Virtual Classroom English

Virtual meetings
Advanced

Important Points!

PERSONALLY
• look professional - clothes / hair / makeup etc.

ENVIRONMENT
• a clean and tidy room
• ideally a clear backdrop - think about the backdrop behind you in such circumstances, place
your webcam so you are against a blank wall, and definitely not within view of the washing
hanging out or the kids' toys over the sofa!
• good lighting - not in front of a window
• a quiet space - work in a room with a lock on the inside to ensure you are not subject to
awkward interruptions.

TIMING
• are you connecting with people in a different geographical location /a different country / a
different time zone - make sure you have the correct time to meet together!

OTHER
• internet access - if you have to share the home WIFI with other family members who may
also be working (or playing!) and it's too much traffic when you're all online, then work out a
schedule or shift system for when you can have the internet all to yourself.

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Keeping it effective

BEFORE
• who needs to attend / how many participants - do they all need to be on camera and
microphone, or can some just watch and listen?
• decide a good time with regards to different time zones
• decide which platform and check everyone has access to it
• send out meeting invitations
• do you need to send out documents or notes before the meeting?
• do you need presentation slides?
• who will be the 'host'?
• who is available to provide technical support?
• what language is the meeting in? (English?)

DURING
• can everyone see / hear the host
• has everyone got a good enough connection to join in (giving advice such as cutting the
camera if internet is poor to help connectivity)
• is someone making notes, or do you need to record the meeting?
• do you need to screenshare?
• does everyone understand what is being said (language level)?

AFTER
• are there any follow-up actions? / do you need to allocate some tasks?
• do you need to write up and share meeting notes / share the video of the meeting?
• do you need to schedule a follow-up meeting?

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Etiquette

1. Leave the keyboard alone - the sound of your typing can be distracting.
Side note: Some research shows you retain more information if you take notes by hand versus
typing them.

2. Dress appropriately - despite the freedom to wear anything when working at home, when you
are in a virtual meeting and sharing your webcam, your coworkers will be less than thrilled to see
your lazy clothes and bed head.

3. Be aware of your surroundings - Your coworkers won’t be able to hear your ideas or take you
seriously when there is a pile of dirty clothes in the corner behind you. You also want to avoid
looking like you work from a cave because of bad lighting.

4. Mute your microphone when you’re not talking - especially important if the postman might call,
the dog bark or the children might be screaming around in the hallway.

5. Speak up - when you enter a small meeting announce yourself when you join, introduce
yourself and say hi — just make sure not to interrupt someone mid-sentence. Secondly, don’t be
afraid to speak loudly during a virtual meeting. Your team will appreciate being able to hear
you without having to strain their ears. Keep in mind if your team is in a conference room, that
means they are all sitting around a single phone speaker or crowded around a laptop.

6. No food allowed - No one wants to see you stuff your face while discussing important business
matters.

7. Stay seated and stay present - It may be tempting to check your inbox or carry on a side
conversation during a dull moment in a meeting, but don’t do it! If you’re using your webcam,
use attentive body language — sit up straight, and don’t let your eyes wander too much.

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Rules of engagement

Have some rules of engagement or virtual meeting norms. Such as:

• Use the technology that most accessible to everyone on our team.
• Test your technology before the meeting and resolve any technical issues.
• Do not multi-task (do other work) during the meeting.
• Follow an organized line-up to ensure each person has a chance to respond.
• Turn on your video whenever possible and be camera-ready.

Remember that virtual meeting design is more than agenda planning. Such as having these roles:
• Facilitator: Designs and facilitates meeting
• Note taker: Takes action notes/takeaways and emails them to everyone right after meeting
• Technical support: Helps with technical troubleshooting
• Bridge moderator: Someone who can assist remote participants in a face-to-face meeting or
those unable to use a video conference platform or facilitates in the chat
• Timekeeper: Keeps time

Also:
• Evaluate and continuously improve virtual meetings
• Send meeting notes that people actually read
• Ask a specific person a specific question as asking open-ended questions to a large remote
audience will often result in 'dead air'.
• Cope with internet 'lag' or 'delay' so as not to talk over each other.
• Take a poll or ask a question and ask for answers via chat.

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Problems and Solutions

- Too many meetings! - Use virtual meetings judiciously

Create supercharged agendas, circulate them before the meeting, and stick to them.

- No body language - Put a face on it

Make sure EVERYONE comes on camera - if participants don't have their camera on this might
be a good moment to encourage them to finally turn them on!

- Lack of social cues - Check in, react, and express emotion

Ensuring that participants know they’re expected to react and be present.

- Background noise - Etiquette and technical tools

Make sure everyone knows to mute their lines if there is distracting noise in the background.

- Unclear expectations and points - Visual aids and interaction

Use document sharing tools to make visual aids part of the meeting to capture visual learners.
Create bullet point notes for reading and writing learners and share them in the same way.

Keep the energy high!

3 ideas to keep virtual meetings energized, participants awake and interested:

1. Make it personal - use some small talk - virtual settings can feel quite impersonal because of
the physical and psychological distance, so you need to be creative.
2. Convey warmth and presence - don't slouch in front of the screen, this isn't TV - adopt an
engaged, active persona in an environment that doesn’t necessarily lend itself to that.
3. Make it interactive - use chat / polling functions / image sharing, whatever you can to get
people joining in.

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