It’s been a nutty year. The COVID-19 pandemic that forced many organizations to transition from in-person to virtual has turned online video meetings into an all too common chore for many. To keep employees from tuning out during mundane virtual meetings, it’s important to make meetings engaging and productive.

The Need for Virtual Meetings

Before the pandemic, 82% of Canadian employees worked primarily from an external workplace, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers Canada. Nowadays, 59% are working remotely, which, in turn, has made virtual meetings unavoidable.  

Keep your virtual meetings engaging with the following tips:

• Keep it concise—Make meetings succinct by setting and keeping an agenda to keep the meeting from dragging on.
• Incorporate different elements—People learn and retain information in different ways. Create a virtual experience that caters to all styles of learning by utilizing different visual and audio elements that will keep your audience’s attention.
• Give everyone the opportunity to connect—The pandemic has interfered with the social interactions of many, and people miss the chance to connect with co-workers. Having time to check in and catch up on occasion can also be beneficial for employees.
• Utilize chat rooms or polls—Not everyone learns by being talked at, and not everyone is comfortable speaking up during virtual meetings. Use chat rooms or polls to create a two-way dialogue with meeting attendees. In addition, breakout rooms can allow for more focused and intimate conversations during meetings.

Virtual meetings are here to stay and can be an effective tool for keeping teams on track and connected. So, let’s ditch the mundane and make our meetings a little bit better.