Most companies have held more virtual conference calls in the last few weeks than ever before. The rise of work-from-home environments has been more significant than ever at the start of 2020, and the number of remote employees is set to increase. At least 50% of the UK should be working remotely by the end of this year. Conference calling is one of the best ways for teams … [Read more...]
Webcams Aren’t Enough
One thing that the pandemic and working from home has done (besides making sweatpants acceptable "business casual" attire) is push everyone into using their webcams. For years, we’ve been saying that’s the best tool for helping people stay connected and build relationships. Great start everyone! But there’s more. Tools like Zoom, GoToMeeting, WebEx and Microsoft Teams have … [Read more...]
A Solution to Hybrid Meeting Chaos
You’ve felt the pain of hybrid meetings: the people who can’t hear what’s going on, the remote team members who can’t get a word in edgewise, the people in the room who get side tracked by birthday cake and the meeting runs long. What’s a leader to do? For years we’ve been suggesting a solution that people have resisted. Lately, though, a number of our clients are coming to us … [Read more...]
How to Make That Meeting an Email Instead
Ah, the wittiness of the internet. How many memes, pictures and snarky comments have you seen from people complaining that the latest assault on their precious time was “a meeting that could have been an email"? Especially when we work remotely, it’s easy to complain about the time spent in unproductive meetings. I feel your pain but here’s a question for you: Exactly what … [Read more...]
Do You Have a Questioning Strategy for Your Online Meeting?
Have you ever led an online meeting or teleconference and had trouble getting input from participants? Does it feel like nobody is responding or participating? I’m going to guess that the problem isn’t whether you are asking for questions and feedback, it’s how you’re asking. Most of us honestly try to engage our audience and give them a chance to participate. We often ask, … [Read more...]