77 Tips for Planning and Leading Exceptional Virtual Meetings

Whether you’re a leader of virtual meetings, or a participant who knows there must be a better way to run remote meetings, this tips booklet is for you.

Guided Insights principal Nancy Settle-Murphy has created this easy-to-read 20-page booklet to help remote meeting planners, virtual team leaders and remote team participants zero in on areas where they most need help. Our 77 Tips for Planning and Leading Exceptional Virtual Meetings booklet is chock full of tips and techniques assembled from years’ worth of real-world experience, articles and discussion groups.

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Contents include:

ABCs of planning virtual meetings
Importance of prework
Using the right technology
Creating a realistic agenda
Engaging remote participants
Running “hybrid” meetings
Navigating cultural differences
Following up
Building on success

“I keep your tips booklet posted right next to me on the hutch of my desk and use it frequently when I'm planning meetings. This booklet is my most valuable meeting tool because, no matter what a meeting is about, following those tips ensures a successfully run meeting. Thanks for the great tool!”

Sample tips:

#24
Prepare to spend some serious time reworking a face-to-face agenda into one that works for a virtual meeting, especially if this is your first foray. It takes a lot of thought, practice, and consideration of several variables, including which asynch and synch tools will be used, as well as the number of participants.

#28
Be prepared to carve out time for several brief meetings spread over a few days, rather than trying to accomplish everything in too short a time. It’s better to plan realistically than to run out of time at the end, which means that the meeting must be rescheduled or extended. If you plan for several meetings right up front, you’re far more likely to get the participation you need when you need it.

#32
If you don’t have an automatic scheduling program shared among invitees, make sure everyone has the accurate meeting time for their time zones. Double-check when in doubt.

#42
Draw a circle on a paper in front of you, and note the name of each person as s/he enters the call, starting with the “12:00” position. This way, you have a mental picture of everyone at the table. You can pose one question with the “3:00” participant, going around either clockwise or counterclockwise. You can begin the next question at “6:00” and reverse the order to keep people paying attention.