When producing a virtual meeting, how do you make yours stand out from the rest?
Surprisingly, the little things will make a big impact on your attendees and make your meeting a success. Here are a few virtual meeting best practices that you should include in your next virtual meeting.
Have Rehearsals Before Your Live Event
One of the best ways to prepare for your virtual meeting is to schedule rehearsals with your team, speakers, and anyone else involved. A run-through before the live event can build confidence and work out any kinks that may occur. There are plenty of benefits that come with rehearsing. The ability to double-check the presentation, test technology, find the “flow” of the show, and seeing how the presenter looks on camera are the top reasons. Schedule these rehearsals in advance to make sure that everyone can attend.
State a Clear Agenda
Stating a clear agenda at the beginning of the virtual meeting lets your attendees know what is going to happen and when it’s going to happen. This is beneficial so each person can prepare and set time aside to participate. Be sure to let participants know the time zone for virtual meeting so they can adjust accordingly.
Provide Virtual Meeting Technology Guidance
Before the presentation begins, take a moment to explain how to use the virtual platform. This may include the chat feature, how to mute, how to turn the video on and off, and any other features the virtual platform provides. By providing a graphic with the technology guidance at the beginning of the presentation, attendees have time to look at the virtual platform and test it themselves.
Encourage No Multi-Tasking
It can be challenging sometimes to keep an attendee’s full attention during a virtual conference due to surrounding distractions. To minimize this, encourage no multi-tasking at the beginning and throughout the session. One way this can be accomplished is by using attendee engagement tools such as polling, Q & A, and icebreakers. For more information on how to encourage attendee engagement, here are 9 Tips to Increase Attendee Engagement during a Virtual Meeting.
Have a Moderator
An event moderator is a master of ceremonies that can make sure everyone gets the most out of the virtual meeting. This role introduces speakers, keeps the event going on time, encourages attendees to ask questions, and makes sure the overall event is successful. Having a moderator helps the speaker to solely focus on their presentation and not worry about the back-end side of the virtual meeting.
Include Visual Content
Providing visual content during the virtual meeting makes it more interesting and engaging for the attendees. Visual content can be PowerPoint, videos, images, graphics, etc. Having the speaker’s camera “on” when they are presenting will also increase interest in the session. Attendees like to see who is speaking to them as the presentation is happening.
Post-Event Survey, Video, Slide Deck, Resources, etc.
The virtual meeting best practices don’t end when the session closes. It is important to have a post-event follow up with a survey and content that the attendees can have. Attendees like to have something tangible to take away from the event and be able to go back to look at information if needed. Surveys are important after a virtual meeting to know what worked, what didn’t work, and help you prepare for next time. Here are some good post-event survey questions that you can ask attendees:
How satisfied were you with the event?
What can we do to improve next year?
How likely are you to attend in the future?
Would you recommend this event to your friends?
These few virtual meeting best practices can take your next online meeting to the next level. No matter the size of your event, your attendees will appreciate these elements being put into place.
Contact The LaClare Group for a free initial consultation before you plan your virtual meeting, or for more information on virtual meeting best practices.