How to Hold Successful Online Meetings

A lot of people are finding themselves suddenly moving to remote work but without the systems and tools in place to do it properly and effectively. I have been working remote for the past 6 years.

Here is what I have learned throughout the years!

 

Step 1: Set up a Dedicated Space

Comfort is Key – but not-bed or couch comfortable. You will need a proper work station as you would normally if you were in an office setting. You will need a comfortable chair and chair and have enough room around you to move around.

My home set up includes the following:

• Desk
• Chair
• Laptop
• Laptop stand
• Second screen
• Wireless mouse
• Phone mount
• Notepad
• Pen/Pencils
• Lighting stand
• TV (when I need to see stuff on a bigger screen
• Google mini (for quick questions and to play light music)

Step 2: Establish Client Communication

This the best part, once you are comfortable in your desk and chair you need to figure out how you will communicate with your co-workers, clients and prospects. You will need to figure out your own routine.

Here is my daily communication routine.

	Function	Timeframe
Asana or JIRA	Project Planning	As needed, from hourly to weekly basis
Slack or WhatsApp	Quick communication	Instant, response should be within 2 hours
Zoom or Webex	Video Meetings	Scheduled meetings
Google Drive	Collaborating Tools	Short and Long term collaboration
Google Calendar	Schedule Meetings	30 to 1 hour meetings
Notes	Keep quick notes/reminders	As needed

 

Use your time effectively and stick to your calendar. Make sure you block off time for fully focused work with absolutely no interruptions.

 

Step 3: Stick to Your Agenda.

When you schedule your meeting, whether with a co-worker, client or prospect ensure that you send an agenda for your meeting as well. Agendas should be specific and can be in a sentence or bulleted points format. I like bullets points because they are easier to read.

My typical agenda with a client are:

• Introduction
• Current Problems
• How to Improve
• Next Steps

Step 4: Schedule the next meetings and send notes

After every meeting, send a detailed email with notes from the meeting. By doing this, you will keep yourself organized, and now you will have a reference for your meeting details. If you scheduled a next meeting, put this in the notes as well. If you have any next steps for the client or yourself to complete, make sure that these details are specified by person and due dates.

Final Thoughts

In this technological era that we live in, we are driven by new technologies, and we can be efficient with these technologies as well. We just have to figure out what works for us, and come up with a routine that we can stick with.