Everything You Need to Know About Virtual Meetings

As businesses begin to grow their national and international community of clients and employees, as well as expanding physical locations, getting together is often a seldom opportunity. To avoid the cost of travel, while continuing to open channels of communication, many businesses host virtual meetings for their clients and employees. If you’re a first time virtual meeting facilitator or attendee, here are a few tips and pieces of information to help enhance your meeting experience.

For Participants

Before the meeting takes place, it’s helpful to know which platform will be used. There are various types of applications that can be used to host a virtual meeting such as Google Hangout, Skype, Zoho Meeting, or GoToWebinar. These applications allow its users to see participants, share screens, text and video chat. Some applications even provide the option to brand your screen, which is ideal when meeting with current or perspective clients. If it’s your first time using a specific meeting software, make sure to download the appropriate version the day before your meeting. No one wants to be the reason why the meeting runs late!

For Facilitators

Facilitating a virtual meeting has both advantages and disadvantages. Virtual meetings can move more quickly, and are more likely to stay on track. However, it can be difficult to recognize how people are feeling since body language is harder to pick up on. Some participants might not be as likely to speak up or voice their opinions, especially if they are unfamiliar with virtual meetings.

Fortunately, there are some pre-meeting tasks that will help the meeting run smoothly and keep participants on the same page. Sending out a clear agenda starting with the most urgent items will allow people to reflect on key issues before the meeting. In addition, it’s also a good idea to be specific about what kinds of meeting preparation needs to be completed beforehand. For example, perhaps it might be helpful to ask your participants to re-read the notes from the last meeting, or to review certain documents that will be referenced in the meeting to come.

Meeting Etiquette

Behaving well during a meeting might seem obvious, however some of these etiquette standards are specific to virtual meetings. Here are a few tips when it comes to participating in a virtual meeting:

• Log onto your meeting platform early, with the video on and your microphone on mute

• Silence your cell phone and other background noises

• Speak slowly and clearly

• Provide space for questions, comments, or clarifying statements

• Make sure you have the proper meeting information, such as meeting number or which platform to install a few days before

At Quadrivium Advisors, we’re always looking for new ways to connect to our clients and partners. When it comes to virtual meetings, what’s worked for you?