How to Run Efficient Virtual Meetings

Whether at the office or at home, most of the meeting are virtuals. Do you remember the time, before 2020, when it was possible to just have a quick catch with the person next to you? Now you have to schedule another meeting, and another meeting and more meetings… Already highlighted in 2017 by the Harvard Business Review in their article: “Stop the Meeting Madness“, on a survey of 182 senior managers in a range of industries: 71% said meetings are unproductive and inefficient. In June 2020, only 38 % of employees in large companies agreed that the meetings they attend are required for their work (Source: BCG – Meetings and Email Are Here to Stay, So Make the Most of Them)

So, How to collaborate effectively into the laps of time we have defined for the meeting? Here some basic tips which exist for a long long time that we tend to forget… 

1. Set the Meeting’s Agenda

How many time do you receive a meeting invite saying “Catch up” and no content? You know what I am talking about! It’s 11:30, it’s your 5th meetings, you are already running late, joining the meeting, looking at the invite and thinking: “Who is already that person? Which project are we talking about? What is the problem? What is the purpose of the meeting?

 

The agenda gives directions to the conversions. The people know why they are here, what we are trying the achieve.

We’ve all been in a meeting where the conversation goes in totally different ways, the agenda helps to keep the focus on the meeting objectives.

 

 Define the Agenda part of the meeting’s invite

What should I do when the discussion goes off the track?

 

The difficulty in this type of situation is the people want to be heard and don’t like to be interrupted. A nice way to overcome the situation is to mention that you have listened and noted the point. The point can be parked, remind the agenda and the objective. If needed, another meeting will be set to clear the point. 

With the outcome clearly defined, keeping in mind the objectives, you can plan the content ahead of the meetings: list your questions and determine who needs to be present. Avoid having too many people in the audience, focus on the 3 to 7 key relevant persons you need to achieve the meeting’s objectives. 

At the beginning of the meeting, remind the agenda. If the people don’t know each other, take not more than 5 min for a quick round of table for everyone to understand who is who and why are they present in this meeting.

 

2. Be conscious about the time

 

We all like using our time in the most valuable way, We get easily frustrated when we feel we are wasting our time.

 Meeting’s agenda set, you need to make sure the conversion progress as expected. Don’t hesitate to remind the time spent and the time left to cover the other part of the agenda. As the leader of the meeting, you have to make sure that everyone gets the time to speak and share their point of view.

 Time is a valuable thing 

Just as important as starting on time is ending on time. Close to the end of the meeting, make sure to take the time to wrap up. Ending on time will also ensure be on time for the next one.

 

3. Take Great Notes

While preparing the meeting, you can either open an empty mail or use any note tool. 

  • Add the name of the meeting, the attendees
  • Add the agenda as a memo for you to keep track of the objectives.
  • Write down all the questions you need or want to cover beforehand
  • If it’s a follow-up meeting, get the list of actions that were listed in the previous meeting to note only their status