How to Facilitate a Board Meeting Online

Online meetings for Boards continue to grow as the world becomes aware of the benefits of virtual collaboration. This is an excellent way to connect your members and eliminate the geographical constraints that otherwise require them to travel for meetings. There are still some hurdles to overcome when transitioning to this new approach. Boards can increase participation in remote board meetings through advance planning and smart facilitation.

In addition to determining the agenda of the meeting, it’s important to ensure that everyone has access to the equipment they require to conduct the meeting. It’s a good idea to provide the test link and login details before the meeting, and to request that participants turn off their microphones when not speaking, which will aid in reducing background noise and enable them to better hear the member who has the floor. Also, it’s an excellent idea to establish conversation protocol (i.e. the hand-raise method for getting the attention of the group) and to avoid multitasking as it can create confusion during the meeting.

Virtual board meetings can be a challenge to organize because it’s difficult to create the same level of comfort that in-person meetings www.travelboardroom.com/factors-that-will-be-available-with-the-virtual-data-room/ provide. There are a variety of tools that can be employed to help promote connection, such as the use of icebreakers. Ferrazzi Greenlight for instance has developed a number of exercises that can be run during a video conference, such as the “sweet and bitter” check-in in which participants share one thing for which they are thankful and one thing with which they struggle professionally or personally. This facilitates a more open and vulnerable conversation that can create relationships between board members.