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Category: Articles » Internet & Online Businesses » Article » Article Code

5 Online Group Meeting Tips

A group meeting online is in many ways just the same as a face-to- face offline meeting. You must choose visitors carefully in order to achieve the results and answers you are expecting, as well as take the time to plan out the meeting. Online, you also need to have a good follow up plan like asking them to take action or start them on an accountability plan. Despite the similarities, there are some preparations that are unique to online meetings. Here are a few tips that can help you have a successful ... read more

Article Title:

Article Body:

A group meeting online is in many ways just the same as a face-to-
 
face offline meeting. You must choose visitors carefully in order to 
 
achieve the results and answers you are expecting, as well as 
 
take the time to plan out the meeting. Online, you also need to 
 
have a good follow up plan like asking them to take action or start 
 
them on an accountability plan.

Despite the similarities, there are some preparations that are 
 
unique to online meetings. Here are a few tips that can help you 
 
have a successful meeting online.

1. Enlist help. On the internet, you never really know what's going 
 
on with the person at the other end of the computer. Each 
 
computer is so different in make, model, operating systems and 
 
personal settings. You may sound fine to yourself but others may 
 
not find it that way. Because of that, it's a good idea to have 
 
someone help you do sound checks at the beginning and 
 
throughout the meeting. This way, whenever they hear a drop or 
 
lag, they can quickly alert you and you can either slow down or 
 
make adjustments accordingly.

2. Get someone to organize your presentation materials and get 
 
your questions ready for you. We would have no choice in a 
 
regular meeting but to have these things ready when we walked 
 
in. When doing online meetings we tend to believe that we have 
 
things under control and have a sense of security. We feel like it is 
 
so easy to find everything we need with just a click or two there is 
 
no need to prepare in advance.

That may be so, but even with powerful searches, you still need to 
 
filter through the inaccurate matches. And sometimes, we aren't 
 
quite as organized in our computer filing as we like to think. So 
 
what happens is, you can end up wasting time looking for material 
 
and information you should already have with you.

An assistant will help keep you organized and ensure any 
 
presentation goes smoothly with as little interruption as possible. 
 
They can also help you gather questions, locate information and do 
 
all the nitty gritty small stuff. These are things that can quickly 
 
confuse you while you're trying to facilitate the meeting. So don't 
 
let them.

3. Next, send reminders. In the offline world, reminders are 
 
important but in the online world, it's crucial. Simply because it's so 
 
much easier for people to ignore an email than someone popping 
 
into their office now and then. Of course, you do not want to send 
 
so many emails to the point you're spamming people. Generally, 
 
it's good to send one around 24 hours before and one about 1-2 
 
hours before.

4. Computers that are connected to the internet have a huge draw 
 
and tend to suck people in. People can quickly get sucked up into 
 
surfing, checking emails and multi-tasking and not pay attention to 
 
your meeting. When a presentation is largely audio, people's eyes 
 
tend to wander in search of something to look at. Help keep their 
 
focus. Use visuals and white boards where applicable to draw their 
 
attention back onto your materials and the discussion at hand.

5. This final point may seem obvious but be sure that those who 
 
are broadcasting video have a high-speed internet connection. 
 
You may be surprised at how many people actually try to 
 
broadcast video to a large group on a dial up connection. This is 
 
likely to slow down everyone's speed and it can also mean that 
 
you'll be spending time with those on dial-up helping them to get 
 
rid of the video lag. Politely ask your dial-up users to have their 
 
video cameras off and tell them that the video coming into their 
 
computer may also be on a delay.

In all cases, it's a good idea to have someone on stand by to hand 
 
off technical support issues to so you're not trying to help 
 
everyone during the meeting.

Author Bio:

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