Virtual Minutes Are Precious: Tips for Hosting Events and Meetings
Photo by Giu Vicente on Unsplash
Here we are, eight weeks into quarantine (in NYC) and we’re dipping into our IRL event excuse bucket to avoid virtual ones. No judgements! I’m guilty too. Zoom fatigue is real and there’s a growing body of research on how video calls are far more draining than phone calls.
Early stay-at-home days I set a weekly goal to attend 1-2 virtual events/meetings per week, which included a virtual networking coffee with someone new. In addition, I experimented with leading my own workshops ranging from 30 to 80 minutes (more to come soon). Here are some best practices that I’ve gathered both from attending and leading online events.
Some tips to help you make the most of facilitating virtual events/meetings:
A 90 minute event is the maximum amount of time people can handle and that’s still probably too long. Plan to end around 80 minutes.
Start the event within 2-3 min of the start time. People don’t want to wait and you risk losing them to grabbing a coffee from the kitchen and mashing play-doh with their toddler instead (me).
Be clear before your event how people are expected to participate: video and sound on? Then be even clearer when you start the event: Mute when not talking? Or Mute off to encourage discussion? When and how to use chat and Q&A functions?
Are you recording the meeting? If so, tell participants for what purpose.
Like any good in-person event/meeting reiterate the purpose and goals of why you’re all together.
If you have sponsors to mention can you save that for the end or type in the chat? Or incorporate into your reminder or follow up emails? Spending more than 1 virtual minute on this feel tedious and my bed is dangerously close to my desk.
Kick off events with Ice Breakers. Your group needs them to connect and be present. Incorporate body movement if possible for people to feel grounded. Ask a question for everyone to answer in the chat or out loud (depending on group size).
Some fun ones I’ve used recently:
If your current emotion were a sandwich what kind would it be?
What do you see out of your window right now?
Close your eyes. What are three things you hear?
Stand up and stretch while you introduce yourselves.
Be patient. Discussions and activities will flow slower than real life due to the sound delay. A short silence is ok…but not too long. Repeat the question if needed.
Use Break Out rooms often! People tend to open up in smaller groups just like real life.
Employ any and all tools for people to participate: break outs, polls, q&A, chat box.
If you’re using slides make sure every 7 minutes or so you stop sharing and ask people to chat about the content to keep them engaged. People would rather wash dishes than hear me drone on.
My biggest takeaway is that you cannot directly convert your in-person event/meeting into virtual! You need to redesign the experience keeping in mind we are all fatigued from navigating the daily chaos that is our reality. Virtual minutes are precious. Begin with this question:
How will your event or meeting bring a little joy into your attendees’ lives?