To avoid the common virtual meeting pitfalls such as lack of engagement, abundance of distractions, and one person dominating – use these tips for productive sessions:
PREPARE AND ENGAGE
Establish a clear purpose, outcome, and agenda. Don’t wing it!
• Send out the agenda before the meeting when possible, and begin the meeting with the agenda.
• Clearly define team member roles (ex., facilitator, note taker) for the meeting. This increases productivity, decreases confusion, and prevents people from zoning out. Holding individuals accountable for action items reminds participants that they are part of a larger group, working together for a common goal.
Use technology tools effectively.
Meeting leaders must be experts in the applications (e.g., Teams, Whiteboard, Al Summary) used to support the meetings to ensure seamless connectivity, minimize transitions, and avoid wasted time.
• Send pre-meeting emails for participants to prepare to use or learn the basics of the respective technology and applications.
Honor Neurodiversity.
• Use technology tools (e.g., Mural post-it notes, Zoom emoji reactions) to make the meeting interactive—even during brainstorming and discussions. This ensures more engagement and less multitasking. Visual tools such as a timer can help individuals and the group stay on pace during break-out activities.
Make personal connections.
Small human-centered interactions such as segue questions and music can be implemented as time allows. Creating social connections builds empathy, keeps energy levels high, and makes a productive headspace.
• “If the last sprint was a car, what would it have been?” “Which of our core values did you live most today?”
• When possible, encourage participants to keep cameras on. 7% of communication is verbal – the rest is based on elements such as body language and tone. Help participants understand why seeing each other, when possible, is important for engagement. It makes for a more inclusive environment when
the group can see when team members are confused, or not in agreement.
• Include a camera-on rule in working agreements – with flexibility (ex. Webcams off on Fridays) and understanding that personal disruptions may come up that require temporary camera-off time.
• Make it fun! Ask the participants to put a favorite character as their background. This also contributes to the personal connection aspect, and helps the team genuinely enjoy showing up for meetings.