With the recent popularity of online meetings, it is as critical as ever to understand how to organize your meeting to achieve your goals, increase sales, or help people retain your message. Due to the fact that an online meeting is so different from a traditional meeting that takes place in an office, the types of organizational methods you select will determine your success or failure. Since online meetings are here to stay, it is critical that you adopt a variety of technological and content-related strategies to organize your meeting.
1. The right meeting space
When it comes to online meetings, you need to be able to find the right co-working space that will provide teleconferencing and enough physical space for your local team. The best way to find the right space is to have a search engine designed specifically for co-working spaces, and Search Remotely offers this precise functionality.
Additionally, as with any task, it is best to be trained on the subject. In this case, knowing how to oversee a meeting takes skill. Search Remotely offers a guide that walks you through the process of working remotely. With these types of tools, your meeting will stay on track.
2. The right tools
Attempting to work remotely with colleagues requires the right brainstorming, mind-mapping, and whiteboarding tools. Of course, many sites have one or two tools, but even simple projects or ideas have multiple stages, and if you attempt to work on the brainstorming stage, for instance, while using a simple whiteboard, it can be difficult to see how various ideas are related. Working with such sites as Milanote.com, you have the following tools for specific stages of any creative or business project.
– brainstorming
– storyboarding
– design collaboration
– brief creation
– note recording
Your meeting will also go smoothly if you have the ability to assign roles to attendees and work from a central hub. As you might have already surmised, the right tools will make your job extremely easy and your meeting very focused. That said, a single site designed with all those tools will make you seem like a meeting wizard.
Finally, Milanote allows the work to be saved online, so if any information needs to be re-addressed or somehow confirmed, you can easily pull up charts, files, or other types of data for people to review.
3. Working from an outline
Any time your meeting starts, it is always best to work from an outline. Although you might be adept at running impromptu meetings, working off the cuff, so to speak, can cause you to forget some particular items when people begin asking questions. However, working from an outline allows you to either remain focused or get back on track.
Obviously, an outline lists the tasks you need to cover during the meeting. However, a good outline will also include the time you need to start talking about each item and how much time should be spent on each item. Finally, a good outline will also help you when everyone needs to subdivide into smaller groups to discuss specific topics.
4. Reiteration
Any time you are meeting with others, it is best to reiterate to the group the main points. Doing so helps emphasize the important points. Additionally, it allows people to take notes or to ask questions. Finally, it allows people with different learning styles to better remember the points made during the meeting, which can help people follow through with tasks after the meeting.
For instance, many people can remember between three and seven tasks or items. If you only say something once during a meeting, many people will not be able to differentiate that point’s importance from other things you mention. If you repeat something several times, doing so emphasizes the importance of the matter while also allowing people’s different short-term memories to process and retain the information.
5. Control the environments
Disruptions are the bane of any online meeting. With this in mind, it is important to ensure the offline spaces are managed for noise disturbances or physical interruptions. To do this, you can set the expectations for your attendees ahead of time.
– lock doors to prevent interruptions
– turn off microphones unless one or more people need to talk
– put not-to-be-disturbed signs on any external doors
– close windows to keep traffic sounds to a minimum
In terms of controlling the online environment, you should ensure that everyone arrives on time and that everyone has reviewed any materials required for attendance. Doing so will eliminate most of the questions. In terms of other potential interruptions, you can ensure everyone works from a computer with sufficient internet speed to avoid disconnections.
During the meeting, you should control the conversation by doing the following.
– assign roles to speakers to help them know when to talk
– provide everyone an agenda for the meeting to help them follow along
– have one person take notes, which can be distributed to attendees after the meeting’s end
Going forward
As was stated earlier, online meetings are here to stay. What is not here to stay is the bumbling and fumbling that go along with disorganized meetings. Well, the bumbling and fumbling will vanish if you avail yourself of the best tools.