Written by: Paula Connolly, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Over the past 2 years, we’ve heard a lot of talk about “Zoom Fatigue” or “virtual meeting fatigue”, which is exhaustion from looking at a screen all day. Virtual meetings, and soon to be hybrid meetings, are here to stay, however, so we need to learn how to make them work.
Facilitating a meeting is different than leading a meeting. When you facilitate, you co-create the meeting results with your team members. There’s a place for every voice, regardless of years of experience or expertise. You facilitate innovation.
How can we as leaders create positive, energetic virtual team meetings that also have the impact we need to succeed?
Spheres of Impact
There are 5 spheres of impact that will help you facilitate more engaging and productive meetings.
1. Presence Sphere
Bring your energy. As the meeting facilitator, you set the pace, tone and vibrancy for the virtual meeting. Your energy level needs to be 50% bigger than you think. It takes a lot more energy to bring a virtual event to life–through your camera to your team’s screen–than for an in-person meeting. How do you bring more energy to the meeting?
a. Passion – first and foremost, share your passion and commitment. Talk about why you became a leader or one of your personal values that aligns with the work you do. Be open about what excites you about the work and your vision for the future.
b. Personal stories – share why the meeting topic is important to you and to them – show that you’re in this together.
c. Sound and movement – speak to be heard. Slow down and pause for impact, and, at other times, speak faster . Move closer to the camera and use hand gestures, just as you would in person. You can also add music or videos – anything that engages your audience in a different way adds energy.
Be the authority on the topic – but not necessarily the expert. Share your thoughts, then focus on activating the wisdom of others on the topic – that’s when the real conversations take place.
Be real; be transparent. If you make a mistake, say so. People will appreciate your honesty. If a discussion feels forced or awkward, name it. Others are feeling it, too, so they will be relieved when you acknowledge the moment and open a discussion of where to take the conversation next. You will create a safe space where people feel comfortable to share a different opinion or to make a mistake.
Be camera-ready. With cameras on, your team can see your face, up close and personal. Your facial expression conveys what you think and feel even more than what you say. Be aware of, and vary, your expression to genuinely show your engagement…smile, show surprise, look thoughtful, curious, interested. A picture is worth a thousand words and your face is the picture.
2. Connection Sphere
When you speak to your team in a meeting, you aren’t presenting, you’re having a conversation. This is an important distinction. We’ve all been in virtual meetings dominated by PowerPoint slides. There’s nothing wrong with PowerPoint, but to have engagement in your meetings, you need to commit to a dialog. That’s when you are truly connecting with your team and they are connecting with each other.
To build connection during your virtual meetings, you need to plan when and how you will solicit input and feedback from your team and how you will make decisions. That’s the powerful thing about virtual meeting platforms – they’re designed to encourage us to share, participate and connect.
Most of us are familiar with chat and sharing files but there are many other tools you can use:
Polls for larger groups
Annotate to write on a whiteboard or directly onto a slide (presenter and audience)
Breakout groups
Reactions to raise a hand or give feedback – this makes it easier to manage questions
Apps that complement the platform you are using
And don’t forget that you can save whiteboards and chat input to share with your team after the meeting.
3. Culture Sphere
By now, you and your team have been in dozens, possibly hundreds of virtual meetings. You’ve developed a well-established culture for virtual meetings both with your team and in your organization. The question is whether this culture is still working well.
Over the past few months, many managers have confessed that their virtual work meetings are less than ideal and, in some cases, a waste of time. Many team members connect to the meeting but don’t turn on their cameras, pay attention or participate during the meeting. If you can relate, it’s time to talk to your team about the type of virtual team culture you want.
First, let’s consider whether to turn cameras on or off, as this has a big impact on your meeting culture. I prefer when everyone has their camera on in meetings but it’s a more complicated decision than we may at first think. The results of a Harvard Business Review study in October 2021 found that “using the camera was positively correlated to daily feelings of fatigue; the number of hours that employees spent in virtual meetings were not. The fatigue reduced how engaged employees felt, as well as reducing their voice in meetings.”[1] That’s powerful information!
To make the right decision for your team, consider a variety of options: camera-on/camera-off meetings or turning cameras only in break out groups or when speaking. Get feedback from your team on their preference for using cameras in meetings as well as for these areas:
Level of participation and methods preferred by your team
Meeting frequency
How to “co-create” meetings based on a commitment to participation
Creative ways to “shake things up”/improve results
Commitment to start and end meetings on time
4. Inclusion Sphere
As a meeting facilitator, you can ensure that every team member is valued and heard, regardless of their experience and expertise. Facilitate every meeting using a collaborative, inclusive mindset and approach:
Trust that others have something to contribute
Listen to new ideas, even from the inexperienced
Give yourself and others permission to fail and learn from that failure
Listen even if you don’t agree
Stay curious
Balance between sharing ideas and asking for and listening to other ideas
Allow ideas to belong to the team
5. Design Sphere
Meeting facilitators are realizing that it takes different skills to plan and design great virtual meetings and events. Before you begin, you need to consider several key factors that will impact the approach and design for your meeting. For example, what is the purpose of your meeting and what does your audience expect and need? How many people will attend and is this a new or well‑established group? Finally, what can achieve based in the time allotted for your meeting or event?
A basic example of a design for a one-hour information-sharing/training meeting may include the following sections:
Greeting and welcome–set up a safe, friendly space
Connect with participants–prepare an opening question
Share why the meeting matters
Share new information and concepts
Participants discuss/apply information–Break out or group discussion
Next steps–reflect on next steps and goals
Closing–participants share their learning
This provides a flexible framework for how you will start and end the meeting, what you will cover, how you will connect with participants and how you will encourage engagement.
Summary
There are many other ways that you can increase engagement during your virtual events, but these ideas will get you started. Have fun discovering new ways to make your events an amazing experience for everyone!
Paula Connolly, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Paula Connolly is a Certified Facilitator and Career Coach with Facilitate Discovery who, for the past 25 years, has helped leaders and employees discover their true strengths and adapt a flexible mindset to improve outcomes. She specializes in leadership and human resources classroom and virtual training and coaching. Paula has designed and customized over 40 training programs for diverse audiences. Her clients include the College of Nurses of Ontario, Professional Golfers’ Association, Ontario Public Service, Statistics Canada and Health Canada. Paula’s mission in 2022 is to help people reach higher success through her masterclass Becoming a Dynamic Presenter.
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