by Joanie Connell
Want to waste less time in web meetings waiting for the technology to work? Follow these tips to make your virtual meetings more efficient.
There are numerous tools out there for making virtual meetings possible, such as GoToMeeting, WebEx, Skype, and so on. The problem is, however, not everyone has the software installed or knows how to use it. Even if one person in your meeting is not up to speed, it can slow down the entire meeting. We’ve all experienced this, probably more than once. The key to preventing a frustrating delay is to prepare in advance and to make sure attendees are prepared too.
- For a very important or first time virtual meeting, send out invitations ahead of time and have people practice getting connected ahead of time. “If you don’t test it, it’s not going to work, no matter how confident you are,” grumbled one seasoned executive.
- Make sure people have the correct software downloaded for the meeting. Also, make sure they have computers that are able to handle a web meeting. Some people have limited processing power or very old computers.
- Have people test their audio and video as needed. Many people don’t know that they need headsets for a good audio connection or how to change the volume on their computer or how to mute. Some people also don’t realize that some headsets don’t have audio inputs and they won’t understand why no one can hear them.
- Have a backup alternative to computer audio. Offering a dial-in number for people to call in on their phones can reduce time wasted getting technology to work. Most people know how to do a conference call.
- Tell people that they should have a good internet connection to attend a web meeting. A cellular connection is a last resort and public wifi is asking for trouble. As nice as it is to conference in from home, you may need to go to the office to have the right hardware and IT support if needed.
- Include an alternative way to contact you in the meeting invitation. Email, cell phone, and Skype chat are some suggestions. If someone cannot get on the meeting, they will need to find a way to get in touch. Make sure you have a way to reach attendees as well, in case you need to call them to help them out or give them instructions for an alternative course of action.
- Ask people to get there 15 minutes early. This means that people may start sitting down at their computers 15 minutes early and after they realize they need to install software, find headsets that will work, and get logged in, they will be there on time.
- As the host, get there 15 minutes early to help people with technical problems.
- Send out the meeting information again 30 minutes before the meeting. This will remind people that they need to get started ahead of time and clue in the clueless where the meeting will be held.
- If you are the presenter and you have resources, have someone else set up the meeting and deal with problems that arise while you focus on the meeting.
The most important tip is to expect complications and don’t let them stop you from being productive. I recommend proceeding with the meeting and letting latecomers add on as they can. It sets the expectation that people need to be prepared so this won’t keep happening. In any case, here are some tips for backup solutions.
- Email out slides or resources for people to follow along in case they can’t see them on their screens.
- Record the meeting and make it available to people who could not get connected in a timely fashion.
- Have a conference call number available in case it’s so bad you decide to abort the web meeting entirely.
If you like these tips, you may also like my tips for getting technology to work for in-person presentations.
