A laptop on a wooden desk showing people taking part in remote meetings.
Image: © Kateryna/Stock.adobe.com

Raise your remote meetings to the next level with this handy guide

8 Oct 2020

Which video platform should you use? How should your remote meeting agenda differ from your in-person one? This infographic shares some tips.

Like working from home in general, there are upsides and downsides to remote meetings. You might feel more comfortable talking to your colleagues from home, meetings might be quicker, and it can be easier to keep in contact with people who might be on different schedules or in different countries.

But getting through these virtual catch-ups without any hiccups is rare, whether it’s a slow internet connection, a platform crashing or the cacophony that occurs when everyone tries to speak at the same time.

That’s not to mention the potential impacts of Zoom fatigue, which can occur when we overuse any video-conferencing tool. Back-to-back video calls can lead to mental exhaustion and blur the lines between our jobs and our lives.

With that in mind, it’s clear that the video tool your team decides to use and how you use it are important points to consider. This guide from BusinessFinancing.co.uk could help.

You can use the flow chart to determine which platform may be your best bet. It suggests that internal one-to-ones, for example, can take place over Slack, while webinars with up to 250 people might be better suited to Google Meet.

It also includes advice on creating an effective agenda for your remote meetings. It’s important to spend some time working your agenda out, it says, because there are some significant differences between in-person meetings and ones that take place over video.

A major one is that video calls can make it harder to read your team’s visual and social cues. The right agenda can address this issue by setting out specific moments for each attendee to respond to relevant agenda items, ensuring everyone has a chance to have their say.

You could also opt for a more democratic meeting culture, by letting employees take turns hosting the video call.

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Lisa Ardill
By Lisa Ardill

Lisa Ardill joined Silicon Republic as senior careers reporter in July 2019. She has a BA in neuroscience and a master’s degree in science communication. She is also a semi-published poet and a big fan of doggos. Lisa briefly served as Careers Editor at Silicon Republic before leaving the company in June 2021.

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