Virtual meetings are increasingly common in today's business world, but they are also still struggling with not being so effective as traditional meetings where participants meet face to face. How to make them more effective?
Get to know each other better
Webcam or at least photos of the participants will help you build a closer contact and a greater trust. At each meeting, for expample, try to instroduce one participant closer to others.
Let all the participants speak
Since you cannot maintain eye contact as you could at a traditional meeting, the online meeting leader should emphasize that all the participants should speak.
Use the interactive elements
Most software solutions for online meetings include tools such as "raise your hand" that are used to vote and you can also use them to easily identify who listens to you and who does not. Use these tools.
Use interactive tools for brainstorming and problem solving
At a traditional meeting you have a flip chart to write down your suggestions. The same called "board", "whiteboard", etc. can be found in software solutions for online meetings. Simply ask someone to take notes.
-kk-