Post on 15-Feb-2022
Tips and Tricks to
Effective Virtual
Meetings and Training
Prepared for: ACEC Indiana and the Indianapolis
Department of Public Works
2021
Table of Contents:
Virtual Meetings Tips and Tricks
Tips for Attending a Virtual Meeting
Tips for Hosting a Successful Virtual Meeting
Tips for Hosting Successful Virtual Training
Virtual Meetings Tips and Tricks
Virtual Meetings Tips and Tricks
How to make them feel more real. Body Language tells the story of engagement.
1. Use body language and speak with your hands
2. Maintain eye contact
3. Positioning. You are both seeing and being seen – general rule – be about 2.5’ - 3’ from your
laptop
4. Be at eye-level from camera
5. Turn off your self-camera when you are the presenter
6. Some will do quick stretching to get warmed up for the meeting. Helps you be more present
Tips for Attending a Virtual Meeting
Tips for Attending a Virtual Meeting
1. Test your technology. Make sure your camera, headphones and microphone work properly BEFORE the meeting starts…not during
2. Eliminate noise. Sit in a quiet space and try to eliminate any noises prior to the start of the meeting
Silence your phone
Turn off email notification
Put the dog outside
Make sure the kids are occupied
Eliminate any background noise
3. Mute your microphone whenever you are not speaking
Background noise
Anything audible
Other sounds
Tips for Attending a Virtual Meeting
4. Make eye contact with your camera
Eye contact is key to meeting engagement
Focus on your camera location not your screen while speaking
5. Think about your background
Remove anything distracting in the background before meeting
6. Use proper lighting
Work in well-lit room
Avoid lights being directed at your camera/backlight
7. Treat on-line meetings exactly like a normal in-person meetings
Dress, act and behave just like any other meeting
If you wouldn’t do it in an in-person meeting, don’t do it in an on-line
meeting
Tips for Hosting a Successful Virtual Meeting
Tips for Hosting a Successful Virtual Meeting
Choosing the right online meeting tool for your remote team meeting
There are an abundance of options to choose from. Consider:
What is the key functionality I need for this remote team meeting to be successful?
Do you need to see everyone’s reactions? (Video Conferencing Software)
Do you need everyone to be able to work on a document together (Google Docs)
Do you need everyone to watch a presentation and/or demo in real time? (screen sharing software like Zoom or Microsoft Teams)
Does the meeting need to be recorded? (Zoom, Teams, etc.)
How many people need to be involved in your remote meeting?
Plan for one-on-one meetings may be different than large groups
Tips for Hosting a Successful Virtual Meeting
Laying the foundation for a successful virtual meeting
Virtual watercooler. Remote workers do not have the opportunity during the day to connect with co-workers as you do working with an in-person team. Informal conversations help build rapport and make folks more comfortable sharing ideas in meetings.
A great way to build team rapport is to create a ‘virtual watercooler’. A communal place online where team members can get to know each other and connect outside of structured meetings. Giving distributed teams a shared space to connect online helps them:
Get comfortable (and, let’s face it, feel less awkward) communicating across digital channels with people they haven’t met in person
Get to know other members of the team and their expertise
Feel like they are an equal and integral part of the team, despite their geographic location
Identify any potential issues when it comes to communication styles or differing points of view ahead of meetings
A virtual watercooler can be a specific place (like a Slack channel) or a set of shared traditions (like daily video check-ins or a weekly virtual happy hour). As long as it connects your team and familiarizes them with one another before meetings happen, it will help lay the foundation for successful online meetings.
Tips for Hosting a Successful Virtual Meeting
Set an Agenda and Agree on Meeting Guidelines
“The best remote meetings have a session agenda [set] beforehand
so that people come in knowing what it is they will be talking
about. If the meeting doesn’t have that, then you spend 15 to 20
minutes just figuring out what it is you are even trying to do.”
Tips for Hosting a Successful Virtual Meeting
Set an Agenda and Agree on Meeting Guidelines
➢ Key talking points
➢ Meeting structure (for example, when and for how long you plan
to discuss each talking point)
➢ Team members/teams that will be in attendance
➢ What each team member/team is responsible for bringing to the
meeting
➢ Any relevant documents, files, or research
Tips for Hosting a Successful Virtual Meeting
Etiquette for Online Meetings
Introduce everyone during the meeting, and give everyone a chance to contribute
Don’t stare at your phone while other people are presenting
Don’t interrupt other people when they’re speaking (or attempt to speak over them; use features such as “raise hand” in Zoom)
Test all technology (including camera/video, Wi-Fi, and screen sharing) before the meeting
Read the agenda, and come prepared
Don’t work on other tasks (like checking email) during the virtual meeting
Turn off all notifications and make sure your cell phone is on silent
Make sure all team members are in a quiet area free from unnecessary distractions
Be sure Profile Pictures are professional
Tips for Hosting Successful Virtual Training
16 Virtual Training Tips and Tricks
1) Designing Materials To Engage the Audience
2) Populate your calendar event
3) Send out a reminder
4) Send relevant materials ahead to review
5) Avoiding Distractions
6) Log In Early
7) Test, Test, Test
8) Request Participants join early
9) Use hands-free Headset
10) Involve Participants
11) Use a Chat Window
12) Put in a some face time
13) Schedule breaks into the agenda
14) Distribute follow-up materials
15) Make recording available (if applicable)
16) Send out a survey
Tips for Hosting Successful Virtual Training
1. Designing Materials To Engage the Audience
Design is important for any trainer. Less is more when it comes to designing slides and the right visual metaphor will always trump a page of text
2. Populate your calendar event
Make sure your calendar invitation contains everything a participant will need
▪ Meeting link
▪ Access Code
▪ Dial-in number
▪ Access Instructions
▪ Agenda
▪ Pre-Requisite Reading Materials
Tips for Hosting Successful Virtual Training
3. Send out a reminder
▪ People are more likely to forget a virtual meeting than an in-person
meeting. Most meeting tools have automatic notification tools
4. Send relevant materials ahead to review
5. Avoiding Distractions
▪ Encourage all attendees to turn off email, phone and limit other
environmental distractions
6. Log In Early
▪ Logging in 12-20 minutes early before the session starts will help you
time your test your audio, video and reacquaint yourself with the
platform tools
Tips for Hosting Successful Virtual Training
7. Test Test Test
▪ Allow plenty of time before the session to test access, taking into
account multiple devices, browsers, pop-up settings etc
8. Request Participants log-in early
▪ Encourage all attendees to log-in early to be ready to go when the
meeting starts. This also helps them make sure the equipment is
working properly
9. Use Hands-Free Headset
▪ This gives more authentic delivery and allows you to use the other tools
to control the features more easily
Tips for Hosting Successful Virtual Training
10.Involve Participants
▪ Pausing often to ask for questions keeps the attention of the
audience and helps keep them engaged
11. Use a Chat Window
▪ This is a nice alternative to pausing for questions. If possible, dedicate
a team member to monitor and respond to questions so you can focus
on your slides
12. Put in some face time
▪ Request that all participants turn on their cameras. Not everyone loves
being on camera but it will keep everyone engaged and accountable
Tips for Hosting Successful Virtual Training
13.Schedule Breaks in the Agenda
▪ Attendees will be less likely to wander into email, text messages or other
distractions if they know there is a 15 minutes break at the end of each session
14. Distribute follow-up material
▪ Email out the link to the class recording, slide deck, chat transcript and other
materials
15. Make Recording Available
▪ You can publish a link to the recording online or distribute it via email
(*Obtain permission from participants to record training session. Do not record if objections are expressed.)
16. Send out a Survey
▪ It’s important to collect feedback from attendees. Include questions about the
length of meeting, technology used and topic addressed
Tips for Hosting Successful Virtual Training
Most importantly, make the meeting fun and enjoyable for
both yourself and your audience!