We’re told that people are getting ‘Zoom Fatigue’, which results in meetings that lack energy and get too little accomplished. If you’re struggling to get what you need from your virtual meetings, it’s useful to know that a well-structured design can deliver results and leave people wanting to come back.
As a facilitator, your attention is dragged in at least three different directions – towards the content, the process and the people.
It’s your responsibility to look after all these dimensions. But, for a whole range of reasons, there are times when your participants are no longer on-board..
Too many face-to-face meetings, workshops and conferences are bitterly disappointing. Poorly structured, ineptly hosted and devoid of energy or results, they leave you wondering why the event took place at all. Since the arrival of Covid, the same is true of online events..
What’s a good way to finish an online call and ensure that you end with a continued (or increased) sense of engagement, and bring a feeling of completion? This is my adaptation of an activity I learned at a recent gathering of Oxford University alumni. “We’re all familiar with emojis? Yes!”
Turn-taking is a prominent part of a meeting, whether off-line or online. When we used to meet face to face in the same rooms with each other, we all knew whose turn it was. It was always the turn of the next most confident or senior speaker – unless the meeting was facilitated to allow others to step in first..
Why should you include quick warmups at the start of online calls? They help familiarise everyone with the technology. Then it’s less likely that people will feel excluded or marginalised.
Here’s a simple warmup which works well with larger groups..
