As part of the AIGA Webinar series, I watched “Make It Remote: Virtual Meetings Don’t Have to Suck.” One of the significant areas that was affected due to covid was the workplace and the ways that people gathered to get information. With everything going remote, I was interested in ways to make virtual meetings more exciting and engaging.
Matthew Manos, the founder of “verynice,” presented his super engaging seminar on making the best out of our new virtual worlds. In the first few slides, he discussed the differences between what meetings should be emails, which should be a virtual meeting, and which should be a workshop.
The main points of difference are that emails should be used to cascade information, provide feedback, and assign work. Meetings should be utilized for making group decisions. Lastly, workshops should be used for brainstorming. I understood Matthews’s logic in creating these categories on ways to present information. Misutilization of time when something could have been emailed can disrupt workflow.
Matthew then went into detail on how to make virtual meetings more impactful. He began by suggesting that the moderator have a clear and concise agenda. The next thing he suggested was adding appropriate break times and email breaks. I agree that email breaks are necessary because those are potential distractions. Taking a break can ensure that people remain engaged. Matthew also suggested doing technical things like having an engaging background and ensuring a good wifi connection. Most importantly, he stressed the importance of allotting time for buffering before the actual session begins. Connectivity issues can play a massive role in the execution of the meeting.
The last subject that he covered was how to host effective workshops. One of the key suggestions that I remembered when he covered workshops was the simple method of sending workshop packages to participants before the meeting begins to keep them engaged. Often time these packages can include a notebook and branded pen. The smallest gestures can really keep people virtually engaged.
Matthews’s presentation was concise and impactful. He opened up the seminar to a lot of Q&A, where he continued to answer questions while giving out so many more helpful tips. The biggest lesson I learned was to be yourself on camera, keep people engaged and remember that there is “no back row seat” everyone is equally positioned in virtual meetings, so you should just go for it.
