In Lockdown Time: How to Maintain Productive Virtual Meetings

The year 2020 will be remembered for the coronavirus crisis (or COVID19) and for the repercussions it has had on society. The coronavirus has brought distance and distance. And with it, teleworking and virtual meetings, necessary to keep the business alive and make decisions with teams, suppliers or customers. Maintaining a virtual meeting is not easy, among other reasons, because of our lack of experience in this type of practice.

For this reason, and thanks to the cooperation of Meet & Go with the Change Management department of Havas Media, we share with you a series of points and tips that we hope will be very useful:

  • CHOOSE A SUITABLE SPACE

Use a place with good lighting so that the rest of the participants can see you clearly.

(Tip: if you don’t want others to notice your environment, most platforms allow you to blur or edit the background with an image).

  • TAKE CARE OF YOUR IMAGE

Although we are at home, it is advisable to take care of our personal appearance, as well as the non-verbal language we use, especially if the video call is with a client.

  • SAFETY AT WORK

Choose an application that allows encryption of all file transfers, instant messages and voice or video conversions.

(Tip: whenever you can use your company’s corporate platforms (for example, Microsoft Teams) and to a lesser extent free access platforms (such as Zoom or Skype).

  • CHECK YOUR TECHNICAL

Make sure everything works properly (microphone, internet connection, webcam, etc.) and that you have access to the documents or information you will use during the meeting.

  • AVOID NOISE AND DISTRACTIONS

Mute your mobile phone and computer app notifications to avoid distractions.

(Tip: it is not too much to warn the rest of the family that you are going to make a video call to avoid unwanted interruptions).

  • PRACTICE OF ACTIVE LISTENING

Avoid multitasking and focus on the meeting. Do not have parallel conversations that are unrelated to the meeting’s objective.

(Tip: use apps like OneNote or EverNote to take notes, with the points discussed in the meeting or conclusions).

  • PROMOTE AGILE MEETINGS

Try not to prolong them unnecessarily by preparing the content beforehand, as well as by setting the duration and specific objectives.

(Tip: Some meetings do not have to be scheduled… you can make a quick video call if something unexpected or if the other channels are not effective)

Thank you for your attention and remember that productivity is one of the main success factors for any type of company or business. At Meet & Go we take care of it!

Leave a comment