Do you feel like you are speaking to a robot during your online meetings – speaking to a series of letters? Have meetings become mundane and disengaged? Let’s bring back the engagement into meetings using a range of online technology.
The basics
It should be standard virtual meeting etiquette, that everyone on the meeting switch on their video and mute their sound, unless they are speaking. Spend the first few minutes to introduce each other by greeting each other via the chat box or using live voice. Encourage the use of emoticons – like “hand raises” or a “thumbs up” to encourage engagement. Get comfortable to screenshare content including, slides; documents; spreadsheets. Record the meeting. Distribute to your participants a pre-reading or an assignment to complete before the meeting, so that the actual time is spent more constructively on feedback, suggestions and actions.
MS Team and Zoom
These applications have the functionality of break-out rooms. This can be used to encourage discussion, learning and connection among teams. The whiteboarding function is very useful to graphically illustrate your point of view. You could also consider connecting your i-pad or tablet to your computer and via the use of an app and a stylus – you use your tablet as a whiteboard to project onto your laptop as you screenshare. “Together Mode” is a cool feature on MS Teams to create a team feeling – virtually. The custom backgrounds in both these applications are useful – and overused – also consider having your own custom background for your meetings like a pull-up banner with your company logo or other catchy design printed.
Microsoft Forms builder – is an easy to use tool with multiple functions. Create an attendance register. Create a quick quiz or poll to be completed before the meeting and discuss results at the meeting. Build a post-meeting feedback form. Once the form is created – send out the link via the meeting invite or share the link via the chat box during your meeting. You can also create a scan code link to the form that you created.
Useful software
Add more excitement to your meetings by making them fun and engaging. Nearpod allows the facilitator to engage with their audience remotely – upload your slides and share with your audience. Use their blackboard function to allow participants to write on your blackboard. Use emaze.com to bring your content to life and create engaging slides that educate, entertain and excite. If you want engagement and discussion prior to a meeting Flipgrid allows you to start a discussion and once you share that link, participants can upload quick video content to share their viewpoint. If you love mind-mapping to illustrate your thinking, you will love Coggle! This allows you to create collaborative mind maps and flowcharts for sharing and illustration of difficult concepts. Using Kahoot, you can quickly create an interactive game that you share with you audience for them to complete a fun quiz to make your meetings more impactful. Alternatively, you can use Survey Monkey to create quick polls and feedback.
Inspirational advice
- Become curious to try something new at your next meeting.
- Be a leader in the use of technology and not just a consumer of it.
- Push the boundaries of what you think is possible using technology that is available now.
