Are your Zooms uninspiring? Your Teams looking tired? So many companies are closing in on nearly a year of video meetings, while others are just adopting video technology to newly remote teams. Whether your employees are weary of webcams or just learning to smile at their laptops, everyone can brush up on video meeting etiquette with these tips.
Keep Meetings Short and Sweet with an Agenda
Video meetings can be more efficient than in-person meetings. For one thing, it’s much tougher for attendees to zone out when everyone’s face is live on camera. Having undivided attention for an entire meeting: that’s a manager’s dream, right?
However, an enthusiastic and attentive team can also lead to some pretty serious divergences from the topics at hand. Before your video meetings get out of hand with some blue sky dreaming, make sure your agenda is cut and dry. You can set up brainstorming sessions for all those great ideas later.
Establish a Meeting Goal
Your agenda probably describes the information you want to cover on your meeting. But what do you really want to get out of it? If there’s no established goal, is the video meeting even necessary? Consider what you want to get out of the meeting—it might be to share information, to get a discussion going on a topic, or when you need feedback on a topic from attendees.
Then, clarify what you want to walk away with after the meeting—a final decision on a big matter, the next steps in a project, or assurance that everyone understands the information you’ve shared. With that clarification, you’ve established your meeting goal—and you’ll know when you’ve achieved it. Meeting adjourned!
Use Recordings to Allow for Flexible Schedules
The challenges of remote working have really extended to include a renewed focus on flexibility, as workers deal with additional caregiver responsibilities around the home. With the ability to record video meetings and send them out for review, employees who can’t make every single meeting can still watch the session, make their own notes, and contribute to the ongoing conversation. So hit that record feature, and make sure everyone has the opportunity to watch and chime in.
Create Training Materials with Meeting Sessions
Since you’re recording anyway, make note of any meeting agendas which might include good training information down the line. Discussions about company policy and procedures, employee benefits, and even ongoing projects can be valuable information for incoming employees.
Video content is highly effective as a learning tool, so utilizing these sessions for training down the line is an ingenious way to harness the power of video meetings. Read more about video learning here.
Screenshare for Extra Clarity
Using screenshare instead of asking meeting attendees to follow along on their own documents or web browsers can help keep the meeting on track. Video meetings are a great way to make sure everyone is able to use programs or apps that are important for company business, because they can watch live tutorials of best practices.
More powerful than static screenshots like you might find on a typical deck, the real-time illustration of where to find data, access benefits, or enroll in programs can help teams engage with the programs themselves, or continue to disseminate the information to their own teams.
Embracing video meeting technology has been a key focus for many companies in 2020, and that need will only continue in the year to come. Are you making the most of your video meetings?
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