For a long time, the ability to do meetings remotely has been with us, but despite awareness that it is there, few use it and those who, even fewer use it effectively. Today, however, the world finds itself forced to adopt virtual meetings. And while video meetings have usually been seen as key for business, families and friends are increasingly having to adopt the concept to stay in touch.

So how do you ensure that your meetings are orderly so as you can achieve your objectives?

Make sure you have stable Internet

This is the first, and most important, thing you need before you can even begin thinking about a virtual meeting.

If all the participants do not have good internet connection, the effectiveness of the meeting is greatly diminished.

Picture a situation where the person speaking is fading out, or you can’t hear what somebody said because your end of the connection went down.

Prepare agenda in advance

Communicate what the meeting is about and the objectives early so that members can prepare their presentations in advance. This helps keeping the meeting orderly and saves time.

Prepare your team members

If you are the convener, prepare the rest of the team early. Let them know the time and channel and what is required of them.

There are many apps for virtual meetings today, so you should have settled on one that is available to all participants and communicated the same.

Prepare talking points

For members, it is important that you prepare your presentation early enough. This is key so that participants do not ramble on endlessly..

Avoid distractions

When working from home, find a quiet place or room. Those with home offices or studies are lucky. You can, however, pick one room and request other family members not to disturb you for the duration of the meeting.

Also, when you are only listening and not talking, it is a good idea to mute the microphone to reduce any noises from your end disturbing the meeting.

Appoint a moderator

Appoint one person to moderate the meeting, if the convenor isn’t doing. This is to avoid a scenario where several people talk at one another or over each other.

This person will identify who’s speaking at what time and make sure that the meeting sticks to the set agenda.

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