👰🏼 👩🏾‍🚀 🚶🏼 10 tricks how not to merge online konfu 🔃 👉 🏣

Coronavirus (Covid-19) has pushed the whole world online. Companies massively transfer employees to remote mode. More and more meetings take place on the Internet and every day the trend is only growing. Some companies are already planning to leave the online format in the future as working. But online, there are different laws for working meetings, which are significantly different from face-to-face meetings. If you plan to organize online conferences or be a speaker at them, these techniques will help you achieve the desired result.

1. Several computers for the organizer

Common problems with online meetings are the lethargy of participants and their poor involvement in the process. The use of several computers simultaneously connected to the conference will help to add dynamics and strengthen leadership presence. To avoid sound interference, turn on the speaker and microphone on only one computer. If necessary, use additional devices as screens. One can be shared to view the presentation, the rest can be configured on the video of key participants. So you can better see and control the mood of the meeting. If a technical problem occurs, several computers will save the meeting. You can easily switch to another and continue communication without breaking the rhythm of the meeting.

2. Virtual conference room and meeting rules

To conduct effective meetings, you need clear rules of conduct that are understandable to all participants. Their form and content directly depend on the organization and its corporate climate. The rules for holding online conferences can be the same for all meetings or formed separately for each meeting. There are a number of rules that we consider very important:

Seating When we meet offline, it's easy to adjust the discussion process. Without rules in an online conversation, a discussion will become voice chaos without a concrete result. To avoid this, you can agree on a sequence before the start of the conversation or send a virtual seating plan to the participants in advance. For the latter option, a drawing of a horseshoe on a sheet and marks of who speaks to whom are used. This greatly saves the discussion time and nerves of the participants.

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When meeting participants are in the same territory, they are tempted to participate in an online rally collectively. Most often, it looks like gathering a mass of people in a conference room with one computer connected. In this case, there is no need to talk about the effectiveness of the process. Online participants do not see or hear anyone from the offline field. Therefore, if you hold a meeting on the Internet, hold it on the Internet. Ask participants to join the conversation from different rooms and from different devices. Limit the number of participants on one computer to three people. So each participant will be clearly visible and heard.

4. The test. Test. Test

Technical issues drain the fuse of any online meeting. If there are problems with the system, the meeting will either start later or not start at all. Such situations interfere with employees and companies. To avoid disappointment, log in at least 10 minutes in advance. We recommend that you do this to other participants in the meeting. This moment can be included in the general rules of the company or written before the organization of each specific meeting. For example, the beginning of the meeting at 11.00, the entrance to the system at 10.45 - 10.50.

5. Warming up the participants

Informal conversations are one of the key factors in a smooth workflow. But working on the Internet, you risk losing most of your personal interactions. If an online conversation regularly talks only about work, employees will have a feeling of communication with inanimate people. The problem is closed by a 5-10 minute warm-up at the beginning of the conversation. It is a group of informal questions for each participant: “How are you?”, “What is interesting in life?”, “Have you bought all the buckwheat there already?” etc.

By asking these questions, you:

create the basis for free discussions, where everyone can share their personal opinions;

give everyone the opportunity to speak out, morally relaxing before speaking at the meeting;

give them the opportunity to check the stability of the connection, camera and microphone;

provide a temporary buffer for late visitors or participants with technical problems. So they can join the meeting later, without missing critical content.

6. Work with key participants

Regardless of the format of the meeting, coordinate the agenda with key participants in the conversation. For online, this is doubly important. Virtual meetings make it difficult to monitor people and control the working atmosphere. And the speaker’s unexpected panic can nullify all efforts to organize a constructive conversation. Talk with key participants and find out their needs, concerns, and behaviors. Understanding this, you will make the agenda convenient for everyone, and the meeting more productive. During the 5-minute break, contact the speakers by phone. Evaluate their mood and make adjustments if necessary.

7. Presentation

In addition to clear rules for the participants, an agreed agenda and timing, there is another skeleton of the meeting. Make sure you know what you want to discuss, what questions to ask, what information to provide, and what result to get. Then create a presentation that guides participants through the entire agenda. Slides should be well structured and concise. You can share your screen with a presentation or just walk on it yourself. This will help you stay on track and get the most out of your online meeting.

8. Fewer people

Online meetings are more difficult to manage than in-person meetings. And the more people get involved, the harder it is. Keep this in mind when forming the composition of the meeting. Try to include only those people without whom the meeting does not make sense. Non-key participants can send a recording of the conversation, if there is such a need.

9. Timing

As a rule, online meetings take up 30% more time than face-to-face meetings. This is due to both warming up and the need for additional clarifications and setting rules. Take this into account when scheduling. Do not forget to include time for summing up the meeting and informal goodbyes after.

10. No silence on the air

Imagine your meeting is a radio whose broadcast should not be interrupted. Silence, when nothing happens, leads the participants into bewilderment and frustration. At such moments, someone may “leave” the meeting, starting to think about other things. Other participants can see in silence the opportunity to show themselves and take control of the meeting. Such actions will not only undermine your leadership, but also distract from the agenda. The only exception for silence is planned silence, when participants are given personal assignments. From “silence on the air” will save only a full preparation for the meeting. A full-fledged preparation is all 9 of the previous points.

10 tricks how not to merge online konfu