12 tips for hosting online meetings

Tip 6: Welcome people in the meeting space

Find a way to welcome people that have entered and logged in to the call. Most platforms have a function that plays a noise (a dong) with each person registering. Knowing who will be attending also helps with welcoming each person and double checking if they are set up and ready to start. The one advantage that this entire corona phase has given is that it is now hard to find one person that does not know how to access online meeting platforms. But even still, make sure that each person is welcomed. See if you can double-check that both mic and video are working properly.

If I see a beautiful painting or something else in the background, I often comment on my observations. This kind of feedback can help to break the ice and more so realise that we all are in our own environments, be it our home desk, living room, garage, office or wherever else. It is nice to acknowledge this and to make a note which physical space each person is checking in from.

Tip 7: Starting and setting up the ground rules

Kick off the meeting and start by welcoming everyone. It helps to appreciate everyone for being present and that they are on time. Layout the rules of procedure, so it is clear how the meeting will go and what to keep in mind. As you would in a physical setting, tell the people who are attending and what they can expect. The things I try including during such an introduction is how the flow of the agenda will go when we will break in small groups and when we can take a short (bio) break. If you want to use the chat function for people to ask questions or “put up their hands”, make sure this is established up front. Knowing which functions to use is also a matter of preparing, but it can even help to ask everyone “what would help make this time we have more productive?”

Tip 8: Use the chat function

Every online call program has someplace where you can write down text. This place is a goldmine if you ask me when it comes to gathering input. For our low threshold online “coffee corners” I would ask each person what they are eating or drinking in the morning, and to type that up in the chat so we all can read it. As silly as this can sound, it helps since everyone can write something for themselves and each person learns how to use the chat while also being connected via video. That kind of multitasking takes some getting used to, but it is pretty damn handy.

I use this function when I ask attendees first to share it in the chat. Once shared in the chat in text form, it becomes more comfortable to ask to share verbally, and it also means I now have both kinds of input.

Tip 9: Ask a question, pause, and gather input

So this is key when it comes to gathering input from a group of people and making it interactive.

First, have your question ready. Make sure it is clear, something that is relatively easy to answer, the wording is key. Once you have asked, pause for people to write down their answers. When they have written their response, you can observe and see if everyone understood what you asked and if you need to explain anymore.

What I often do is ask people to write it down in the chat once they are done, so you can easily keep track who is done and who isn’t. If this doesn’t suit the setting, ask people to put a thumbs up once they are done so you know when most are done and then ask them to share verbally. Whatever it is, but having some sign that the question has been answered helps in gathering input and knowing who is involved.

Tip 10: Listen, summarise, share, move on

Whenever someone shares their response to a question, instead of saying “thank you, next!”, I first summarise a part of their answer and try to give an anecdote of what it that it made me think of. The summarising keeps me engaged with what I hear, but also helps connect more to what is being shared. I am the host/facilitator, and yet I am also a human being listening to another human being. Use that as a means to relate. Research on reciprocity shows that feeling understood helps group cohesion, so use it functionally, especially when guiding online meetups.

Tip 11: Keep it interactive

What is important here is the questions you ask and how you engage people.

Holding longer online meetups means you need moments in between that people are given something to do. The ways I keep people engaged is by asking them to write something down, share it in the chat, hold break out rooms and having a chance to really connect with a smaller group of people.

Think about how you would do this if you were physically in a room with the same people, what would you ask them? How would you activate them all? What questions would you ask? What are things that are relevant to share, and what would others really like to hear about?

Tip 12: Closing and wrapping up

Because I am behind my laptop, I can always see the time, which in this case has its advantage. I make sure that I am mindful for the blocked time in everyone’s agenda that everyone has made for this. Most people have planned their day to the dot, which means, if the time is done, people start logging off the second the clock strikes. So make sure you have enough time to wrap things up, summarise, ask for last inputs and then to close. I often keep a list of things I want to say before we close, and have enough time to say them and wrap things up in a calm manner. When making the last round, I have realised how there is often something that someone wants to say, which takes more time than I had anticipated.