1. What to Do to Make Live Web Meetings Successful?
Most people who have gone through several live web meetings tend to neglect the
need to improve on some factors that could have helped make the meeting more
successful. Once they get past and have figured out the technical element, they
assume that the web conferencing will just go smoothly. However, this is not the
case. Despite the meetings being virtual, it is important that people take care of
things just like they normally would with conventional meetings. That being said,
participants especially the host should not tolerate people showing up late, hearing
background noises, seeing unprepared participants, nobody asking questions and a
person dominating the discussion. If you have noticed any of these during one or
maybe most of your online meetings, it is time that you do something about it.
Listed below are the top five tips for hosts, presenters as well as participants to
ensure successful online meetings.
• Conduct a pre-meeting review by yourself. Regardless if whether you are
the host, the presenter or simply a participant, you should always come
prepared. Therefore, make sure that you have prepared for the discussion
days before. So that when the day for the meeting finally comes, you can
simply spend five minutes reviewing the main pointers of the topic to be
discussed. If you have any questions that you need to be answered, make
sure to prepare them as well. In this way, you can ask them when the timing
is right and not interrupt the discussion in case you forget and suddenly
remember. Furthermore, consider the time you need to spend setting up your
computer and software and logging in to your account to assure that you will
be able to attend the meeting on time. By showing up on time and prepared
to the live web meeting, you are showing respect not only to other attendees
but to yourself as well.
• Be punctual. Some people do not take live web meetings as seriously as
conventional meetings; however, they are just as serious. Therefore, make
sure that you are always punctual and on time. The presenter or the host
would not want to start over just to let someone who’s late catch up.
Moreover, if you are joining from a different zone, always make sure that you
are updated of the time and if you are the host, ensure that everyone has a
good understanding of when and what time the meeting would be held.
• Mind your physical space. Always be a courteous participant and be aware
of your surroundings. Even if you are just sitting quietly, you might not notice
the shuffling of papers beside you, your breathing through the microphone
and people chatting behind you.
• Be an active participant. It is disrespecting to see someone looking bored
and jaded with the discussion. Therefore, to show some respect, actively ask
necessary questions. You might be surprised how a simple question could turn
a meeting from boring to interesting.
• If you are the presenter, you are the facilitator as well. There are web
meeting presenters who forget to be facilitators. Facilitators’ roles are to keep
the meeting on track and to make sure that everyone has the chance to
2. participate. A good facilitator should be able to keep the meeting concise and
productive.
A lot of unsuccessful live web meetings tend to blame their inefficiency to technology
especially if they are making use of free conferencing tools. However, most of the
time, it is not the technology to blame but the attendees. Attendees should always
be prepared, courteous and respectful of the time of fellow attendees. Thus, it is
important that all participants make use of the tips mentioned above to ensure
successful live web meetings. If you know more tips on how to make live web
meetings even more efficient, be sure to share them with me in the comments
below!
