How to Lead Online Meetings
Many of us struggle to communicate effectively at the best of times but with remote working and virtual meetings the new norm, there are new challenges to overcome.
Here are my top tips to help you lead and communicate with confidence.
1/ The Agenda:
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. Set the agenda in advance. Be structured and organised which builds your confidence, you might have already heard the term, “proper planning prevents p**s poor performance” and that really does ring true here! Share the agenda before the meeting to check issues are raised early so you can prepare for and dedicate time to them.
Stick to timings on the agenda, there is nothing worse than a meeting that overruns! Set rules in the meeting around how you want to run it. Ask people to raise their hands rather than jumping in. Make sure you are then observing the meeting properly to notice questions and ask people for their thoughts.
2/ Be Confident
It is important to set the right managerial tone in online calls. Try to consider your set up (camera at eye level, good lighting, open body etc.). Here is a link to a previous blog on top tips for speaking online.
All these things will build your status as a manager and help your audience engage. A great first impression full of enthusiasm and energy is key to set the presence, tone and wake up those attending!
3/ Build trust and rapport remotely:
You must increase the intensity of your listening and display greater empathy so as to ensure your team continue to feel connected and valued. Empathetic listening is getting rid of judgement. What are your bad thoughts and habits that go against this? For example you might show impatience, not listen properly, judge people too quickly. Take a moment to write them down.
Try to connect the group. Harvard Business Review suggests that, “People perform better when they are comfortable with each other, which affords a greater degree of candor and mutual interest.” Check in with everyone at the start, giving them a minute or so to update people on their home/work life.
4/ Notice more.
We don’t get so many visual cues when speaking online. It becomes very hard to spot things and easily misinterpret someone. Speaking on video calls is also far more exhausting than face to face. We have mirror neurons in the brain that mean we copy each other when speaking face to face.
The lovely dance we do when communicating back and forth gets lost and can result in a conversation going wrong very quickly. Remember people are dealing with background noise that can make them look irritated, don’t judge their body language and make sure yours remains open and positive.
…and if you want to be really bold Harvard Business Review recommends each delegate telling an embarrassing story before kicking off the meeting to increase productivity in brainstorming. I can see how this puts people at ease so might be worth trying!