? I know
which one I would prefer to do!
I once worked on a project with governments in West Africa, with the United
Nations, and with representatives from international chocolate companies. We
had to have all our remote meetings by conference call because telephones were
the most reliable technology. If you are working across companies, the likelihood
is that you will need to have a backup plan in place, because technology does
not always work seamlessly due to company firewalls and other security. I advise
clients to have a conference bridge line that you can call as a fall back. Share the
presentations beforehand. Practice the technology. Then your meeting
technology should support you, but there is much more to effective virtual
meetings than that.

Secret #2 Make the Most of Different Time, Different Place

It is natural for a project manager to replace a face-to-face meeting with a

conference call, video conference, or online meeting. All three of these happen
synchronously, the same as a face-to-face meeting.
Exhibit 2: The time and place grid
The second secret is to make use of the fourth quadrant: different time, different
place. These asynchronous tools are often forgotten, but it can make a real
difference.
For example, instead of spending the whole of your virtual meeting showing
presentations (which is likely to take a long time and risk losing engagement),
share the presentation on a discussion forum and ask for comments before your
meeting. Then you can use the virtual meeting to focus in on questions that
people have raised and areas of interest.
Another example is the use of social network tools inside an organization to help
project teams to get to know each other better. Harrin (2010) provided many
more examples of the use of social media for project teams.
Secret #3 Preparation Is Crucial

Virtual meetings need preparation. This does not just mean setting up the
technology, but making the following clear before and at the start of the meeting:

 What the purpose of the meeting is;

 The objectives which need to be achieved by the end of the meeting;
 A timed agenda;
 Clear roles, including facilitator (or chair), timekeeper and scribe (to take
down action points and record decisions made);
 Agreed ways of working (or ground rules) such as “State your name before
contributing” and “Mute when not speaking if you are in a noisy environment”;
and
 Agree how actions will be recorded, communicated, and followed up.
Our clients have found the graphic in Exhibit 3 to be a good visual reminder of
each of these points:
Exhibit 3: The Making Projects Work Ltd. start-up template for meetings.

Secret #4 Give Up on Control

In face-to-face meetings, command and control sometimes still works. The leader
can say, “You do this. You do that.” It just does not work virtually, although I
know there are people who try. You cannot control people when they are in a
different location and when you cannot see what they are doing. Some people
will disconnect. Others will pretend to be present, but work on their e-mail
instead. What is needed in virtual meetings is collaboration, to engage people
and work together. This means that the leader must take on the role of facilitator,
drawing out what's needed from the rest of the group and literally ‘making it easy’
(the root of facilitator) for the group to succeed.
Secret #5 Create a Level Playing Field

I often hear horror stories of how individuals are asked to join workshops by
dialing in all day from a remote location. In one such story, the individual was in
the United Kingdom and the group was in the United States. The individual dialed
in at 2 p.m. and staying on the line until 10 p.m. at night. After a short
introduction, the face-to-face team appeared to forget about him and, looking
back, he felt that the entire eight hours spent on the phone had been a complete
waste of his time.
The secret to solve this is to design for a level playing field. If one person needs
to dial in, then why not have everyone dial in? An alternative is to hold a face-to-
face meeting and reserve a portion of that meeting for talking with and focusing
on the individual who can dial in just for that part.
Part of this secret is to be aware of people's cultures and treat everyone with
respect, not just those who happen to share your culture. A level playing field
isn’t just about access to technology!

Secret #6 Keep People Engaged By…

The biggest challenge for companies that I work with is to keep people engaged
and interested in virtual meetings. The most powerful things that I have found to
keep people engaged are:

 the use of story,

 visuals representing the work and picture maps of everyone, and
 Keeping people involved.
Our brains are hard-wired for story from thousands of years of oral tradition. I
took part in an international research project that established that information in
story form was more effective in building relationships than simple lists when
working in virtual teams (Thorpe, 2006).
As humans, we have multiple senses and on conference calls, we are only using
our hearing. By adding visuals, whether on a shared screen or on preprinted
sheets, we are adding another sense. When people are concentrating on a visual
related to the work, they are less likely to be distracted by e-mail or things going
on around them.
Many of my clients explain that it is very difficult to engage with disembodied
voices. One way to counter this is to provide a picture map, with a photo of each
person on the conference call or online meeting superimposed on a map.
My final suggestion for engaging people is to give them things to do. Roles such
as timekeeper and scribe can be rotated around the team. Different people can
facilitate different parts of the virtual meeting. Ask people for their input. Make
sure that everyone has a chance to provide his or her point of view.

Secret #7 Check for Intentionality

It appears to be much more difficult to get people to take action after remote
meetings compared to face-to-face meetings. This is my own experience and
that of my clients as well. Project team members take action because of the
commitment they have to the project. It is more difficult to build trust virtually and
lack of action destroys what little trust has been built up. This can become a
vicious circle.
To make actions more likely to be carried out, agree how actions will be
documented and followed up, right at the start of your virtual meeting. Run
through the actions at the end and check that everyone is clear on what they
need to do and when. It is worth checking people's intentionality: On a scale of 1
to 10, how sure are they that they will carry out each action? If this number is
lower than 10, it might be better to change the action slightly to make it more
likely that it is carried out. After all, imperfect action that is taken trumps perfect
action that never happens.

Conclusion

Virtual meetings are a fundamental way of getting things done for many project
managers today. Many virtual meetings are frustrating and ineffective. With a
little thought and preparation, they can be made both effective and efficient.
1. Work from a quiet, carpeted room

If your room is empty and uncarpeted, it can result in hollow, echoey audio
distracting to others. Carpeted rooms with soft furnishings tend to create the best
audio during web conferences. If the room you're calling from doesn't have
carpet, even putting a rug on the floor and some floor pillows in the room can
reduce reverberation and create a warmer sound.

2. Use neutral background

While professional-looking plants, bookcases, or picture frames in your

background aren't necessarily a problem, the safest approach is to simply have a
neutral-colored wall in the background. Shades of grey or white can work
especially well. Anything distracting in the background will distract from the
content of what you're saying.

3. Create good lighting

Dimly lit rooms feel unprofessional and dated. Ensure your desk has a strong but
soft light that can illuminate your face during your video conference. I
recommend having two LED desk lamps with adjustable intensity and hue on
either side of your webcam directed toward your face so you can tweak it
according to daylight conditions and create uniform lighting on your face. One
large lamp can also work.

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4. Use laptop, not phone

Believe it or not, many people opt to do conference calls via their smartphones
because the apps tend to be very convenient to use. Not a good idea. Use your
laptop or desktop computer to make the call, which allows you to easily take
notes and have a stable image, which is nearly impossible if you're holding your
phone or trying to balance it on your desk.

Ensure Technical Setup Is Sound

1. Test the technology

While you can't completely avoid technical issues from occurring, you can reduce
the likelihood of technical surprises by taking the time to test your web
conferencing application well in advance of your virtual meeting or interview.
Upon first use, many programs like Microsoft Teams, Whereby, or Zoom need
you to explicitly grant screen sharing, audio access, and webcam permissions to
the programs that involve restarting the program and/or your system. You'll want
to do in advance.

2. Raise your webcam to eye-level

People tend to put their laptops on their desks during virtual meetings, but this
often results in webcams being awkwardly positioned with the camera is tilted up.
We've all been on calls where you're looking up the nose of the person on the
other end, which can be rather off-putting (and even menacing). Ensure your
webcam is at eye level so your image will look more natural, as if you were both
sitting across from each other at the same table. The easiest way to do this with
a laptop is to simply put it on top of a box.

3. Use a good microphone

I use a MacBook, and the built-in microphone is pretty good for everyday use, but
as someone who regularly records interviews with people for my podcast, I've
found that in the vast majority of cases, external microphones sound better than
built-in computer microphones. If you don't want to invest into an external desk
mic, even just switching to the earphones that comes with your phone will create
a more intimate, conversational sound profile.

4. Position conference window near camera

You may be tempted to use maximize your conference application to full-screen

so everyone else's image looks big on your screen. Instead, make the
conference application as small as possible and position it adjacent to your
computer's camera. This way, when you look at the video image of the person
you're talking to within the application, your gaze will not seem pointed toward a
completely different direction. Try it. You'll see what I mean.

Make "Virtual" Meetings Feel Real

1. Dress the part

If you're on an audio-only call, you may feel at liberty to just leave your pajamas
and fuzzy slippers on. However, dressing professionally is a must. I recommend
dressing as you would if you were meeting the other participant(s) in person.
That goes for your bottoms too. Even if those comfy Hawaiian board shorts or
jogging pants aren't visible on screen, they affect how you feel which affects how
you speak and interact.

2. Turn off notifications

Prevent distracting pop-ups either by shutting down extraneous applications or

turning on "Do Not Disturb" if you're running MacOS. While you may think you're
able to just ignore them, notifications are specifically designed to disrupt your
attention. Worse, if you're screen sharing, you probably don't want everyone to
see that your partner is on their way to the grocery store when you’re presenting
quarterly sales figures.
3. Look at camera, not screen, when talking

While this takes some practice, seasoned professionals who do a lot of web
conference calls make a point to look at their webcam when speaking or listening
to a specific person on the call rather than looking at their video image. While
looking at someone's image is perfectly natural (what we do in person), looking
instead at your camera gives will make it seem like you're looking directly at
them, which creates a stronger connection. While subtle, it feels different.

4. Avoid multitasking

As tempting as it may be to respond to emails or browse through your Instagram

feed while on a virtual meeting (no one will notice, right??), avoid doing it. Even if
you're a master multitasker, anything you do that isn't related to the meeting itself
will prevent you from fully participating and absorbing the content. I understand
that being fully present in every single meeting is difficult, especially those you
feel aren't necessary. However, for those meetings that truly matter, you should
force yourself to focus on what's being said, as if you were there in person.

Virtual Meetings Are a Platform Where You Can Shine

Woman working headset

Although virtual meetings seem straightforward, we've all attended ones that go
awry. By taking them as seriously and thoughtfully as physical, in-person
meetings, you can use them as a way to further build a positive personal brand
so you can be known as someone who's digitally-savvy, current, and professional
—qualities your clients, colleagues, and stakeholders will value whether meeting
you virtually or face-to-face.
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