Tips and Tricks to Effective Virtual Meetings and Training

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


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


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


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


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


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.


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.”


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


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

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


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


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


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


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


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


Most importantly, make the meeting fun and enjoyable for

both yourself and your audience!

Tips and Tricks to Effective Virtual Meetings and Training

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