For more on designing your virtual meeting, read this helpful resource from Nancy White and colleagues. 3-How To Avoid Technical and Time Zone Scheduling Snafus It isn’t a matter of whether technical problems will happen, it is more like to expect them to happen and have a Plan B or a way to avoid falling into the pit of technical despair where the meeting gets derailed because of one person’s technical issue or you experimenting with a new tool and it doesn’t work as planned. First, make sure everyone troubleshoots their technical issues before the meeting, if possible. Many platforms have a technical testing page and good tech support, include those links ahead of your meeting. And, if not, here’s a great infographic of common virtual meeting technical issues and fixes. My secret is to write out a step-by-step facilitator agenda if using a new technical tool and rehearse it. And, always have a plan B. For examples, if your platform drops callers, be a little flexible with the agenda. If someone is supposed to share their screen and is having a technical problem, make sure people have copies of the document and at minimum, you as the facilitator, so you can share your own screen. Many virtual meetings require working across time zones. My best tips and tools are in this post.
4-Always Do A Virtual Icebreaker or Check-In A great meeting or training starts with a great icebreaker. Icebreakers are discussion questions or activities used to help participants relax and ease people into a group meeting or learning situation. It is important to build in time for an icebreaker because it can create a positive group atmosphere, break down social barriers, motivate, help people think about the topic, and get people to know and trust one another. Any icebreaker you do in a face-to-face meeting can also be done virtually. But, you can also have some fun with virtual icebreakers that build trust and engagement. For example, you can share photos of your workspace or your location. Here’s an example of an icebreaker where I asked everyone share a photo of their space. This helps created a shared experience. 5-Create A Line for Participants To Follow Establish a method you can call in participants. This might include alphabetical order by first or last name or if you are using a video conference platform by order on the screen. If you are using an audio-only conference call platform, you can use the clock technique where you assign people numbers on the clock at the top of the meeting, then use that for introductions and later in the
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