Virtual meetings are the new normal.  As the globe shrinks and our teams and talent are dispersed, more and more we find ourselves with headsets on, leading, facilitating or participating in virtual sessions.

The biggest mistake being made on the planet right now, with regard to virtual meetings, is that we are treating them like face to face meetings.  We are trying to emulate what happens in the physical space, in the non physical, or auditory space.  I see this happen with trainers trying to recreate the same feeling or experience you have in a physical setting and it just doesn't work.  A new medium needs a new approach.

So, here are three well intentioned things you are probably doing, and for the sake of your participants, please stop.

Addressing the whole group.  Saying things like "Welcome everybody!" or "What do you all think about that?". With both of these statements you are speaking to a group, and they are listening as an individual.   Irrespective of the number of participants on a Virtual Meeting or Webinar, the relationship that you have with them, as the meeting chair or lead, is 1:1. It's important to remember that whilst you may feel like you are talking to many people, your audience is often sitting on their own, in their office, or at their cubicle, with their head set on trying to focus on what is happening in the meeting. Imagine you are speaking to one person. Better to say things like "I would like to welcome you to today's meeting", or "What do you think about that?".

Reading powerpoint slides. It seems as though many presenters feel the need to constantly be talking and filling any silences.  With virtual meetings these silences can feel even more awkward than in physical settings.  It's like dead air on the radio.  Whilst I do believe we need to avoid dead air, reading the slides is not the solution.  Frankly, if we wanted to read the slides, you could send us the deck. You need to find ways to add value to the slides. Provide a reason for you to be sharing the information with us. What new distinctions can you add to the points or data being shown so that participants need to listen to you?  I think this is also true for physical meetings, by the way.  Participants will be more interested in the story of the slides, rather than having the data read to them.

Calling out individuals to participate. There's nothing worse than the meeting leader "picking on" a participant who they think is not listening and putting them on the spot in a meeting...to make a point. Even asking a specific individual for input can be challenging on a virtual call as you generally have only, at best, 70% of participants attention.  Participants often don't have access to the physical cues they do when being face to face, and as a result, even processing a question can take longer. Think about this, if you are in a physical session, you can see the meeting leader turn to you, make eye contact and they then raise their eyebrows as they open their mouths preparing to speak.  These are all physical cues that you are about to be addressed and may need to respond.  In a virtual session you have none of that.  Before you know it, you are hearing down the line "Donna...?  Donna...?  Are you there?".  When opening the session, remind people of how to interact with the technology. Invite them to ask questions by typing into the chat box or using the raise hand function. Do an activity up front that has them practice with this, perhaps a check in or icebreaker so they are comfortable with the features. Let individuals know before hand that you may call on them during the meeting so they are prepared.  This will increase your interaction throughout the call.

At best a virtual session is about 50% as effective as a face to face. You are already facing challenges of participants attention, technology, time zones and often language difficulties.  

Your job as the meeting leader or chair is to make it easy for your participants to tune in.

What's your experience of virtual meetings?

#makingworkwork #makingvirtualwork