Six Tips for Hosting a Successful Remote Meeting

Virtual meetings have become a part of everyday life for employers and employees dealing with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As cooperative staff prepare to host important meetings digitally, CFC’s Training Team shares a few practical and time-tested tips:

Tip 1: Know the Technology

There are many platforms available to facilitate virtual meetings. Each is slightly different. Prior to your scheduled meeting, it is a good idea to host a “practice run” with a colleague.

Send your colleague a meeting invitation. Log in to the virtual meeting interface. Experiment with the available features. You might get some ideas for new ways to facilitate creative interaction during your meeting.

Tip 2: Set Expectations in Advance

Even your most tech-savvy colleagues may encounter obstacles trying to log in to an unfamiliar virtual meeting interface on a home network. To ensure the meeting runs smoothly, send an agenda in advance that also includes log-in credentials and instructions for downloading and installing any necessary applications.

Make sure any colleagues who will be asked to share their screen or appear on camera are notified so they are prepared to do so.

Tip 3: Encourage Colleagues to Test Their Connection and Equipment

Many virtual meeting and videoconferencing applications allow participants to test their connection, microphone, camera and speaker prior to a meeting. Direct your colleagues to these features and encourage them to test their equipment well in advance. They may find they need to adjust a few settings on their computer before the meeting.

Often, virtual meeting participants will have the option to dial in or use their computer audio to participate in the meeting. Make sure participants that choose to dial in know how to mute their computer speakers and microphone during the meeting to avoid creating loud and disruptive feedback.

Tip 4: Beware of Cybersecurity Threats!

Hackers are exploiting the vulnerabilities of virtual meeting platforms amid the COVID-19 crisis. These cybercriminals may listen in to your calls or hijack your meetings and share inappropriate content.

Make sure to follow your cooperative’s virtual meeting guidelines and use approved virtual meeting services only. When you set up your meeting, be sure to create a unique password. Do not share meeting links on social media. If possible, lock the meeting once all desired participants are logged in.

Tip 5: Promote Engagement During the Meeting

Take a roll call at the beginning of the meeting and ask each participant to share something. This will help ensure everyone is connected and engaged. If you would like to invite someone to speak, be sure to address them by name.

It is important to remind participants to mute their lines when it is not their turn to speak to avoid distracting noises. Also remind them not to place the call on hold, or they risk disrupting the meeting with music.

Many virtual meeting platforms have chat, polling and virtual “hand-raising” features. For large meetings, encourage participants to submit and respond to questions using these features.

Tip 6: Start and End on Time

This is good advice for any meeting. It is especially important when collaborating remotely. Log in to your meeting a few minutes early to ensure everything is working properly.

Final Thoughts

We are happy to support members in any way. Feel free to contact us at MemberTraining@nrucfc.coop if you have questions about virtual meeting or web conferencing technology.