The etiquettes of virtual meetings
Becoming more productive and saving time for others goes a long way for an online meeting. It’s about time to embrace the digital working environment.
This Pandemic, two years and counting, has brought a significant economic turndown around the globe. And to contain the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and protect susceptible populations, most countries imposed stringent lockdown measures in the first half of 2020. Economic activity contracted dramatically on a global scale. According to IMF, the cumulative output losses over 2020 until next year due to the pandemic crisis could be around 9 trillion dollars.
Government projects and efforts were suspended. Establishments were shutdown. Flights are suspended and massive restrictions were imposed on travels. This brought particularly large disruptions on countries reliant on tourism, travel, hospitality, and entertainment for their growth.
Three months after the lockdown, economic operations gradually resumes but still struggle to bounce back. Some countries allow the resumption of business operations to counter the reversals in capital flows. But what many finds are no longer the business as-usual. Aside from wearing personal protective equipment, mass gathering are restricted and distant conversation are imposed. Thus, coined the term “new normal”.
But what many business have found to be more challenging is the need to communicate with their employees, client, and stakeholders. Some implemented the work from home scheme where communication are bridged via online applications.
Interestingly, the primordial aim by which technology are continually developed is to ease the communication process. Even before the pandemic, gone are the days of snail mail and other typical means of communication. Now, more than ever, in this information age, modern means of communication are much appreciated.
In my nature of work as Project Management Supervisor, most of my functions are carried out by communicating and coordinating with our client and external stakeholders. Sometimes, emails are not enough. An audio-visual communication is more than enough to be able to bridge the gap and withstand the challenges of this pandemic.
Most of our meetings are being conducted online via video conferencing since our client and most employees are scattered all across the city.
But comes with an increase in remote work, we are being introduced to a lot of new ways of working, and there are a lot of things that we are yet to learn. It begins with connecting with the teammates in the correct way. And to effectively and comprehensively execute online meetings, be guided with the following:
Before the meeting
- Check your computer and the reliability of internet connection.
- If you’re the meeting leader, it’s a good idea to contact everyone personally, or at least the key people, to ascertain that they are all prepared and available.
During the meeting
- Join early and make sure your camera and microphone is working properly.
- Dress appropriately.
- Open your camera. Make sure your background is tidy, professional and work appropriate.
- Stay seated and stay present. Be attentive and stop multitasking.
- Mute your microphone when you’re not talking. Avoid noise distractions while others are talking.
- Be patient with participants and provide grace to any miscommunications.
- End with a quick recap providing decisions made and actions agreed on.
After the meeting
- Immediately send a minutes of meeting through email. The minutes is the record of a meeting.
By complying on these basic meeting guides, you help your colleagues and company in:
- Saving more time
- Becoming productive
- Completing the meeting agenda on time
- Being more focused when meetings happen
Becoming more productive and saving time for others goes a long way for an online meeting. It’s about time to embrace the digital working environment.
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