As mainstream as remote work is becoming, you would think that by now, , we would all be experts at conducting virtual meetings. The reality is that many people still struggle to have successful meetings remotely–from preparing their remote work setup to planning an engaging and productive session.
I’ve been working remotely in one way or another for nearly a decade, and I work in sales and client services. Because of this, being able to have a successful virtual meeting is a core function of my job – but it hasn’t always been easy! I’ve had amazing virtual meetings and some absolutely awful ones that still make my stomach sink. Important presentations derailed by loud hotel lobbies, internal brainstorms interrupted by inconsistent WiFi, and interviews completely blown simply because of my inability to get my laptop camera to turn on (and you guessed it – they definitely didn’t hire me after that).
In the rush towards a more remote workforce, it’s easy to take our command of digital tools for granted. Many of us grew up with computers and social media after all. But to call a virtual meeting a no-brainer is dismissive of the fact that, like any workplace etiquette, it takes some practice.. They can be hard to get right! You can’t rely on some of the same perks that in-person meetings afford – things like nonverbal body communication, a polished outfit, and even tasty catering or sweet treats.
Take the time to understand the nuances involved with running an effective and successful virtual meeting, and you’ll have a leg up in any remote-first industry. Here’s everything you need to know!
First, What Is a Virtual Meeting Anyway?
A virtual meeting is a way of connecting with peers or clients that is done digitally (or virtually) with video conferencing tools, like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet.
Virtual meetings can be audio only or include a video component where you can see the other folks joining the meeting along with you. No matter how you do virtual meetings, we can all agree that they have become a cornerstone of remote work, enabling teams to collaborate seamlessly despite physical distances.
When done correctly, virtual meetings can not only facilitate communication and collaboration, but also help to maintain a distinctive sense of connection and culture amongst teams.
How to Have Better Virtual Meetings While Working Remotely
Before the Meeting
Make Sure You Have the Right Tools and Setup
The foundation for a successful virtual meeting is having the right remote setup. Be sure to have a strong, stable internet connection, and use a wifi testing tool like Speedtest to check the internet speed before you attend your virtual meeting. This is especially important if you’re working from a different place than you’re used to, like a coffee shop or hotel lobby.
Next, make sure you use a reliable meeting platform, like Zoom or Google Meet.. Be sure to check your video display before hopping on the meeting, too. You video should be clear, lag-free, and well-lit.. Double-check your background too and feel free to take advantage of most meeting platforms’ background-blurring or background customization tools if your real-life work setting is noisy or distracting.
Sometimes, things might happen outside of your control, like your power going out or the WiFi connection dropping. I can’t tell you how many times this happens to me even when I am at home in Los Angeles. To circumvent this, it’s always a good idea to keep your laptop and cell phone fully charged so you can quickly pivot to a wireless hotspot if the situation demands it. Have your meeting platform app downloaded on your phone too, because it can be quicker to dial in directly from the app than hotspotting in a pinch!
Other remote work tools can help to make sure your virtual setup is as successful as possible. Here are some of my favorite remote work tools that I find most useful.
Decide What Needs to Be a Meeting in the First Place
Have you ever heard the phrase “this could’ve been an email?” You can communicate many, many things without hopping on a call.
If you need to communicate simple information, consider conveying it asynchronously via an email, shared document, or recorded video. . However, if the topic requires a walk-through of a process, is a complex question that needs to be answered, or is an interactive brainstorm, then a meeting is probably a better choice. Reserve virtual meetings for discussions that benefit from real-time engagement and collective decision-making, and use other digital communication tools for the rest.
There are tons of different ways to communicate information. You can email, Slack, put a reminder on someone’s calendar, or collaborate in Google Docs. If you decide a meeting is necessary, you can schedule different types of meetings, like a quick huddle to check in on a project or an hour-long brainstorming session.
Prepare for the Meeting
Once you decide you need to have a meeting, what can you do beforehand to ensure the meeting is as engaging as possible?
- Make a meeting agenda. Whether or not you decide to draft up a formal agenda, make sure you at least determine the core objectives of your meeting and what you hope to achieve. Feel free to send the agenda or overview beforehand in your meeting invite to help others prepare.
- Do any pre-meeting prep. Can you do anything ahead of time? Initial research, input from the team, and individual contributions could potentially streamline your meeting and make the outcome more meaningful. Consider this and give your team enough time to act accordingly – at least two business days’ heads up is appropriate if you are asking for any pre-meeting prep.
- Identify your end goal. What is your desired result of this meeting? Is it a presentation? An effective brainstorm that generates a winning idea? A list of action items and stakeholders? An intro or follow-up? A solution to a problem? Knowing exactly what you want to get out of the meeting ahead of time will help you center the call and ensure its success.During the Meeting
During the Meeting
Engage Your Team
Remember office days, where you all clambered into a conference room together to meet? Maybe someone brought a fun snack. Another person complimented you on your glasses. Your boss was late because he’s always overbooked, and you cracked a playful joke about it that made everybody laugh.
Participation and ‘watercooler chat’ are still so important in a virtual setting, if not more important. If you are leading a virtual call, it’s your job to foster that sense of community and camaraderie, and ensure people feel like they can contribute and speak up. So, what does that look like in a virtual setting?
- Have an ice breaker. This can be something as light and simple as chatting about people’s geographic location, or their plans for the weekend. Whatever tactic you choose, ice breakers can help ease the tension and get the conversation flowing, especially if you’re bringing people together that don’t communicate on a daily basisr.
- Make it interactive. Foster an inclusive environment by encouraging questions, comments, and discussions. A fluid meeting allows for real-time problem-solving and ensures that different opinions are heard. As a seller, I was taught that little things like addressing people on the call by name, and getting comfortable with long pauses after asking a question (no matter how awkward!), can also help encourage people to lean in and speak up.
- Use virtual meeting tools. Especially in larger meetings, virtual tools can be an effective way to foster engagement. Most meeting software options allow you to ask polls or surveys in real time, which can help you gauge input and opinion throughout the call. When soliciting questions from the group, you can utilize Q&A and / or hand-raising tools to help keep the meeting organized and prevent everyone from talking at once.
- Consider using visuals when necessary. Sometimes, visuals can distract rather than add to your meeting objective. Decide whether you need slides or to share your screen, and stop sharing when you want attention focused on the discussion or next steps.
- Moderate your meetings. Even with an agenda, leading an effective virtual meeting requires attentiveness and moderating throughout to help you stay on task. Facilitate internal brainstorms by calling on other team members whose expertise may help in a particular area. For client meetings, foster engagement by asking meaningful questions and checking for comprehension and understanding throughout.
Keep Meetings as Brief as Possible
Some meetings do require a lot of time, but just because your calendar’s scheduler defaults to 30- and 60-minute meetings doesn’t mean every meeting should follow that cadence.
I’m a huge fan of 15-minute huddles and 45-minute brainstorms. They also feel less threatening or overwhelming subconsciously – both for you and the meeting invite recipient. If the people you’re meeting with have a busy day, get to know that information upfront by asking whether anyone has a hard stop. Manage your meeting’s flow appropriately and skip any nonessential information to make sure you get through the ‘meat’ of your meeting within the time that you’ve committed to.
After the meeting, you can always decide if another meeting is needed or if you can keep the work going asynchronously.
Take Notes During the Meeting
There are a number of different ways you can take notes and keep record of the virtual meetings you are leading. The preferred style of virtual notetaking will vary for everyone, but some of the most common ways to take notes during an online meeting include:
- Taking Digital Notes. Web-based tools like Google Docs and Evernote, or the native tools baked into your OS like Notes or even Stickies (on Mac) are all equally useful depending on your personal preference. I use Evernote for work and Google Docs for my blogging meetings to keep things separate.
- Taking Handwritten Notes. Some people prefer handwritten notes, which is often said to help you better retain information because you process it more slowly. I personally cannot do handwritten notes and will avoid it like the plague, but if this is your jam, then go for it!
- Using Recording or Notetaking Tools. Recording your meetings, or using tools that transcribe or synthesize your meeting as it’s happening, can be a gamechanger. Some virtual meeting tools allow you to record within the platform itself. My company uses AI notetakers like Gong, which not only records and transcribes your meeting, it also breaks down your meeting into outlined notes with next steps that can be forwarded to others via a shareable link.
- Nominating Another Notetaker for the Meeting. To help you stay focused while you lead your virtual meeting, you can also appoint someone else to be your notetaker. I do this often with my coworkers – we’ll take turns being each other’s notetaker depending on whoever is leading the meeting.
No matter how you do it, the important thing when it comes to meeting notes is to not worry about perfectly transcribing every single part of the call verbatim. Focus only on the most important points, as well as any action items or next steps that will be critial for your follow-ups.
Keep Everyone in the Loop
Sometimes not everyone can make a virtual meeting, especially if people are working in different time zones or if there’s another meeting that conflicts. Having someone take detailed notes on what was discussed and / or recording the virtual call can really help make sure everyone is on the same page going forward. Be proactive in supporting your remote peers and they’ll appreciate the gesture and do what they need to do to help you succeed!
After the Meeting
Outline Clear Next Steps
Follow up the virtual meeting with an email detailing what was discussed and what needs to happen next. Summarize the key takeaways and outline who needs to do what going forward. Delegate the tasks and answer any questions. Having a clear plan and delegating next steps will help you keep moving towards the outcome you’re after as a team.
Share Recaps and Recordings
Provide all meeting recaps to the participants, especially the ones who couldn’t be on the call in real time. Make sure to highlight any important discussion points and / or action items along with due dates.
Follow Up Regularly
Follow up a few days after the meeting to make sure no one has any questions or is unclear on what is expected of them. Having regular follow-ups ensures that everyone stays on track and feels involved. Many software programs help teams collaborate on what state a project is in, like Airtable, Trello, Asana, or Monday.
Considerations for Having Better Virtual Meetings While Traveling
If you’re like me, working remotely might have opened up a new world of flexibility and mobility. While I work from the comfort of home as a default, I travel a ton and often do take my work on the road with me. The ability to work remotely from anywhere is an incredible one, but between power outages, spotty WiFi connections, and tricky time differences, conducting virtual meetings can be a little nerve wracking if you’re not prepared. Because of this, I want to add a few quick tips geared especially towards my fellow remote workers and digital nomads looking to have better virtual meetings while traveling.
Create the Right Environment
When you’re traveling, creating a conducive environment for virtual meetings is more critical than ever. Some of the tools and environments you’re used to – a quiet location, good lighting, your favorite desk chair – might be unavailable to you.
If you’re renting an Airbnb or staying at a hotel that you plan to work out of, scope out your workspace ahead of time for things like noise, lighting, background, outlets, and connectivity. Always have a backup plan, whether that’s finding a coworking space nearby, or a quiet coffee shop you can go to in case your accommodation isn’t good enough.
When I’m traveling, I will sometimes have a non-critical internal meeting first, or call a coworker friend for a test call, so I can troubleshoot my environment prior to any external or more high-priority virtual meetings. That way, by the time I have to meet with my clients, I’m confident that my environment will allow me to conduct my online meeting without any hiccups.
Triple-Check Your WiFi Speed
A stable internet connection is crucial for virtual meetings, but can be trickier to prepare for prior to arriving in a new hotel or destination. Every hotel these days says they have WiFi, but any digital nomad or remote worker will tell you that not all WiFi speeds are created equal.
You can try to mitigate this ahead of time – for instance, some Airbnb hosts will help you out before booking by showing you the results of a WiFi speed test. Airbnbs, hotels, and coffee shops may even have reviews online from other remote workers. I always look for these when helping me determine what to book and where to go. Search words like “WiFi,” “internet,” “laptop,” or “work” in the reviews, or look for photos from other customers that showcase the use of laptops at the establishment, as these can be strong indicators that you’ll be able to connect.
Once you’re traveling, no matter where you choose to have your virtual meeting, look for a speed of at least 10-15 MBPS for video conferencing. Personally however, I feel more confident with at least 20-30 MBPS which I have found to be solid for my heavy video conferencing and remote work needs.
Be Mindful of Time Zones
When planning your video meetings, be sure to check what time you’re scheduling them, keeping in mind your team members’ or clients’ geographic locations and preferred working time zone.
If it helps you to change your laptop’s time zone while you’re traveling, then do it. Adjust your calendars and block any times that are out of your working time. Whenever you’re unsure, always clarify before you schedule to reduce any unnecessary back-and-forth.
There you have it! Whether you’re working from home or on the go, follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to leading better, more productive, and more impactful virtual meetings in no time.
Read This Next:
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- How to Ask Your Boss To Let You Work Remotely
- How to Work Remotely from Anywhere: The Ultimate Guide
- How to Nail the Virtual Interview: Tips for the Modern Job Seeker
- How to Become a Digital Nomad: A Beginner’s Guide
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