Member Article

How to run the best virtual meetings

If you’ve been in the workforce for some time, you know what it’s like to sit through a boring, unproductive meeting. Whether it was a conference call with multiple interruptions and bad reception, a face-to-face discussion with an ineffective moderator who allowed the conversation to digress from the main topic, or a web conference where no one was paying attention, you’ve probably had to endure your share of forums that have gone horribly wrong.

Unsuccessful conferences are never a good thing for several reasons. For one, they’re time-consuming efforts that eat up your work schedule and prevent you from completing other tasks that may have more meaningful results. These types of meetings are also lackdepth or authentic connection, especially when there’s only one or a few people contributing input instead of the whole team being encouraged to participate during the presentation or ask questions afterward. This usually leads to the last reason why meetings of this nature never go anywhere, which is simply because members of the conference lose interest and may zone out if they don’t feel their voice or feedback is welcome.

Fortunately today’s professionals in the corporate world want the ‘total package’ when it comes to work conferences that are planned, executed, and received well. Recent technological advancements have made these goals a reality for business leaders who invest in Blue Jeansvirtual meetings that include video-centric collaboration rather than getting the same humdrum outcome with other types of discussions.

The Facts on Virtual Meetings

• Virtual meetings are defined as online discussions between multiple parties for business-related or recreational purposes. The most popular reasons for applications include, but aren’t limited to, training sessions, academic lectures, or corporate presentations.

•The Harvard Business Review indicates that virtual meetings generally help businesses save money by reducing travel costs but could use some finesse and the careful planning of company leaders to be carried out successfully. It’s essential, for instance, for some facilitators to consider keeping their conversations within 10 minute intervals since the average adult attention span typically lasts for about that long. If this timely goal can’t be reached, another invaluable tip is to routinely invite group input throughout the session to hold everyone’s focus for longer periods of time.

• Additionally, Forbes recommends incorporating visual templates that’s destined to keep virtual meetings charged with energy and flowing in the right direction. Also, allowing informal meals or snacks inside these kinds of discussions is a good incentive to keep team members enthused and could make for a better conclusion

•Studies show that one of the most effective forms of online meetings is video conferencing which is real-time video connect between two or more parties in different settings with a goal for interaction. Several companies and leaders of diverse industries utilize this method, including those in healthcare, technology, education, real estate, customer service, nonprofit services, law enforcement, and other sectors. Common features for these types of discussions include, but aren’t limited to, scalable cloud service, mobile and browser compatibility, multi-vendor inter-op, audio recordings, content sharing, and more.

•The first versions of video conferencing were made possible in other parts of the world since the late 1930’s. However, because of its extremely expensive costs, it wasn’t introduced to the United States until the 1980’s when extensive research for both audio and video meetings were prominent. From there, these systems evolved and have transformed into more affordable commodities that now have more capabilities.

Why Video Conferencing Ultimately Matters

• According to Business Insider, one of the best ways to improve your virtual team discussions is incorporating video technology since other kinds of remote meetings seem mostly impersonal and lack the human connection of face-to-face meetings. Video features found in Blue Jeans virtual meetings are known to be especially useful in sales meetings when professionals need the help of eye contact and nonverbal gestures to help them convince prospects of the worthiness of a specific product or service.

• Many virtual meeting fanatics are known to organize video conferencing in meeting rooms that come equipped with components that can fulfill their business needs. Others are confident with coordinating session in their personal workspaces.

• Hi-definition versions of video conferencing are part of the latest developments in the history of virtual meetings and provide users with better quality, in terms of both visual and audio displays.

Steps to Running an Effective Virtual Meeting

• Assign Specific Talking Points to Team Members

In order to keep everyone in tune with what’s being said and done, it’s important that you make it a point to have inclusive Blue Jeans virtual meetings. Allow each, or at least, most of the participants have a piece to contribute which will help them stay involved and attentive to the entire discussion.

• Articulate Your Emotions

It’s hard, if not impossible, to display what you’re feeling to others when you’re not having face-to-face conversations with them. Be sure to make statements that openly indicate your expressions or tell how you’re feeling about certain aspects or updates.

• Always Include Some Video Clips

Even if you’re not inclined to fully go with video conferencing, it’s vital that you add short video clips to your presentation. This is a break away from predictability which enables users to catch a glimpse of something has the power to pull them back into the discussion when they’re having difficulty concentrating.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kenneth Moore .