How to Get People Out of Their Box in Virtual Meetings

There is nothing more frustrating when you do the speech, you believe it was sharp and short but asking someone to build on it, you get something like „NOT SURE I FOLLOWED YOU“…..

which might as well mean “I was preparing my snack and I didn’t expect I might be called on.”

Let’s face it. Lots of virtual meetings have always sucked because there’s always something more important for every participant, no matter what the meeting subject is.

In face to face meetings we can compensate with an eye contact or a body language and so participants feel obligated to simulate interest. In virtual meetings instead you need to create opportunities for participants to stay interested and engaged.

Let’s take an example of Andrea who is about to lead a 2-hour long virtual presentation to a group of 20-25 people in order to convince them that a structured interaction with food service operators may result in a sales growth at the current customer group. To avoid a passive one woman show she plans to use just 10 slides.

And now we get to the rules she might like to consider if she wants to achieve her objective:

The one-minute rule
Do something in the first 60 second to make participants feeling the problem before you even define it. Andrea might perhaps share an anecdote about frustrated customer who stopped buying because the supplier failed to offer the same quality of the same ingredient without even understanding the need beyond the need. Or she could engage emotions by showing an example of a team where members worked together far more effectively and finally won the prise. No matter the tactic, the group needs to empathetically understand the problem before you even articulate it.
=> Don’t involve people in solving problem until the participants have felt the problem.

The responsibility rule
When people enter a meeting, they set their mind for a certain role. For example, when you go to the theatre, you unconsciously define your role as observer – you want to be entertained. When you go to play tennis, you are an actor – you are there to perform. Entering virtual meetings, we tend to unconsciously define our role as an observer. In fact, this happens already at the time we receive an invitation. To change it you need to
=> create an opportunity for everyone to take a responsibility.

No hide rule
If you give people tasks to actively participate in your meetings, they have no place to hide. I have just recently learnt that some technologies allow people to breakout and work in smaller groups, staying connected to the same virtual meeting. Such platforms allow a facilitator to attend every discussion, while keeping an eye on other teams and call all participants back when needed. This is extremely helpful if you need to solve a problem quickly.
=> Define a problem, assign people to small groups, give the limited time frame and call them back at the agreed time and ask them to share the outcome.

Less is more rule
If you have too many slides you naturally want to present them. In fact, to show up. While if you have just few, you set bases for a high-quality dialog. Remember, if you have just 15 min to present, even 5 slides might be too much.
=> Put minimum amount of data in your slide and use it as a base for an open discussion. The team needs to engage to continue the discussion.

The 5-minute rule
Never spend more than 5 min to discuss one topic/problem. Even 5 min can be too much when you attend a virtual meeting.
=> Blend topics you want to discuss. Stop discussing one after 5 min, start with another one. If you haven’t found a solution within 5 min, end the discussion anyway and return to it in later stage of a virtual meeting.

And finally, allow people to take a small break after every 30-45 min when in a virtual meeting. Ask them to bring a glass of a fresh water quickly or ask them to make a short funny exercise. Splitting your virtual meetings in shorter slots will surprisingly help you keeping all participants engaged and will deliver far better results.

The above article is based on thoughts I read time ago and I liked so much that I wanted to share the bullet learning for your inspiration