How to host successful online team meetings
Working online is not the same as face-to-face. So much of human interaction is unconscious, learned since childhood.
Read on to find out how to translate the physical world of teamwork into the virtual one when many of the social rituals and cues you'd pick up in a physical meeting are invisible online.
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How can you translate the physical world of meetings into the virtual one?
Keeping your team engaged
When a meeting is moved to online from face-to-face, most don't really understand what the difference is - aside from that you're now on-screen. But so much happens in social interactions that is unconscious and is therefore missed from virtual meetings. By drawing awareness to these social habits you can replicate them, to then host better meetings and work more successfully as a team.
When a meeting is moved to online from face-to-face, most don't really understand what the difference is - aside from that you're now on-screen. But so much happens in social interactions that is unconscious and is therefore missed from virtual meetings. By drawing awareness to these social habits you can replicate them, to then host better meetings and work more successfully as a team.
Covid-19 has changed the way we work and live our lives. The new normal brings its own challenges, not least the online meeting. There are obvious benefits of meeting online, but much of building trust and relationships is unconscious, and easily missed when participating in meetings virtually.
Re-inject some structure into your online team meetings, and build connections between team members by replicating those unconscious social habits and cues in your hosting, which are so important in our daily team interactions.
Hosting successful team meetings
1. An effective welcome
It’s all too easy for Zoom meetings to feel impersonal, with multiple faces floating on-screen and with the option of the ‘mute’ button or turning off their camera, participants can feel invisible.
Instead, be present. Look at your camera, say “hello” and use their name.
You’ll be amazed at how this small action works to get your team present, alert and engaged with the agenda.
2. 'Check-in' with each participant
Each person is bringing their own thoughts and feelings into the meeting with them. When they join, invite them to share anything that may affect their behaviour or contribution to the meeting. Are they in good spirits, in the middle of something, managing family issues, waiting for a delivery?
Awareness of what we are bringing into ‘the room’ helps us to park those thoughts at the door and focus on the agenda ahead. By knowing what others are experiencing we can be empathetic and know not to take their behaviour personally.
Ask each team member to ‘check-in’ by choosing a word that sums up how they’re feeling with no right or wrong answer, or explanation required.
3. Give your team your full attention
Avoid distractions. Give your attention to the person speaking and don’t give them any reason to be distracted either visually or mentally.
Turn off self-view in your meeting software. Trust your team to tell you that you’ve drawn on your face with your pen or have food between your teeth - just as they would in person.
Pin the speaker’s image to the top-centre of your screen so that you are looking as close to the camera as possible. This gives the illusion of eye contact - something that helps others feel comfortable.
Remember, your team can’t see what you’re doing off-camera. If you’re taking notes during the meeting, then let them know that's what you're doing when you look away. If you’re bringing up a document or email to refer to, let them know so they don’t wonder why your face just went blank and your eyes glazed over.
4. Focus your meeting
There are so many distractions online. Each participant is visible on screen and brings their own world of backdrops, sounds, and interruptions. Online meeting software gives you the option to choose your focus - whether you see the speaker or all participants, mute and unmute, raise a hand or clap.
Use meeting software functionality intentionally and make it part of the meeting agenda.
In Zoom, during a presentation or individual updates, ask team members to use ‘speaker view’ and mute themselves or pin the speaker during Q&A. Ask the team to change to ‘participant view’ for a team discussion use and, as meeting Chair watch for social cues to ensure all contributions are being heard.
5. Limit participant numbers
Whatever your maximum of participants would be for a team meeting held in-person, reduce this number if held virtually. There is a lack of research in this space but we know that virtual meetings take more time to run effectively due to less obvious social cues and technological hiccups.
In-person, the maximum number of participants for a productive team meeting would be ten. I would suggest six or less for virtual teams, and encourage the use of break-out rooms.
6. Find ways to relate
Perceived closeness or relatability between team members increases commitment and motivation. If a team has shared goals, that goal commitment is a relatable topic for the team. We aren’t always able to recognise the ideas of people who we view as ‘not like us’. The more team members can relate to one another, the better they will work together by hearing and building on one another’s ideas. As their leader, it is especially important that you relate to each team member, and them with you.
Create opportunities for one-on-one conversation and connection between team members and encourage ‘small talk’ to discover topics individuals can relate to. Strengthen team engagement by focussing attention on achievements, team strengths, successful collaborations, the vision and goals for the team and shared milestones.
7. Provide structure
By providing structure you are giving your team certainty which will set them at ease and encourage appropriate participation and focus.
Create structure by doing the following;
Let the team know the duration of the meeting.
Share an agenda and circulate it in advance, agreeing allotted times for owners of each agenda item.
For meetings which aren’t regular, speak to each person who is invited in advance and let them know why you are inviting them and ask what they need in order to best contribute.
Assign roles: the meeting ‘chair’ manages the agenda; ‘timekeeper’ for agenda items and the meeting as a whole’; ‘note-taker’; and in Zoom the ‘Zoom host’ who will let people into the meeting, navigate connection issues, break-out rooms and questions in the chat function.
8. Share the air-time
As a meeting host it’s your role to ensure equal air-time between participants when a discussion takes place. If you don't expect someone to contribute, do they need to be there? You could instead record the meeting for them to watch at their leisure - a benefit of online meetings - or send them summary notes.
Set expectations from the beginning: “We are going to go around the room to hear from each of you." or “I want to hear from every one of you on this agenda item.“
When one person finishes speaking invite your team to use the' raise hand' functionality in Zoom so those who don't feel comfortable interrupting don't miss out on contributing. As the meeting host, it’s then your role to invite people to speak.
9. A clear close
After a discussion or if the conversation goes off in an unexpected direction, team members may not be clear on the outcome or next steps, or how a decision relates to them and their work.
Clearly closing off agenda items will help to avoid decisions being ignored or overturned, and issues from re-surfacing.
Summarising also works to keep everyone in the meeting focussed, on the same page, and out of unnecessary detail or drama.
Summarise the main points made at the end of each agenda item, and ask “does anyone have something more to contribute on this or a question before we move on?” Keep it factual and finish with actions and next steps.
If a topic can’t be resolved and has to be parked, be clear on how it will be progressed, by whom, and when an update or decision will be brought back to the team.
Why is it important to replicate social habits and cues in online meetings?
Simply because we are social beings. To perform well as a team we need to know what to expect, to feel that we can contribute without judgment and that our contribution will be recognised and valued.
Enabling your team like this creates trust among the group, also known as psychological safety, and results in more resilient and adaptive teams.
Source of inspiration: NeuroLeadership Institute Webinar ‘Coaching Your Team Virtually: Coronavirus and Beyond’.