You're planning a virtual meeting. How can you make sure it's effective?

To ensure an effective virtual meeting, prioritize clear communication and engagement. Set a concise agenda and share it in advance, allowing participants to prepare. Choose a reliable video conferencing platform and test it beforehand. Encourage active participation by fostering an inclusive environment, utilizing interactive features, and assigning roles. Manage time effectively, allowing for breaks to maintain focus. Minimize distractions by using a quiet space and appropriate technology. Follow up with meeting notes, action items, and deadlines. Emphasize collaboration and encourage feedback to enhance future virtual interactions. Regularly assess and adapt your virtual meeting strategies for continuous improvement.

When I'm planning a virtual meeting, making it effective is my top priority, and that begins with purposeful facilitation. I start by setting clear, actionable objectives and sharing them with all participants to ensure we're all aligned. This way, I keep our discussions focused and on track, preventing any drift from our agenda. By establishing a shared understanding of the meeting's purpose, I facilitate productive collaboration, ensuring that every minute we spend together is valuable. For me, effective facilitation isn't just about sticking to the agenda; it's about guiding our conversations towards achieving our desired outcomes, making our virtual meetings both efficient and impactful.

Virtual or personal, planning for any meeting should start with this question "Do we really need this meeting?". Is it possible to achieve the outcome without the email? So many meetings can be avoided by an email. Of course, connection is important, however, being very conscious of other people's time and price of a meeting is essential.

It is even more important to make sure that there is a way to "visualise" the discussion in a virtual meeting. Human brains are not capable of retaining more than 7 pieces of information. In virtual meeting, with multiple people, where some of the cameras may not be on, we struggle to see body language, make eye contact and information retention is even more difficult. Therefore, consider having something that captures the discussion on the fly, such as a whiteboard or MIRO or a mindmap.

When designing the meeting make sure to include time for supporting participants in using the platform or tools for the activities. Here are three ways: 1. Send instructions or key information before the session 2. Doing a 2-3 minute demo of the platform at the beginning is helpful 3. Have a tech person available in case someone needs help troubleshooting

Having an outline of the meeting is super important because you'll manage your time more efficiently, and everyone in the session will know they have a purpose and bring ideas and important feedback to the meeting. Create icebreakers if possible, but also polls and feedback sessions so everyone has a say and feels engaged in the meeting you're conducting - think about how you will make it interesting for them!

Very rarely do I see a stand-alone facilitator whose role is to facilitate. Most of the time, people take on the role of a facilitator, who is also the host and owner of the activity and hence his or her attention and focus might be divided. Effectiveness of a meeting can be exponentially increased by having a skilled facilitator. Definitely, consider that for your next meeting.

Use a tech person to run all of the logistics while you are facilitating. It not only helps the session to run smoother but also reduces your stress as the facilitator. The more you can delegate, the better you can hold space and guide the process. Your tech person can: (1) monitor the chat (2) let people in the session (3) share slides or videos ... And most important: Mute people when needed.