So many meetings are simply a waste of time. However, it’s pretty easy to turn a video conference call for IT into a productive one with software like Blue Jeans and just a few simple tips and tricks.
According to Entrepreneur, it’s important to have effective training and etiquette during video conferences in order to keep productivity levels high. Read on for tactics you can use the next time you’re sitting in or leading an unproductive meeting
Know and Understand the Purpose of the Meeting
Contact the meeting administrator prior to the meeting to determine why he is calling the meeting. If you know the purpose of the meeting ahead of time, you can help the meeting leader achieve it in an easy and efficient manner. Doing so both helps the meeting administrator achieve his or her goals and helps everyone get out of the meeting more quickly and easily.
Know What You Want Out of The Meeting
It’s also important to know and understand what you want out of the meeting in order to help yourself. Before the meeting begins, determine one action item that you want to accomplish with the meeting group. This action item should be compatible with the meeting organizer’s goals. Otherwise, you’re simply sidetracking and disrupting the meeting with side tasks.
List Specifically What You Want to Say
In order to cut down the time length of the meeting, write down specifically what you want to say ahead of time. Jot down a list of five items related to the action item you want to share in order to help focus your thoughts.
Offer to take meeting minutes, so that the details of the meeting don’t disappear after the meeting. In order to truly make a meeting productive, you need to take away details and action items from the meeting. When the next meeting rolls around, you won’t have to spend any time trying to remember what occurred during the last meeting. You’ll have a recorded history of everything everyone said during the meeting with the meeting minutes. Make sure that you record assigned action items, key decisions and important information or questions asked during the meeting.
Follow Rules of Order and Etiquette
In order to avoid a meeting devolving into chaos, make sure that everyone is following the rules of etiquette, says Computer World. Everyone should make an effort to arrive to the meeting on time. Everyone should respect each other’s time and thoughts and avoid interrupting each other. Establish rules at the beginning of the meeting for how long comments can be and how long the meeting should run in general.
Set Items Aside if Necessary
If someone brings up a topic unrelated to the meeting’s main objective, don’t be afraid to set that item aside for a future meeting to avoid derailing the discussion. You can propose either focusing a future meeting with the same group of people on that topic or establishing a new meeting with a subgroup to tackle that issue. You can also set aside any tangent items for the end of the meeting if there is time.
Establish Action Items at the End
When the meeting is nearing its end, establish action items from the meeting. Go around the room and summarize what each person needs to take away from this meeting and move forward to accomplish.
End the Meeting in a Timely Manner
Whether a meeting has an agenda or not, it can drag on long past its established endpoint. Make sure that the meeting ends on time by asking someone to keep time and let everyone know when the meeting is nearing its established endpoint, so that issues can be wrapped up or set aside for the next meeting.
Ask Questions After The Meeting
If there is anything left unresolved at the end of the meeting, feel free to ask the meeting administrator or anyone else involved in the meeting questions following the meeting. You can also feel free to write a list of questions ahead of the meeting to ask questions related or unrelated to the meeting topic at hand. Whip out the list at the end of the meeting to ask your questions in an organized manner and avoid disrupting the meeting itself with unrelated questions.
Video conference call services allow your IT team to interact with colleagues, clients and suppliers — anyone with an internet connection, at any time across the world. These video conference call services offer a number of great features, including:
● Interoperability: You can incorporate video into existing workflows in order to increase efficiency and effectiveness across your company.
● Scalability: You can invite dozens of people to your video conference call and manager, secure and customize your video communication deployment in both large and small video meetings.
● Integration: You can adopt a video-first culture with an easy, accessible video conference call service.
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