Virtual meetings are now the new normal, as teams no longer work together in the same office. While virtual meetings can be challenging, they can be just as effective as face-to-face meetings as long as they’re managed properly.

A virtual conference is a meeting that takes place online. It typically involves two or more people that use audio, video, chat, and online applications. It is an event that brings people together via the internet or a digital network, usually to achieve a shared objective. A well-organized virtual conference allows people to collaborate and share information in real-time.

There are different types of online business meetings you can have, such as teleconferencing, video conferencing, and web conferencing. Let’s look at the basic description of each type:

Teleconferencing

Teleconferencing is a common type of remote meeting. It consists of a telephone call where participants dial into a predetermined number and is audio-only. Since most people have phones, teleconferences are simple to set up. However, unlike other types of virtual connections, you won’t be able to see people’s facial expressions when they speak.

Web Conferencing

Web conferencing involved video but was focused more on information sharing. The software made it simple to screen share, explain information, show presentations, and more.

Video Conferencing

A video conference is actually a video call with two or more people. Everyone at the video conference can see and speak with one another. It enables people to communicate live face-to-face, allowing you to read facial expressions. These are crucial when assessing what people say.

Most advanced apps enable people to share screens, documents, presentations, and more. They also give people dial-in numbers so they can access meetings via their phones.

Running a Successful Virtual Meeting

Managing virtual meetings requires a modified approach from leading face-to-face ones.  Let’s look at what you can do to prepare for and run an effective and productive virtual conference.

1. Choose the Right Technology

Having the right platform is the key to effective virtual meetings among your remote work tools.  Technology in the workplace is essential to streamline processes and make information more accessible to teams and team members.

It should help people stay focused on what’s important. So when you’re evaluating potential online meeting tools, see if they include valuable features such as screen-sharing and recording capabilities.  These allow you to share the meeting with attendees afterward while sparing them from distraction with note-taking during the event.

DeskMate

DeskMate is a solid performer that offers high-quality video conferencing for businesses.  It is loaded with features and offers high administrator control. CommSoft designed it to work on web browsers minimizing the need for additional applications and software.

It aims to provide a first-class conferencing service. Developed specifically for business needs, DeskMate can cater to many users at once.

Features:

DeskMate is packed with features ideal for online learning webinars. During assemblies, you can share audio, video presentations, and your desktop while collaborating with participants using shared notes, polls, and chat.

DeskMate includes screen sharing and call recording, live captions, background blur technology, and chat functionalities. The platform works on desktops, tablets, smartphones, and other mobile devices. It has a fast interface to reduce the need to wait.

You have a multi-user whiteboard and can place participants in group breakout rooms to work on certain issues together.

DeskMate enables you to record calls for team members who can’t join the meeting. DeskMate provides high-quality video/audio meetings without a time limit. What a smarter way to meet.

2. Prepare and Plan

Spend some time planning your conference goals, duration, and participants. Identify in advance which parts of your meeting or tasks you can set aside if something overruns. Noting down the details will help you recognize ways to overcome virtual meeting challenges.

It’s essential to limit the number of participants attending virtual meetings. This helps you ensure everyone has the chance to get involved. Finally, don’t forget to set a duration for the meeting. Shorter meetings of about 30 minutes are more productive than longer ones.

Send Invites

Send out a calendar invite before the meeting and make sure that everyone confirms if they are attending to help them plan and organize their week accordingly.

It’s also essential that you send out the online meeting invite beforehand so participants can check the software and download it if they have to. Don’t forget to schedule an automated reminder so that associates have the meeting on their calendars.

Send an Agenda and Meeting Information

Aside from the calendar invite, it’s crucial to create an agenda so that people know what the gathering is all about. Prepare a program before the conference so you don’t miss any discussion points and you don’t get off track saving everyone’s time.

Knowing the schedule enables your attendees to prepare in advance for the event. And if it’s not a regular team gathering, then let people know who’s running the meeting.  They will have a point of contact if they’ve got questions before or after the gathering.

Send this agenda in advance so that all members have ample time to plan prior to the meeting.

Encourage them to send questions to you before the conference so you can address them during the meeting.

3. Involve Everyone

One of the most significant challenges with virtual meetings is that participants can find it difficult to get involved and participate. As the facilitator, make sure that everyone has enough chances to speak up.

An excellent way to boost engagement is to use presentations and visuals. It becomes easier to access information because people are so visually oriented.
Breaking up the meeting time by having several people speak is another good technique. Team leaders can have five minutes each to report on their progress. Then people could ask questions.

Keep everyone engaged by doing activities and asking questions that require their participation. If people are engaged, they are less likely to get distracted, and you will retain their attention for longer.

4. End with an action plan.

What follows after the meeting is as important as the meeting itself. Review everything you covered and come up with the next course of action. Decide how you’re going to manage your action items.

Discuss any deliverables required and charge responsibility for them to particular team members. Agree on the date each deliverable is due.
It’s also helpful to decide if you’ll need a follow-up meeting and when it should take place to move things forward.

5. Set Ground Rules

Ground rules are an essential part of virtual meetings because they guide the behavior of everyone attending.
You can send these pointers down in the email you share, or you can create a checklist for everyone to refer to before joining team virtual meetings.

Here are some guidelines to help you make your meeting a success:

1. Arrive Early

You might direct participants to log in to the meeting five minutes early so that everyone can connect and check their audio and video systems.

2. Fix Your Background

Your meeting space should be suitable for business.  Remove distractions in the background.  Virtual backgrounds work best against a blank wall.

3. Make Sure Faces Are Visible.

Video conferences are more productive when people can see each other’s facial expressions and body language. Help to recreate the intimacy of a face-to-face meeting by asking participants to sit close to their webcam.

3. Dress for the Video

Participants should dress appropriately for the video. If you’re sure you won’t have to move, then sprucing up your top half is fine. But if there’s any chance you’ll have to get up and walk around, then consider dressing in a businesslike fashion.

5. Put phones on silent.

For more productive meetings, people stay muted unless the presenter opens the meeting for questions. This cuts down on background noise, which also makes for a better meeting recording. Ask everyone to mute their microphone if they aren’t speaking to prevent any distracting background noise from seeping into the online meeting.

Running effective meetings is challenging even in the best of times. So before you send your next calendar invite, take a moment to think about these tips and consider how you can modify your agenda to better align with your business goals.