Cardinal rules for virtual meetings in 2022

It’s understandable that running meetings over videos doesn’t come naturally to many of us. We’d all love to believe that all of our virtual meetings are highly effective but let’s be honest, most of the team members are probably browsing through their emails while you run through your slides. Is it just the remote meetings, or maybe the problem lies in your approach? If as a host, you’re skipping icebreaking questions, hogging participation time, and neglecting agendas, efficient remote meetings will remain a distant dream.

During the COVID-19 era, many companies embraced the remote-work culture and increased their reliance on virtual meetings. We are almost back in the normal world but virtual meetings are here to stay. They enable remote workers across different time zones to hold daily stand-up meetings, weekly reviews, project presentations, and other events from the comfort of their home location.

To host an effective virtual meeting, it is cardinal to have a set of ground rules for all participants. When everyone knows what to expect from a meeting, they can be more productive and courteous, communicate more effectively, and avoid distractions.

Having a checklist of the following mini-tips to host the virtual meetings will make them pleasant for everyone -

1. All meetings must have an agenda
2. Participants should mute their microphones when not speaking
3. Ensure no ones if multitasking
4. Don’t interrupt other people or attempt to speak over them
5. Timebox all out-of-scope discussions

5 best practices for fulfilling meetings -

Here are five of the best practices you should incorporate to run your virtual meetings without any hiccups -

1. Keep the video on
   
   Virtual meetings require vigilant and singular attention, almost more focus than in-person meetings. Going ‘just audio’ is equivalent to calling a face to face meeting and putting a curtain down between you and everyone else. Keeping the video on also holds you more accountable and focused.
    
2. Check your angles
   
   Do a quick test run to see how you look! This is important because the natural angle of a laptop camera means that the camera is looking straight up your nose and along your chin. Avoid sitting in front of a window. While the golden halo around a head looks nice in Renaissance art, it gets somewhat annoying in a virtual meeting.
    
3. Dedicate space
   
   Too often, people assume working remotely means working from wherever and whenever you want. Not so. In fact, virtual work requires more discipline. Find a dedicated space where you won’t be interrupted by children, spouses or other distractions.Also, don’t forget to mind or even change your physical background. Maybe, intentionally create a workspace which is just that.
    
4. Add participatory elements
   
   By far, one of the easiest ways to make virtual meetings fun is to add some engaging activities to keep the energy high. Adding interactive elements means planning activities and games that call for employee participation. Group energizers are generally quick puzzles, icebreakers or pretty simple question-based games with Yes/No or multiple choice answers. (Similar to warm-up activities at summer camp or offsite).
   Lastly,
    
5. Use laptops or wide screens, not phones
   
   Participants have increasingly started opting to do conference calls via their smartphones because the apps tend to be very convenient to use. Not a good idea. Use your laptop or desktop computer to make the calls. Besides looking professional, they also allow you to easily take notes and have a stable image, which is nearly impossible if you're holding your phone or trying to balance it on your desk.