Web Conferencing, video calling through internet and web seminars have replaced the old means of communication, especially in business and education sectors. Since their very implementation in business communication, online meetings have become highly popular. Holding web conferences and meetings not only allow you to communicate with a wider audience, but will also save a lot of money and hassle. Whether you are new or already familiar with these platforms, there are several things that you must know to hold a snag-free meeting.
1. Focus on Participant Interaction
Providing too much information and too less participation is not only boring but it also hampers the effectiveness of a meeting. For best results, make sure that more than 80% of the meeting time is given to participant interaction. This would not only provide them with a better understanding of topics and issues but will also save time. Low interaction is one of the major reasons why online meetings haven't fully replaced the old means of communication. So providing the employees with only the information they need and letting them work together is the best practice in case of web meetings.
2. Be Careful Whom to Invite
Although inviting everyone for an online meetings seems like the right thing to do, this often leads to confusion. As there are too many heads than you can manage, it will certainly be difficult to get your point across to a large number of people. As easy as it is to invite people, you must take proper care to select the people you want in the meeting so that they can collaborate more effectively. For example, inviting the security team of your organization to a meeting regarding a new product campaign is certainly not a wise choice and will not add any value to the meeting.
3. Stick to Your Basic Agenda
You don't hold a meeting just because you can. While web meetings are far more cost effective than actual meetings, they still need to follow a specific agenda if you want them to yield the desired results. Make sure you determine the purpose of a meeting and check whether the desired result can be achieved with other modes of communication. At the same time, sticking to the basic agenda will save both time and keep your company resources from being exploited. Always remember that time is a major businesses resource and should not be wasted at any cost.
4. Choose Your Tools Wisely
One of the major hurdles in holding an effective web meeting or seminar is due to the incompetent applications and softwares that are being used. For the best results, use a reputed application for web conferencing such as ClickMeeting or Google Hangouts that can be customized to meet your business needs. Several ready to use web conferencing apps might be able to do the trick for you, but when you're looking for a seamless communications solution for your office, it is always wiser to invest in a professional platform. Without proper display and voice, there is no way you can hope to hold a successful web seminar. Hence, choosing the right platform and application will ensure that nothing goes wrong.
5. Avoid Multi-Tasking
Focusing on too many things and the ability to perform several tasks at one time, might be a good thing for your personal resume. But when it comes to online meetings, it is important to stick to one task at a time and resolving it before moving to the next challenge. Multi-Tasking not only creates confusion but will also keep you from getting anywhere no matter how long the meeting is held. Muti-Tasking might give an impression that a lot of work is being done at a single time. Little do people realize that focusing on multiple things at the same time can often lead to lowered productivity.
6. Encourage the Participants to Use Headphones
As it is established already that no online meeting or seminar can be effective without proper visuals and voice, the use of headphones instead of speakers should be highly encouraged. It is quite certain that the voice from a speakerphone is not very clear and is not a good way of getting your point across to a wide audience. Headphones not only allow people to understand what you're saying but will also provide a much better sound quality than a distorted voice from a speaker phone.
While online meetings can never truly replace the warmth of a face-to-face meeting, we cannot ignore their benefits for businesses and corporate offices. Effectively organizing a web seminar can not only save a lot of time and hassle but will also provide a much wider platform for workplace communication.
