![\"remote](\"https:\/\/krisp.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/remote-working-statistics-2020.jpg\")
\nThink about your own reasons to attend a meeting. Would you be happy to participate in a virtual meeting just because your manager called for it? Or are you actually interested in finding out why you need to attend it?<\/p>\n
It takes three seconds to realize why most meetings fail.<\/p>\n
They simply don\u2019t provide value for your \u200bvirtual team\u200b. Managers forget to motivate their colleagues before a meeting by showing them it\u2019s worth attending. Even worse, your employee might not even resonate with the goals you have for the meeting. So why should they attend?<\/p>\n
Managers tend to stick to the same routine stand-up meetings that could be done via written messages instead of having everyone sit through 30+ minutes of updates.<\/p>\n
The real purpose of a meeting though is getting things done.<\/p>\n
But meetings curb productivity for as many as \u200b65% of employees\u200b. \u200bSeveral studies\u200b prove how disengaging and inefficient holding too many meetings on the wrong topics and with the wrong people can be. Not to mention they can take up \u200b80% of a manager\u2019s time\u200b.<\/p>\n
In a virtual setting, the effects are even greater. There are few ways of actually making sure your team is actively participating and not scrolling their phones instead. Then there\u2019s the technical aspect with software crashes and glitches preventing certain team members from hearing the full conversation or even getting their point across.<\/p>\n
The result?<\/p>\n
A severe growth in misunderstandings, employees being left behind, and loads of time wasted on information that could be relayed in a crisp manner instead.<\/p>\n
To help you run effective virtual meetings, we\u2019re having a look at all of the changes you need to make beyond simply ensuring your tech stack is up to par with expectations.<\/p>\n
\nThink about your own reasons to attend a meeting. Would you be happy to participate in a virtual meeting just because your manager called for it? Or are you actually interested in finding out why you need to attend it?<\/p>\n
When people are not even aware of the meeting\u2019s goal, they\u2019re highly likely to avoid attending it as much as possible. Despite the common belief that meetings waste an employee\u2019s time, your team can be motivated by them too.<\/p>\n
If a meeting can help them finish their work faster, provide handy tools, or just pair them up with a colleague for a better brainstorming session, they have something to win out of simply staying for the remote call.<\/p>\n
Beyond the \u201cWhat\u2019s the goal?\u201d question though, this is the stage where you should write down the general details of how meetings should be conducted:<\/p>\n
\u25cf Who will moderate the meeting?
\n\u25cf When and how should team members share their ideas?
\n\u25cf How will technical issues be handled?<\/p>\n
![\"remote](\"https:\/\/krisp.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/How-Coworkers-Can-Stay-Connected-While-Working-from-Home-2.jpg\")
\nHold fewer daily meetings by establishing a clear time frame when managers should call a meeting.<\/p>\n
The real value of virtual meetings is just this: using time effectively. In a \u200bremote work\u200b setting, there\u2019s no room for impromptu chats or meetings. Everything is well put together and scheduled.<\/p>\n
Stand-up meetings are one of the easiest you can replace. A Slack integration such as Standuply\u200b or a simple Slack channel only for daily status meetings will save you at least half an hour every single day. Brainstorming meetings or reviews and approvals can also be moved over to Slack or your preferred \u200bteam communication tool\u200b.<\/p>\n
Create clear guidelines for team leads and managers so they\u2019re never going to call up an unnecessary meeting or keep employees in a meeting beyond the 1-hour mark. Tell them exactly how long a virtual meeting should last and how they can make sure they only invite the right people to a briefing.<\/p>\n
A generally accepted rule to conducting effective virtual meetings is to only call the team members that are essential to the meeting\u2019s resolution\u2014those whose feedback you must get or who need to get detailed instructions.<\/p>\n
But how do you make a virtual meeting more fun for those attending?<\/p>\n
Building strong communication and trust in global virtual teams rarely starts with work matters. You want your team to get to know one another, find their common interests, and start collaborating on their own terms while proposing unique projects and ideas.<\/p>\n
Sounds complicated? Think about your employees who\u2019ve never met each other or barely got to interact for 2 minutes. In a physical office setting, friendships would grow naturally. Virtually though, you need to use some quick hacks to turn meetings into something more than a formal event.<\/p>\n
Icebreaker questions or activities are an easy way to boost your team\u2019s connection and get them focused. You can keep these light-hearted or bring up current world events and news.<\/p>\n
What are some fun icebreaker questions?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u25cf What was your first job like? You can also simply have a different team member tell a short story every day or share a fun fact.<\/p>\n Note<\/strong><\/em>:\u200b Don\u2019t waste too much time with these though. You have a business goal for every meeting after all and dwelling too much on the fun part means less time to discuss the real deal.<\/p>\n Prepare questions for everyone, require all employees in the meeting to share their feedback, take a survey, or just answer a poll. If you didn\u2019t get to hear what even just a single person had to say, ask them directly to voice their opinion.<\/p>\n To maintain their full attention as much as possible, have everyone turn on their camera. This way, they won\u2019t be tempted to do something else during the meeting and they\u2019ll be ready to answer any unexpected question because you know they\u2019re paying attention.<\/p>\n One key thing to keep in mind is not to let one person rule over the meeting. Especially with meetings where a manager gets together with other employees in a non-managerial position, the tendency is for the manager [or meeting moderator] to do all the talking. A team is not just a person and everyone has their own insights they get by working for your company.<\/p>\n The best employers are able to turn meetings into activities employees actually look forward to. Think again. Incorporate problem-solving and trust-building activities occasionally or for regular non-work related meetings.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a catch here though: no one wants to sit through a meeting that\u2019s all about talking aimlessly about your day and recent whereabouts. So these casual chats you\u2019d otherwise have in the office over a cup of coffee also need clear target points to cover.<\/p>\n So, how do you make a virtual meeting more fun?<\/strong><\/p>\n Some virtual activities to include every now and then are:<\/p>\n \u25cf Having a different person host the meeting every time It\u2019s clear that you need to keep distractions as far from your workspace as possible. But did you know you could have your kids playing around while no one would notice?<\/p>\n Dogs barking, traffic or construction noise, and even your family chattering in the other room can now be literally removed from calls. \u200bKrisp\u200b will mute these both on your and your team\u2019s end, leaving you with a clear conversation that doesn\u2019t demand repetition.<\/p>\n Besides the noise, connectivity issues can also cause misunderstandings and a lot of frustration.<\/p>\n Managers will lose their patience trying to grasp an employee\u2019s ideas while the latter will lack the motivation to keep voicing their thoughts.<\/p>\n With team members sometimes having different schedules or working from distinct time zones, try recording the meetings. In case anyone\u2019s connection gets cut off, they can refer to the video instead.<\/p>\n This works for both employees and collaborators and prevents lots of unnecessary back-and-forths. You can also cut certain sections you want to share with the entire remote team or company so they don\u2019t have to sit through a meeting that\u2019s not of interest to them just to get an update.<\/p>\n [demo]<\/p>\n Have a call-to-action for every online meet-up, chat, or organization-wide event. Tell employees what they\u2019re supposed to do next so they don\u2019t have to guess it. Do you want them to work on tasks you\u2019ve given out or just brainstorm ideas and come up with concept models until next time?<\/p>\n You\u2019d be surprised by how confused employees can get if you leave them without an actionable task. Plus, there\u2019s no bigger reason for them to consider meetings as meaningless.<\/p>\n Tip<\/em><\/strong>: \u200bCreate a summary of the meeting with the key points you want everyone to remember so they can use it as a reference in case they forgot something you said. Include extra resources, tools, and points of contact to ensure they get the answer they need immediately without having to ask around for clarifications.<\/p>\n You can also use meeting endings to connect people who are working on the same project or tasks so they can have their separate one-on-one meetings.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a good idea to support your team during the process of creating stronger bonds so they will have built trust within each other by the time they get to work together. This comes in handy as you\u2019re hiring new people who never got to interact with the others in an office setting.<\/p>\n An app like \u200bDonut\u200b lets you randomly connect individuals from different teams and plan a quick meeting for them over lunch break or a cup of coffee. Go the extra mile and set up a connection program to define your team culture. Introduce people from different regions, give an employee the chance to speak directly with the CEO every week, or launch a mentorship program.<\/p>\n Ideally, you want to cover all of the tips above to steer clear from all potential virtual team communication challenges. If you\u2019ve already implemented some of these virtual communication hacks, make sure you go one more time through them to see if there\u2019s any room for improvement.<\/p>\n Bookmark this guide to communicating effectively in virtual meetings and get back to it whenever you feel like you could use some inspiration to keep your team engaged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It takes three seconds to realize why most meetings fail. They simply don\u2019t provide value for your \u200bvirtual team\u200b. Managers forget to motivate their colleagues before a meeting by showing them it\u2019s worth attending. Even worse, your employee might not even resonate with the goals you have for the meeting. So why should they attend? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":7331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"two_page_speed":[]},"categories":[314,57],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\n\u25cf What\u2019s the worst at-job experience you\u2019ve had?
\n\u25cf What would help our remote team work better?
\n\u25cf What\u2019s one secret talent you can show us right now?
\n\u25cf How would you change the world if you had only 1 hour to do it?
\n\u25cf What\u2019s one thing you can always put 100% into?
\n\u25cf What\u2019s your favorite quote we can use to motivate us today?
\n\u25cf Would you rather be known as an award-winning professional or have the ability to
\ninspire others?
\n\u25cf What\u2019s the weirdest thing someone asked you during a meeting or interview?
\n\u25cf Tell us about your funniest LinkedIn conversation.
\n\u25cf What\u2019s the #1 that always distracts you?
\n\u25cf What is your most-used emoji in a business setting?
\n\u25cf What did you have for breakfast this morning?
\n\u25cf If you could be guaranteed one thing in life, what would that be?
\n\u25cf What is your best work tip that we don\u2019t know yet?
\n\u25cf If you could choose a new job no matter how crazy it is, which would you go for?<\/p>\nMake sure everyone is active in the conversation<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/krisp.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/visuals-ufK-deiLqY8-unsplash-1-scaled.jpg\")
\nAt some point, we\u2019ve all been part of a meeting when we just couldn\u2019t get our ideas across. You think you have the best suggestion ever but don\u2019t get the chance to say it and you\u2019re too afraid to share it with the manager later. Thousands of ideas are lost this way\u2014maybe even on a daily basis.<\/p>\nBreak the routine every once in a while<\/h2>\n
\nDoes this sound utopic?<\/p>\n
\n\u25cf Preparing fun slides or videos instead of plain whiteboards
\n\u25cf Getting your team to take an online quiz in one or two minutes and share their results
\n\u25cf Asking your team members to prepare a funny question for you
\n\u25cf Sharing a weird or unique item they have in their homes
\n\u25cf Taking 5 minutes at the end of the meeting for a \u201cTwo Truths and One Lie\u201d round
\n\u25cf Try speed networking by getting people to come 5 minutes earlier and talk to one
\nanother in smaller groups until everyone\u2019s ready for the meeting
\n\u25cf Have your employees change their background image to the place where they\u2019d like
\nto be at the moment
\n\u25cf Encourage people to write a fun fact about them on a plain color and use that as their
\nbackground for the call
\n\u25cf Use a \u200bvoice changer tool\u200b for a themed call to make a regular meeting different
\n\u25cf Run an interests poll by bringing up certain hobbies or interest fields and having
\npeople with similar passions bond over their similarities
\n\u25cf Get people to dress up in a crazy costume<\/p>\nDon\u2019t let background noises and connectivity issues lead to misunderstandings<\/h2>\n
Always follow up and give an actionable takeaway<\/h2>\n
![\"self-management\"](\"https:\/\/krisp.ai\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/crop-faceless-female-entrepreneur-doing-multitasking-work-on-4474033-2-1.jpg\")
\nSo how do you end a virtual meeting?<\/strong><\/p>\nWhat to do next?<\/h2>\n