How to organize an effective virtual meeting

Training Theme

This 25-minute training helps to organize effective virtual meetings by exploring the specific benefits of the remote format. It addresses common challenges such as multitasking and maintaining engagement, while providing practical solutions: having a buddy for facilitation, using collaborative tools effectively, and creating a structured framework. The emphasis is on the importance of conviviality and the active involvement of the participants to compensate for the lack of physical presence. Interactive exercises and concrete examples help to anchor learning.

Training Objectives

In this online course, you will learn how to:

• Capitalize on all the advantages that virtual meetings offer compared to in-person meetings.
• Use and harness the best of online collaborative tools to make them more effective than in-person meetings.
• Strengthen reception, attentiveness, and friendliness to compensate for the lack of human warmth.
• Create a clear and structured framework for remote meetings to avoid disconnections and time wastage.
• Time the sequences and consistently steer participants back to the meeting's objective to prevent digressions.
• Partner with a colleague and/or surround yourself with partners to address the challenges of virtual meetings.
• Compensate for the lack of physical presence by actively ensuring maximum participation.

Target Audience 

Anyone in a situation of conducting or participating in meetings.

Training Content 

This module contains 4 parts:

DISCOVER

• Identify your personal challenges and motivations for change.

SHAKING UP

• Storytelling: Video The Scourge of Multitasking (2'18) – humorous exploration of the consequences of multitasking in a virtual meeting
• Video comprehension quiz

LEARN

• Expert video: Remote virtual meetings (13'13)
  • Comparison of the benefits of face-to-face and virtual meetings, necessary tools and best practices for facilitation
• Comparison table of face-to-face vs virtual meetings
• Quiz and TRUE/FALSE exercise on good practices

ANCHOR

• Surround yourself with partners
• Roles and responsibilities of the pair in virtual meetings
• Use concrete examples to define your own commitment to change.

Additional resources

• Downloadable documents: Coaching memo sheet (PDF)