6 Ways To Make Your Virtual Work Meetings More Interactive

Virtual work meetings are a great way to bring people from different parts of an organization together. They can be more productive than in-person meetings because they don’t have any time spent setting up and preparing physical meeting spaces and equipment. However, virtual meetings aren’t perfect, either. It can be challenging to concentrate on the discussion, and sometimes some of the participants in the virtual meeting may feel like they’re not a part of the team.

Here are some ways to make sure your virtual meetings are just as productive as they would have been if everyone was physically present:

1. Make A Meeting Agenda

If you’re leading a virtual team, using an agenda is the best way to make your meetings more interactive and productive. An agenda gives everyone in the team a clear idea of what they’ll be discussing at the meeting and helps keep the discussion on track.

A lot of companies will have a welcome meeting for new hires. The idea is to introduce the new team members to their department, coworkers, and boss. When you have new employees starting with your company, it’s a great time to welcome them. You can do this by creating a plan of fun ways to welcome new employees virtually and including it in your agenda.

Remember that an agenda is not a script for what will happen in your meeting. Instead, it’s a list of topics you want to cover at the meeting, with each topic having its own section on the agenda. This helps keep things in the meeting organized and ensures that everyone in the room understands what’s happening next.

2. Use Breakout Rooms

Breakout rooms can be a great way to make your virtual meetings more interactive. They let you break into smaller groups to discuss ideas, solve problems, and share information.

Here are some ways that breakout rooms can help improve your virtual meetings:

• They offer opportunities for collaboration and teamwork among participants. When people work together on projects or tasks, they learn from each other’s experiences, knowledge, and ideas. This helps them understand what needs to be done, leading to better results.
• They allow participants to be comfortable speaking their minds and sharing their suggestions without feeling embarrassed or shy because there are fewer participants than in the main room.

3. Give Participants A Breather

Participants would really appreciate it if they are given a few minutes of break. They allow people to get up from their desks and move around. Movement helps people stay alert, focused, and engaged in what they’re doing. This will also allow them to reset their attention span and become more attentive towards the virtual meeting.

4. Start With An Icebreaker

An icebreaker is a short activity that helps people get acquainted. You can use an icebreaker in your virtual meetings to help the participants get to know each other so they feel more relaxed sharing their thoughts and opinions.

Here are some tips for using an icebreaker in your virtual meetings:

• Start with an icebreaker at the beginning of the meeting. This will set the right tone, making the team members more comfortable in participating.
• Use a different icebreaker at each meeting to keep things interesting. If you use the same one, it can become boring for some people who don’t like it as much as others.
• Don’t make participants do something embarrassing or silly if they don’t want to do it. This could cause them to withdraw from the group rather than participate actively afterward.

5. Give Everyone Time To Speak

Virtual meetings can be quite challenging. You need to create an engaging environment that encourages collaboration and brainstorming. An excellent way to do this is to give everyone a chance to speak.

When setting up a remote meeting, ensure each participant has enough time to share their thoughts. If someone has something important to share during the meeting, they’ll need time to do it.

6. Assign A Timekeeper

Assigning a timekeeper is one of the best ways to make virtual meetings efficient. This person will keep the discussion on schedule and ensure everyone participates. Set a schedule before the meeting and assign each agenda a time limit. If people are going over their allotted time, have the timekeeper politely remind them that they need to get back on track.

Final Thoughts

Virtual work meetings are becoming more and more popular each day. They’re great for a lot of reasons. These work meetings reduce travel time and allow the participants to stay connected with their colleagues without leaving the office or the comfort of their homes. 

If you’ve ever sat through a virtual meeting before, you know how boring it can get. There’s no face-to-face interaction, so it’s easy for people to get lost in their own thoughts or check out entirely. If you want your virtual meetings to be as productive as possible, try these tips for making them interactive.