There’s no question that virtual meetings bring people together, speed up decision making and save money. Today’s virtual meetings let customers connect with your experts despite distance and help you feel as though you’re in the same room as colleagues from around the world. Here are five ways to make your virtual meetings more productive and impactful.

1. 5 steps to
better virtual
meetings.
There’s no question that virtual meetings
bring people together, speed up decision
making and save money. Today’s virtual
meetings let customers connect with your
experts despite distance and help you feel
as though you’re in the same room as
colleagues from around the world. Here are
five ways to make your virtual meetings
more productive and impactful.
More than two-thirds
of business professionals
engage in virtual work.
– “It’s unclearly defined, but
telecommuting is fast on the rise,”
New York Times, Mar. 2014.
You’ll get more
participation if you
follow these guidelines
• Greet each participant as they enter the meeting.
• Ask about their weekend or holiday plans.
• Don’t mute your audio.
• Avoid side conversations.
1. Be authentic.
Technology makes it easier to connect with
others, no matter the distance. But it can also
feel like a barrier when it comes to building
interpersonal relationships. The key is to
invest a bit of time and treat people as actual
people, not just voices or faces on a screen.
Video helps build trust.
2. Put
technology
to work.
Look for collaboration solutions that are easy to
use so you can focus on the meeting and not
on the technology. Make sure face-to-face
interaction is available through video – without it
you miss important parts of the conversation like
facial expressions and non-verbal feedback.
The right way to
use technology
• Use video so you can gauge reactions.
• Share content like presentations or interactive
whiteboards to engage participants.
• Record meetings for people who can’t be there.
• Ensure that people can join in from any device.
3. Communicate.
Meaningful communication can take many
forms: one-to-one, team meetings, all-hands
and training. If you ask a question and hear
crickets, change your tactics.
• Address questions to specific people.
• Encourage interaction.
• Support two-way communication.
• Discourage multitasking.
75%of users say video
improves collaboration
and productivity.
– “Aiming to Increase UC Adoption? Look to Video,”
Frost & Sullivan, 2014
Remember that you’re talking to real people.
4. Play fair.
When the meetings are international, someone
is invariably attending outside office hours.
Giving people the option to participate from
home via video provides them the advantages
and flexibility of a face-to-face connection.
• Be sensitive to time zones so the same people
don’t always have to work outside office hours.
• Make it possible for people to participate
from anywhere and from any device.
• Allow everyone the opportunity to give feedback.
5. Follow virtual
meeting etiquette.
Whether you’re collaborating from across
the globe or just from across the office,
video-enabled virtual meetings offer flexibility,
consistency and a higher level of cooperation.
Think of them as traditional meetings with
extra benefits.
• Direct questions to people by name to cut confusion.
• Use technology that can eliminate background noise.
• Offer the flexibility that allows people to join from anywhere.
• Use technology that helps identify who is speaking.
• Use video for formal meetings and to quickly touch base.
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