Virtual meetings have become a lifeline and an essential tool for connecting with people other than those in your household. This article of FittingChairs will show you some essential guides on how to make a virtual meeting engaging.
Indeed, whether you connect with your work teams via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or any virtual meeting platforms, it is critical that your meetings continue to keep participants stay productive and engaged.
Here are some of our best tips for making future virtual work meetings more comfortable, engaging, and productive:
Choose A Comfortable Meeting Space
You wouldn’t have a meeting at your desk at work. So, why not meet at your home desk?
If you have the opportunity and the necessary equipment, hold your meeting somewhere other than your usual workspace for how to make virtual meetings more interactive. It could be the back patio, the living room, or even the couch. If you need a table to write on, make one quickly.
Set Up Your Camera Properly
If you’re using an external webcam, place it at the top of your screen so you’re looking at both the camera and your screen.
Others will be looking directly at you while you are looking at the screen in this manner.
Also, keep in mind to avoid putting your camera on the side of your computer screen, where you’ll have to turn awkwardly from camera to screen and place the webcam at an angle that includes your entire head and shoulders.
Be Prepared
Before a meeting begins, make sure you have all of the necessary resources for getting interactive virtual meetings.
When it’s your turn to present and you need to share your screen, have your document open and ready on your desktop so you can easily click share when it’s your turn.
The goal of virtual meetings should be the same as face-to-face meeting. Make sure the meeting has an agenda and that expectations and outcomes are clear.
Don’t forget to get a cup of coffee or a glass of water to stay hydrated during your meeting.
Control Unwanted Noise
Unless absolutely necessary, participants should remain silent. This reduces background noise and keeps participants engaged.
Use headsets or earphones instead of your laptop or PC’s speakers for optimal audio quality and to reduce distracting background noise. It’s also a wise way if you want to apply how to make virtual meetings more interactive.
Ensure Adequate Lighting
Make sure there is enough light in the room for other participants to see you clearly.
Generally, poor or excessive background lighting can be distracting.
The ability to blur your backdrop is a useful feature provided by most online/virtual meeting tools, creating engaging virtual meetings. This feature is especially useful if you’re the presenter and want to minimize distracting background clutter.
Stand Up
How to make virtual meetings more interactive if you just sit too long? Well, stand up!
Take advantage of the opportunity to stand during meetings. This could imply leaving your laptop on a filing cabinet or your kitchen bench for part or all of the meeting.
On the other hand, standing up sometimes is a good way to stay safe during working from home effectively.
Ask Permission If Recording Meetings
Virtual meetings can be recorded and shared with those who were unable to attend the meeting or for future reference. So, it’s essential to have virtual meeting engagement ideas.
If you intend to record a meeting, you must follow certain privacy guidelines. Make sure you get permission from everyone in the room before you start recording, and give participants the option to opt out if they don’t want to participate.
Schedule A Quick Break
If your meeting is expected to last longer than a couple of hours, plan a short break so participants can stretch, refill their water and even coffee, or even attend to their curious children or pets!
Anyway, virtual meetings should not be boring and time-consuming.
Consider scheduling five minutes of social interaction with coworkers to refresh and mimic how you would interact with your coworkers in the office. You can tell jokes, share personal stories, share a virtual bickie, or hold themed meetings.
The pandemic has undoubtedly altered the way we interact with others. Even after life returns to normalcy, virtual meetings may remain a popular way to connect with our colleagues, clients, business partners, family, and friends.
But for the time being, relax and enjoy your next virtual meeting. We might have to get used to it for a little while longer.
These suggestions above from FittingChairs will help you apply how to make a virtual meeting engaging. Don’t forget to apply these ideas on your next virtual meeting.
