Virtual Meetings: Best Communication Practices

Virtual meetings existed as far back as the 1960s, but the pandemic made them a household word that people tend to love or hate. 

Zoom, Google Meets, Microsoft Teams, and WebEx have become a regular part of our vocabulary as we conduct work meetings and job interviews online. Zoom parties have become a way to network and socialize. However, are virtual meetings more or less effective than meeting in person?

For every benefit to meeting online, there is a benefit to meeting in person. Overall, since 2020, organizations have increased their use of video meetings. Here are some revealing statistics from Modality Systems, a technology solutions company:

  • Video meetings improve productivity by 50%.
  • Video conferencing has seen a 535% rise in daily traffic in 2020.
  • The value of the global video conferencing market in 2021 is estimated at $6.03 billion.
  • 90% of people find it easier to get their point across on video.
  • 76% of employees use video conferencing for remote work.
  • 40 million users are conferencing on Skype daily during the first half of 2020.

The statistics imply that virtual meetings are here to stay. People can connect and network with people in other cities and time zones. They can save time on commutes. 

However, these meetings are not the same as connecting in person. To create efficient meetings, people tend to cut down or cut out small talk. There is no time for side conversations or getting to know people in a group meeting. 

However, virtual meetings can be an effective way to communicate with team members, get things done, and meet those company objectives. Here are some best practices for conducting efficient and productive virtual meetings. 

Who should attend… and who to invite to meetings

For those of you who dislike virtual meetings – the good news is not everyone should be invited to every one. For those of you who like to participate and talk in meetings, the good news is people who should attend are those who have something to contribute.

Many professionals who have done the research have concluded that the optimal number of participants is eight. Department-wide meetings or company meetings with more than eight people become ineffective. Not everyone has a chance to participate and not everyone needs to be there.

Eight or fewer should be invited to a meeting. The objectives of the meeting (more on that later) determine who should attend. If the meeting is about a project progress update, the key people involved should attend, for example. 

A department update may be more effective as an email or report update, and only key members will attend the update. Instead of meetings, one company sends updates or newsletters to the entire department using a paper copy that each person must sign to show they have read the update.

A one-to-one meeting is usually the most productive – if you nod off at that meeting, you’ll be noticed. Also, for a two-person meeting, you only cover what you need to cover, and the meeting can be over sooner than the scheduled time.

How to avoid Zoom fatigue (virtual fatigue)

Some people groan at the mention of another Zoom call. They don’t want to spend time getting dressed up (from the waist up) to go on camera. For others, having to speak makes them nervous. (Especially if the meeting is being recorded – your words are immortalized forever.)

Virtual meetings have created new issues and situations that didn’t exist when people met in person. “Zoom fatigue” or “virtual fatigue” have become the term to describe the tiredness and burnout from too many virtual meetings. 

It’s just not natural to maintain constant eye contact or see yourself. Constantly staring at others can seem confrontational. And looking at yourself during the meeting can make you painfully aware of what you look like and what you’re doing. 

One solution is to turn off the camera. Mentally, it will be less stressful because you won’t feel like you’re being watched. But without the camera, it may feel less personal, like walking into an empty room and conducting a meeting with a bunch of disembodied voices. You can’t read facial expressions or judge people’s reactions from their body language. 

A perfect solution to remedy Zoom fatigue isn’t out there. It’s possible to do both: to have a combination of on and off camera meetings.

How long should the virtual meeting be?

The average meeting is about the length of a regular TV show: 30 minutes to an hour. Scheduling a meeting can be a challenge in the first place – getting people to stay for 60 minutes can be near impossible for various reasons. 

People who juggle multiple meetings in a single day may not attend each meeting they are invited to or stay for entire meetings. Another issue is time zone differences. A meeting to start the day for some may be a lunch break meeting for others.

These virtual meetings can become a game of Tetris, in which you’re trying to get as many key people to be available at a time that works best for everyone. 

Many agree that meetings should be between 30 to 60 minutes, but not exceed an hour. Having a moderator helps keep the meeting on track and finish on time. 

According to Modality Systems, “Bad meeting organization leads to a loss of over $399 billion per year.” Like buying a ticket to watch a good movie, that meeting should be worthwhile and productive for everyone attending.

What qualifies as an effective virtual meeting?

Let’s start with the most fundamental question. Should a meeting be called in the first place? And if the answer is Yes, will every attendee leave the meeting thinking, “that meeting was a solid use of my time”?

Some meetings don’t need to take place at all. It may be more efficient to send everyone an email to read at their earliest convenience. Another possibility is to use a video messaging tool such as Loom. You can record yourself talking while you share your screen. This method is effective for providing instructions for one or more team members without coordinating everyone for a meeting.

If a virtual meeting is the best way to achieve some objectives, establish clear goals and objectives for the meeting. A moderator will monitor the time remaining to ensure that enough time is allocated to achieve the objectives. 

Each person at the meeting should also have a specific role. For example, lead the meeting, provide progress updates, take meeting minutes to provide a report, or give feedback or insight on a topic.

To evaluate the effectiveness of a meeting, all participants should fill out a brief survey, such as questions in which you select a number from 0 to 10. They rate items such as meeting duration, the purpose of the meeting, their participation, and how the meeting was conducted.

Someone who gives low scores because the meeting was a waste of their time should not be at the meeting. Everyone should be giving scores from 7 and up.

Should people socialize at virtual meetings? 

What do you prefer: getting down to the business of eating at a fast food joint, or having a social dining experience at a sit-down restaurant? 

Virtual meetings are so precisely timed that socializing doesn’t happen. When you attend in-person meetings you have the chance for small talk when you run into someone in the hallway. Or you can do a quick catch up with people as you file out the door.

But when you have a virtual meeting, you really do “jump on a call.” You jump in, discuss what needs to be discussed, and then leave with the press of a button. Even if you want to have a social conversation as you wait for stragglers, everyone present is part of that conversation. You can’t chat quietly off to the side.

Some people lead their meetings with a brief check in, which is the only social touchpoint. They ask a general question, such as how is everyone doing, or make a neutral remark about the weather or something happening in their city. These moments are a brief window that humanizes people into more than Meeting Participants. 

People have used these meeting openings as an opportunity to reveal something personal about themselves or share a joke. At one meeting I attended, the meeting lead commented on the construction crew lifting a porta-potty in the line of sight of her condo window. During the meeting, she shared a photo of her view in the chat. It was an off-topic moment, but a nice break from project objectives.

Working with remote teams makes it difficult to build relationships through emails, messages, and to-the-point virtual meetings. Team members seem to have no personal life because you don’t know any details about them outside of work. It does benefit everyone to spend at least a minute or two to have a social moment before getting down to business.

Key Takeaways

Virtual meetings will permanently be a part of the work culture as we continue to be a global community. As a best practice, the meetings we schedule should continually be evaluated for them to be effective and productive. 

Meetings should have value for all who attend; otherwise, they should not be there. The number of attendees and the meeting length are also important factors. In some cases, a meeting may not be necessary because the information can be more effectively conveyed with a different medium.

Best practices will constantly evolve as our technology evolves. In the future, if we can virtually attend a meeting in 4D without having to physically be present, we may face new problems (virtual travel fatigue?) but the upside is we must always be open to new and better solutions for communicating in this ever-changing world. 

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International Women’s Day: Celebrating Achievements

March 8 is a day to celebrate the achievements of women around the world. It is a day to recognize their socioeconomic, cultural, and political achievements and celebrate the advancements in women’s rights and gender equality issues.

The number of women trailblazers is numerous, so this article will focus on high-achieving female entrepreneurs and famous female educators. Women entrepreneurs and educators paved the way for women today who have jobs or businesses in academic education, education consulting and freelancing, and workplace education.

Successful Women Entrepreneurs

This article highlights the achievements of entrepreneurs such as

  • Real Estate
    • Zhang Xin
  • Biotechnology
    • Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
  • Workforce Management
    • Janice Bryant Howroyd
  • Entertainment and Media
    • Oprah Winfrey
    • Beyoncé
    • Arianna Huffington
  • Fashion and Beauty
    • Tory Burch
    • Sara Blakely
    • Katie Rodan and Kathy Fields
    • Rihanna

How many of these women do you recognize? Do you know a rock star female entrepreneur who should be added to this list?

Successful Women Educators

This article highlights the achievements of educators such as

  • Schools and curriculum
    • Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori – known for the Montessori philosophy of education. 
    • Mary Jane McLeod Bethune – started a private school for African-American students in Florida.
    • Buffy Sainte-Marie – founded the Cradleboard Teaching Project, an educational curriculum devoted to better understanding Native Americans.
    • Silma Ihram – pioneer of Muslim, founder and former school Principal of the ‘Noor Al Houda Islamic College’ in Sydney.
    • Septima Poinsette Clark – developed the literacy and citizenship workshops.
  • Professors, teachers, and consultants
    • Roberta Bondar, a female astronaut and the first neurologist in space, was a consultant and speaker in the business, scientific, and medical communities.
    • Elizabeth Ellery Bailey professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
    • Jesmyn Ward, associate professor of English at Tulane University, assistant professor of Creative Writing at the University of South Alabama.
    • Susan Hockfield sixteenth president (and first woman to serve as president) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Professor of Neuroscience in MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.
    • Cathleen Synge Morawetz, mathematician and professor emerita.
    • Patricia Hampl lecturer, and educator who teaches in the MFA program.

How many of these women do you recognize? Do you know a rock star female educator who should be added to this list?

Amazing Insights on Listening Skills

Effective communication is an important skill at the workplace. Our ability to advance in our careers, build a business, or develop relationships depends on how we articulate words.

Here are some amazing insights into our listening skills. Take a moment to think about what these insights mean to you and how they impact your life.

  • How much are you truly listening to the words that you hear? We hear about 20,000 to 30,000 words a day and listen at a rate of 125 to 250 words a minute. However, we think at a speed of 1,000 to 3,000 words a minute. That means we are filling in the gaps if we don’t hear all the information we expect the speaker to convey. What could that mean about our potential for misunderstandings or jumping to conclusions?
  • Do we remember everything that we hear? Most tests conclude that we only remember about 25% of what we hear. The majority of the time we are listening, we are distracted. Immediately after listening to someone speak, we remember 50% of what that person said, but we will remember only around 25% two days later.
  • What is active listening? Active listening involves more than just nodding while you listen to the other person speak. When we listen actively, we give the speaker our full attention and ask for clarification if needed or more details. Also, we restate what the other person said to show we were listening. 
  • What is a tip for being a great listener? Great listeners know how to follow up on conversations by recalling facts and starting a conversation with openers such as “How is X doing?” or “I remember that you said you were….” They are open-minded about what they will hear and will not have preconceived ideas about what the speaker is about to say.
  • How does positioning affect the conversation? Getting the right conversation environment changes the conversation dynamic. For example, a dialogue with one person behind a desk and the other person standing up will have a different tone than two people sitting next to each other. Similarly, one person speaking while the other is looking down periodically at their phone will also have a different dynamic than two people talking face to face with appropriate eye contact.
  • Importance of listening at work: People with effective listening skills build strong relationships at the workplace. They can build rapport with customers by developing relationships and showing an interest in their needs. Workers who are good listeners understand their work assignments and create trust with their team. Managers improve morale and productivity by listening to their employees and building trust.
  • How do you develop listening skills? Focus on being curious when you listen. Don’t just listen to respond. Use proper eye contact and body language and listen to learn something new.

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Self-Editing Resources for First-Time or New Writers

Ask anyone who writes professionally or personally, and they’ll say that it’s hard – really hard – to find their own writing mistakes. When you are your editor, it’s tough to remain objective and read your work with fresh eyes.

Difficult is not the same as impossible, however. You can self edit if you know what to look for, and you develop a process. If you’re a first-time author or new to writing professionally, you may have many questions about how to edit, what to edit, and when (what stages in your writing) to edit.

We’ve got the answers you need with resources recommended by professional book editors.

Here are some fabulous self-editing resources to invest your time in. If you want a break from the written word, this list includes podcasts to check out as well.

Self-Editing: The Writing Process

Self-editing for Self-publishers: Incorporating: A Style Guide for Fiction by Richard Bradburn

Indie authors looking to self publish will find this resource particularly useful. It describes a three-stage editing process similar to the traditionally published one, from structural to sentence level to proofreading.

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition by Renni Brown and Dave King

Two professional editors have written this book which teaches you editing techniques on exposition, point of view, and dialogue. They provide many examples taken from manuscripts that they have edited.

Understanding Show, Don’t Tell And Really Getting It by Janice Hardy  

This award-winning author uses examples to demonstrate the difference between showing, not telling, when writing a story. She helps authors understand the balance between backstory, description, and narrative. 

Revising Your Novel: First Draft to Finished Draft: A Step-by-step Guide to Revising Your Novel by Janice Hardy  

This book tackles the big picture problems that can go wrong with a novel. It shows how to review character and point of view issues, plot structure problems, and setting problems. You will learn to write stronger prose and build better character arcs and compelling plots.

Cover to Cover What First-Time Authors Need to Know about Editing by Sandra Wendel

After writing your first book, read this book to learn what to do next, before you work with an editor and prepare the book for production and publication. This is an important resource if you know little to nothing about the publication process.

Troubleshooting Your Novel Essential Techniques for Identifying and Solving Manuscript Problems by Steven James  

This hands-on guide takes you through the steps that will increase your chances of selling your manuscript to a publisher or gathering an audience for your book. Topics covered include story progression, character development, narrative techniques, and troubleshooting common issues. 

Write Great Fiction – Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell 

If you struggle with creating a plot that engages your readers, this is a resource to add to your library. The book tackles common plot problems, developing story structure, and how to create strong beginnings, middles, and ends to your story.

Keys to Great Writing Revised and Expanded Mastering the Elements of Composition and Revision by Stephen Wilbers and Faith Sullivan 

The writing process can be daunting. This book provides helpful techniques for the entire writing process, from prewriting to proofreading. It also has exercises to strengthen your writing skills from the sentence to the paragraph level.

The Magic of Fiction Crafting Words Into Story: The Writer’s Guide to Writing & Editing by Beth Hill 

This handbook to the writing and editing process is a valuable resource on all aspects of writing and editing. It covers writing and self-editing your own stories, whether you are a first-time or experienced author. 

Self-Editing at a Sentence Level

The Best Punctuation Book, Period by June Casagrande 

Whether you write for an online, print, academic, or business audience, this quick reference guide covers your questions about punctuation for all styles, including AP (Associated Press), MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association), and Chicago Manual of Style.

Editing Fiction at Sentence Level by Louise Harnby 

This book teaches you how to self-edit your manuscript at a sentence level, from narrative to dialogue. Examples are also provided to demonstrate the lessons.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss 

This resource covers grammar and punctuation insights using humor and history. It is clear from this book that a simple comma or apostrophe can completely alter the meaning of a sentence – sometimes in a hilarious way.  

Artful Sentences Syntax as Style by Virginia Tufte  

This book breaks down standard sentence patterns and forms to show how they convey meaning. New writers and those who love language will find this book fascinating.

The Elements of Style by William Strunk and Elwyn Brooks White 

Among writing manuals, this book is considered a classic. It even has its own Wikipedia entry! This guide covers good writing and composition principles, lists commonly misused words and expressions, and lists often misspelt words.

Self-Editing Resources: Podcasts

The Midnight Quill Podcast hosted by writers T. C. Emerys, M. J. Glenn and Maisy Osbon

Listen to discussions about writing techniques, worldbuilding and self-publishing, with new episodes every week.

The Editing Podcast hosted by Louise Harnby and Denise Cowle

Explore practical tips and insights for editors and proofreaders. This podcast is available in 60 countries. 

Key Takeaways 

New writers published authors will find value in self-editing resources. These books cover important topics in the editing and writing process. 

Experienced writers will benefit from the review and the checklists, and new writers finishing their first manuscript will benefit from the insight and tips. 

For some of the latest advice on editing, writers and editors can stream podcasts from multiple sources, such as YouTube and apps.

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