Business meetings are an integral part of healthy communication and strategizing for any organization. However, despite tech advancements, glitches and virtual limitations can make conducting effective online meetings challenging.
Fortunately, there’s much you can do to streamline your online meetings and set them up for success and productive results. We’ll share seven tips to make your online meetings more effective and highlight popular online meeting platforms that can help you streamline conferences and virtual get-togethers.
How to hold productive online meetings
Today, more businesses than ever are creating remote work plans and accommodating telecommuting and workplace flexibility. According to Owl Labs’ 2024 State of Hybrid Work report, 27 percent of United States employees currently work in a hybrid setup, while 11 percent are fully remote. These arrangements make online meetings a necessity.
Consider the following seven tips and best practices any business can implement to make virtual meetings and communication more effective and productive.
1. Create a well-defined agenda for your online meetings.
Whether in-person or virtual, meetings can kill productivity when they meander and keep team members from crucial tasks. Online meetings are particularly vulnerable to confusion and wasted time.
Job van der Voort, CEO and co-founder of Remote, recommends sharing a detailed agenda at least 24 hours in advance. “This isn’t just courtesy; it’s crucial for global teams to prepare and contribute meaningfully,” van der Voort explained.
A clear agenda can prevent an unproductive online meeting and help keep everyone on topic. Here are some tips for creating an effective agenda:
– Itemize your agenda: Create a formal meeting agenda ahead of time, listing everything that must be discussed. Address topics by priority and allot specific time limits to each subject.
– Specify participant roles: Your agenda should specify each participant’s role in the online meeting. Don’t let a participant be caught unaware that they’re expected to contribute or share crucial information.
– Send the agenda to all participants: Send the agenda to all participants at least 24 hours in advance and confirm that everyone received it.
– Send meeting reminders: To help everyone stay on track and attend the meeting, set an automated meeting reminder using your company’s calendar app, such as Outlook or Google Calendar.
Many of the best business phone systems have online meeting functions to facilitate remote collaboration, including interactive whiteboard tools, breakout rooms, and task management tools.
2. Appoint a moderator for your online meeting.
A meeting without a moderator can go off track quickly. When you appoint a moderator, an authority figure can control the proceedings, stick to the agenda, help everyone stay focused, and keep things running smoothly. Participants need the moderator’s permission to contribute to the discussion, eliminating the problem of people speaking out of turn.
While moderators are essential for all meeting types, they’re crucial for online meetings and video conference calls because internet connectivity and audio or video quality issues can lead to miscommunications. A moderator can set the record straight, clarify issues, and recap the proceedings.
3. Prepare all tech systems before the online meeting.
Ask all participants to restart their computers at least 20 minutes before the meeting. Instruct everyone to ensure their cameras and microphones are working correctly and to test their equipment beforehand.
Additionally, ensure your meeting platform supports multiple participants and has been updated to the latest version. If participants’ meeting software downloads updates as your meeting begins, confusion, delays, and panic can ensue.
4. Set precise start and end times for your online meeting.
Time-capping your meetings can significantly increase business productivity and help you extract more value in less time. For example, you can set the meeting duration to 30 minutes and earmark 10 minutes for each agenda point. This way, the participants will stay focused, and the meeting will not go off track.
“Respect for schedules builds trust and efficiency across time zones,” van der Voort noted. “If additional discussions are needed, you can schedule them for after the group meeting.”
5. Minimize distractions during your online meeting.
Distractions can cause miscommunication in online meetings. To avoid distractions, ensure all participants sit in private rooms with proper lighting. Additionally, consider asking participants to use headphones and a collar microphone instead of their computer’s speakers and mic to ensure clear communication and minimize ambient noise.
Ask all participants to clean and organize their workspaces so attendees aren’t distracted by knick-knacks, paperwork, and other paraphernalia.
6. Conclude the online meeting with specific action items.
Many meetings end with vague promises and assurances from attendees. The moderators are responsible for extracting action items for various agenda points and getting acknowledgment from all participants.
The moderator should do the following to ensure the meeting’s purpose is met and that all action items are effectively tracked:
– Create action items.
– Assign each action item to an individual or group.
– Agree on a deadline for each action item.
– Share meeting notes after the online meeting.
Once your online meeting concludes, send all participants a summary of the meeting notes. List the action item for each agenda point, along with the name of the person or group responsible for its delivery. Ask all participants to confirm receipt of the summary and ensure they understand everything discussed and agreed upon.
Many cloud-based phone systems and meeting platforms can automatically send post-meeting notes to all attendees, freeing them from taking notes during the meeting and boosting in-meeting engagement.
How to make an online meeting fun
Engaging online meeting participants can be challenging. A Yale study found that in-person meetings lead to higher engagement than virtual ones because our brains process real, interactive faces more effectively. However, with remote teams, businesses must find creative ways to maximize engagement in virtual meetings.
One of the best ways to do this is by making online meetings more interactive and enjoyable. According to Buffer’s State of Remote Work report, 75 percent of remote workers feel connected to colleagues and clients through regular interactions and effective collaboration — which online meetings can facilitate.
But simply listening to a manager read from a cue card isn’t a recipe for a fun or engaging meeting. “If more than half the people on Zoom are checked out and not looking at the screen, it’s something you could have used video to enhance or that could have been handled by email,” explained Phil Libin, co-founder and CEO of video communications app mmhmm and AI startup studio All Turtles. “We call it the face hole test.”
Here are some fun ways to liven up an online meeting and boost engagement:
– Make introductions: Go around the virtual meeting room and ask everyone to introduce themselves. This exercise acts as an icebreaker and sets the tone for the meeting.
– Introduce brainteasers: Before getting down to business, start with a team-building exercise. Make it a contest to see which team can build the most creative object from Lego bricks or finish a puzzle first. A funny interactive quiz could also break the ice among online meeting attendees.
– Play a guessing game: Playing I Spy is another way to break the ice. Ask each participant to describe a unique item in their remote work area and have team members guess the object.
– Choose custom meeting backgrounds: It may sound insignificant, but who wants to look at everyone’s ceiling fan or odd art collection for every meeting? Choosing a meeting theme beforehand can give participants time to choose or make a custom background. You can even award a prize for the most creative background.
– Keep it on task: Respecting everyone’s time is just as crucial as having fun. Prepare for the meeting beforehand so you can spend a minimal amount of time on necessary business updates and still allow for time for workers to socialize.
Foster high-performing teams in a remote setting by encouraging collaboration, implementing team-building exercises, and forging trust.
Popular online meeting platforms
Selecting a meeting platform is a crucial decision. Many online meeting technologies can help you host effective virtual conferences, calls, and meetings.
van der Voort advised selecting an intuitive and simple meeting platform. “A powerful tool that only some people feel comfortable with will become a source of frustration,” van der Voort cautioned.
When evaluating platforms, consider your team size, meeting needs, bandwidth requirements, and budget. “Most importantly, it’s about working together in the most effective way possible, regardless of whether a person is sitting across the desk or across the country,” Libin noted.
Here are a few options to consider.
Zoom
Perhaps the most ubiquitous of all online meeting platforms, Zoom is excellent for gathering hundreds of people in a time-unlimited virtual setting with a user-friendly interface. Zoom is exceptionally well known for its chat tool, hand-raising tool, and flexible meeting formats (webinars, panel presentations, breakout rooms, traditional meetings, and more).
The generous Zoom free plan includes up to 40-minute meetings with 100 participants. Pro and Business plan options start at $15.99 per user, per month, and include extended meeting capabilities and artificial intelligence functionality. Our detailed Zoom review explains more about this platform’s video conferencing capabilities.
Google Meet
Google Meet is a video conferencing platform within Google Workspace. It offers 1080p video, noise cancellation, live captions, recording capabilities, breakout rooms, and many other features.
Meet seamlessly integrates with Google Calendar, Docs, Sheets, and Slides, making it an excellent option for companies steeped in the Google ecosystem. For example, when you add an event to your Google Calendar and invite people to it, Google generates a Meet link automatically to use on the meeting day.
Google Meet offers a 14-day free trial. After that, Google Workspace plans start at $7 per user, per month, and include 100-plus-participant video meetings, cloud storage, and customer support.
GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting is a versatile video conferencing tool for small businesses. It includes diagnostic reports, cloud recording and meeting transcriptions, and has a handy “commuter mode” for mobile meetings. This feature can turn your phone screen into a color-coded audio/mute button and uses 90 percent less bandwidth.
Plans start at $14 per organizer, per month. Available add-ons include toll-free numbers and GoToWebinar integration. If you also need a business phone system and messaging and contact center functionality, check out our GoTo Connect review. This platform is an excellent tool for supporting remote and on-site staff.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is a great internal communication tool that stores files, chat histories, and meeting recordings in one integrated workspace. Since it’s part of the Microsoft ecosystem, users can collaborate on Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files in real-time without leaving the platform.
The free tier supports up to 100 participants and limits meetings to 60 minutes. Paid plans start at $4 per user, per month, and offer longer meeting durations and additional collaboration features. Teams is a great choice for small businesses on a budget.
Webex Meetings
Webex Meetings has a robust free plan that includes meetings of up to 40 minutes with up to 100 attendees, local meeting recordings, screen sharing, and unlimited whiteboard usage for continuous collaboration. Paid plans start at $14.50 per license, per month and include noise cancellation, cloud storage, closed captions, a secure lobby to keep out uninvited guests, conference calling, and much more.
In conclusion, online meetings are essential for modern businesses, especially with the rise of remote work and hybrid setups. By following the tips outlined above and utilizing popular online meeting platforms, you can ensure that your virtual meetings are productive, engaging, and successful.
