Now that we are all leading, hosting and participating in online meetings, there are a lot of “tips” and recommendations from many different places. As someone who has been hosting online meetings for more than six years before it was the only way to host a meeting, I wanted to share with you my Top 10 Tips for Facilitating Online Meetings.
- Be clear about the meeting purpose. This is a key to avoiding “online meeting fatigue”.
- Garner support from your team. This is particularly important if you are leading a large group meeting online. You need help in order to effectively host the meeting. Don’t try to do it alone!
- Set expectations about participation. Just like an in-person meeting, it helps everyone know what to expect and how to work together.
- Share your screen. It helps everyone focus on the meeting content.
- Use video to see one another. This allows you to see that nonverbal communication that is critical when facilitating meetings.
- Mute all lines. You can ask folks to mute themselves but there is always one…and it just takes one…:)
- Call on people directly. The goal is not to ‘call them out” but to encourage engagement from attendees you know have something to contribute on a particular topic.
- Use the chat feature. This also encourages engagement and an opportunity to hear from one another.
- Keep meetings short. Why does every meeting need to be an hour?!
- Follow-up in a timely manner. This ensures productivity and continued engagement.
For the next 10 weeks, we will provide more in-depth guidance on each of these 10 topics so that you can become more confident and effective in leading online meetings!
Which of these 10 tips have you found most helpful in leading online meetings?
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Photo by Ryan Mendoza on Unsplash
