The coronavirus outbreak has caused millions of people across the globe to work from home. Videoconferencing allows employees to join meetings from the comfort of their homes. On the one hand, this is an advantage, but on the other also the cause of numerous problems. When we are in a “conventional” meeting, we often compensate with coercive eye contact and the participants feel the obligation to show interest. During a face-to-face meeting, the participants also have various possibilities to affect the flow of conversation, from raising their hands to talking loudly. In virtual meetings, participants are faced with the challenge of often not knowing how to get the manager’s attention. This can make them feel powerless or give them the impression that joining the debate is simply not worth it. It is also difficult to control participants not to engage in other activities during the meeting (e.g. answer their emails, make phone calls, take care of their children, etc.) and consequently get answers such as: “I’m not sure I followed you”. This is why it is important to clearly outline the rules and culture of participation in virtual meetings. However, even if this is settled, this does not necessarily mean that attendees will actually participate in virtual meetings. This raises the question of “How to get people to actually participate and actively engage in virtual meetings?”
In order to improve participation and enhance employee engagement in virtual meetings, a few simple rules should be observed:
A good meeting starts with an icebreaker. Icebreakers are quick and fun questions intended to lift the mood and get the conversation rolling. Virtual icebreakers build trust and drive engagement. You can start by asking participants to share photos of their remote office. This can help create a shared experience, a positive team atmosphere, break down social barriers, increase motivation, and help people think about this subject and get to know their colleagues from a different angle and trust each other.
This technique is crucial for meeting the need for inclusion and control. Participation is also one of the most demanding aspects of managing a virtual meeting. In order to achieve that, we recommend that you occasionally invite individual participants to speak up and express their opinion. Call upon each participant by their name and invite them to speak and ask whether they agree or if they have any ideas. There are software packages that even allow participants to “raise their hand” if they wish. This helps us not to exclude the more introverted participants and to encourage passive participants.
If you believe that a participant is not paying attention, ask them for their input on the matter. Be emphatic, not rude or condescending. There are people who require just a little bit of extra pressure to stay focused.
Never include the team in a discussion until they have been familiarised with the topic. At the beginning of the meeting, take a few minutes (no more than 5) to present the challenge or topic. You might share shocking or provocative statistics, anecdotes, or details that dramatise the problem. You can engage emotions by making an analogy using a situation that is similar to the topic of the meeting. No matter what tactic you use, your goal is to make sure the group empathetically understands the problem (or opportunity) before the discussion starts.
When people enter any social setting, they unwittingly choose their role. For example, when you enter a cinema, you assume your role as observer — you are there to be entertained. When you enter the gym, you are an actor — you are there to work out. The biggest challenge in virtual meetings is for participants to unconsciously take the role of observer. Many already choose their role as observers when they received the meeting invite To prevent this implicit decision, you need to create an experience of shared responsibility early on in the beginning of the meeting. Here are some ideas how you could start your virtual meeting: “I want this meeting to be a conversation, not a presentation.” “I need all of you to be involved.” This rarely works on its own and the next rule needs to be added: “Include all.”
Give people tasks that they can actively engage in. This will increase individual participation in meetings. Why? If everyone in the meeting is responsible, then no one feels personally responsible (diffusion of responsibility). Before the meeting, choose a challenge and assign people to groups of two or three (max). The groups prepare reports to be presented at the meeting.
Regardless of the participants of your meeting, your goal is to engage them. If you wish to create an interactive presentation, avoid the monotony of PowerPoint. Encourage participants to prepare a minimalistic PowerPoint presentation that provides only the basic information in the shortest way possible. It also stands to reason that if you talk to your participants for an hour, someone is bound to fall asleep. Encourage active and frequent engagement by asking questions, encouraging your participants to join the discussion with their questions and include charts and figures in your presentation.
In virtual meetings, participants are exposed to numerous distractions. If you are unable to include them or get their attention, they will retreat into the alluring observer role and you will have to work hard to bring them back. The 5-minute rule is exceptionally important. This means that you should never go longer than 5 minutes without calling upon a participant to contribute to the discussion or solving a challenge, thus activating them. This means that you need to prepare short and detailed meaningful engagement opportunities.
The biggest challenge of remote meetings is to keep the participants interested and engaged. The guidelines and advice provided in this article can help you tackle this challenge. Following these rules will change the productivity of any virtual gathering. It is important to note that when it comes to attendee participation, thinking outside the box and testing new/your own solutions truly does help.
We wish you a lot of successful and inclusive virtual meetings. Stay healthy.
HBR, 2020; World Economic Forum, 2020; Luria, 2019; DeBarra, 2020.
