In-person meetings have been replaced with video calls. Consequently, honing your communication game according to the new way of holding “meetings” is paramount. Online meetings have become easier and more interesting with features like chat, Q&A, virtual whiteboards, reaction icons, and more. However, a lot of people still feel anxious to attend a virtual meeting.
So, as a manager, how can you make these meetings a non-transactional communication where ideas, feedback, and doubts are shared effectively (and not just from outgoing individuals)? Let’s explore a few ways of making these meetings fun and engaging, where even the mute-happy employee feels comfortable to unmute and contribute.
Share Your Questions Ahead of Time
If you need a solution for a certain problem, it’s best to give them a comfortable timeline to analyse and come up with a solution. You could draft an email to your team about the problem in hand and ask them to come prepared with ideas or insights regarding d the same. This will allow every member to speak up confidently and no idea would go unheard.
Establish Rules that Foster Participation
A lot of people hesitate from participating with the fear of ideas getting shot down. Many members, instead of listening to understand, listen to counter questions. So, ensure that a brainstorming session doesn’t turn into a dirty debate. Welcome every idea and then assess which one works the best for you as a manager.
Start with an Icebreakers
Awkward dates aren’t the only time where icebreakers come in handy. You need an icebreaker to relieve the tension and anxiety related to virtual meetings as well. While it’s easy for an extrovert to voice out his/her opinion, doubts, and ideas, we also have individuals who prefer being in the backstage. And you need to give these shy geniuses that extra push (of comfort) to open up. And starting off with interesting games can help you do that. At ExtraMile, we have a range of games like Room to Escape, Back to School, Noughts and Crosses, and more, that can help you ensure complete attention and engagement.
Keeping Cameras On Can be Optional
Pandemic has shown us that most of us are hesitant to keep our cameras on during a call. As a manager, you must consider your team’s comfort with cameras. There could be multiple reasons why a member cannot keep his/her camera on. They could be camera conscious or have distractions in the background.
Ask Simple Questions in Chat
Meeting participants often use the chat window to express a random thought, cheer the speaker, crack a joke, share a personal story, or record an idea. If used with an understanding that the new generation is more of a texter than a talker, you can leverage this feature. For example, towards the end of the meeting, if you want to share their feedback, you could say “Everyone, please use the chat window to give us one word that best describes the campaign according to you”. The trick is to ask for a short and specific contribution instead of a broader one with questions like, “What do you think?”. Though such generic questions get responses, it is usually from the chatty crowd. And you cannot deny that the shy ones are well-qualified too. Hence, it is imperative to come up with a way to make everyone feel comfortable. Now that the ice is successfully broken with the right question, move on to the next trick…
Follow Up on those Questions
Since the original request was easy, a lot of your introverted geniuses might have contributed too. So, you could now simply pick the person and his/her answer to ask for a broader reason behind their answer.
For example, you could say, “Sheetal, you described the campaign as intimidating, could you unmute and share why? Expressing your views in detail from the beginning can spur discomfort amongst some. However, providing a reason to a view typed out on chat can seem a tad easier. This simply demonstrates that you, as a manager, value everyone’s comfort, feedback, and participation.
As a speaker or the host of the meeting, you can also point out a few funny or insightful comments added by your teammates in the chat box. This will ensure that the environment is chill and transactional. When working in the office, employees meet each other every day, giving them the comfort to stay relaxed around their colleagues. However, since we hardly see each other and fool around, corporate scenes have become quite formal.
Hold Fun Meetings
Pick a day and time where your team comes together to chat about anything but work. For example, Thursdays, 6.45 PM, every member must join the call for 20 minutes of sheer gupshup. You could play games, catch up, or just pull each other’s leg on this call. This will also help you ensure that newbies in the team gel up well.
At ExtraMile, we help organisations ensure utmost employee satisfaction with virtual employee engagement activities. Get in touch with us to hold a fun evening or an interesting session that will help your team unwind.