Running Virtual Meetings by Harvard Business Review

Author:Harvard Business Review
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
Published: 2016-05-26T16:00:00+00:00

Send your invitation and materials

Now that you’ve decided on the participants, platform, meeting time, roles, and expectations, draft an e-mail invitation to your attendees with all the information they need to prepare for and participate in your meeting, including:

• Meeting time and time zone

• Your agenda, which addresses not only the items you’ll discuss, the time allotted for each item, and who “owns” the item, but also the list of meeting roles (timekeeper, tech czar, and so on)

• Call-in or log-in information, including the tool’s name, how to join, and the participant passcode

• Other technology you’ll be using, including secondary communications channels, a document-sharing service, and authentication and security apps

• Contact information for the tech czar

• Details on plan B—which channel you’ll move to if your primary meeting channel fails, and all the required information (call-in details, and so on) for this backup channel

• Guidelines for the appropriate usage of the tools you’ll be using (that is, you’re having a video call, but you’ll use IM to let people know if they can’t be heard, and so on)

• Ground rules for the meeting process and etiquette

• Any materials participants need to review before the meeting (presentations, sales reports, and the like)

Send this e-mail a few days ahead of time so group members have time to review the materials, vet their setup, and ask for help. For bigger meetings share the information even earlier, at least a week in advance.

The purpose of establishing rules and protocols isn’t to intimidate your colleagues into compliance or constrain their participation in any way. The guidelines aren’t a punishment, but a set of aspirations—a plan for how each person can get the most out of the meeting’s interactions and meaningfully contribute to them. Next we’ll see how all of the elements you’ve planned with such care work together.

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