Before the pandemic, way back In November 2019, a group of academic meeting researchers from several universities, business leaders, and consultants met to review and analyze hundreds of research studies about what makes meetings effective. They published “Ten Rules Simple Rules for Meaningful Meetings.” One of the science-based findings identified that online meetings get the same results as in-person meetings when everyone turns on their video cameras. Now that we have … [Read more...]
Tips To Make Online Meetings Less Exhausting
Recently I facilitated an online session about how to get better at online meetings for Lightful in the UK where I am a Senior Advisor at Lightful, among other activities, facilitate online master classes for their BRIDGE programme.Here's an overview the tips and resources I shared. Online Meeting Tips Don’t wing it alone It’s easy to wing meetings with no formalised planning or an agenda. According to Beth, a good meeting is based on good design. You can plan the topics, the minutes … [Read more...]
Ways To Use Zoom Breakout Rooms To Increase Meeting Engagement
We are only about one month into the world's largest work from home experiment. This means spending a big part of our day sitting in front of a screen that looks like the Brady Brunch. It has surfaced a new technology affliction: Zoom Overload. There are number of reasons we feel exhausted from zoom meetings as Jeremy Bailenson, Virtual Human Interaction Lab points out. It isn’t just the huge uptick in back-to-back virtual meetings we are hosting or attending, many times … [Read more...]
How To Facilitate Effective Virtual Meetings
In light of the Coronavirus, many nonprofits are engaging in scenario planning. Organizations have also been encouraging their employees to work from home or enlisted travel bans. The list of conferences cancelled is growing, with some now being delivered a virtual gatherings. It's time to up your virtual facilitation and convening skills. I've been working remotely since the early 1990s, during the early years of the Web. My first remote job was to work with a virtual team to manage an … [Read more...]
Trainer's Notebook: Using Dot Voting Online
When I facilitate meetings or workshops for nonprofits, not matter the topic, I incorporate many participatory approaches and design thinking methods. One technique that I often employ is called "Dot Voting" or "Visual the Vote." This is a simple process for getting participants to prioritize ideas or decisions. You use this to follow a brainstorming activity which may yield an abundance of new ideas. The technique helps you need to evaluate the ideas. Dot voting is a visual way to see where … [Read more...]
