Today in part two
(read part one here), our WebEx guru, David Goad, offers a set of steps to help
multitaskers (yourself included) stay engaged during online meetings. Click
here to read David’s delightful perspectives on other aspects of life!
You could yearn for the nostalgia of the old days and label
everyone “rude,” OR you could use this as a barometer of your own performance
and run your meeting in a new way. In Dead Air Dynamics, I
talked about a few ways to earn focus at the beginning of a meeting. Now let’s
talk about how to maintain focus throughout your meeting. Of course the size, length
and purpose of meetings varies widely, but these general principles apply to
most of the meetings I run or attend:
1) Make a commitment. Sincerely thank
everyone for the time they are investing and ask them for their “focus
investment” as well. Explain the purpose and then commit that you will help
navigate to that goal as quickly and efficiently as possible.
2) Prepare and organize your content. How
many meetings have you attended when the host was winging it? It’s hard to stay
focused on a target when it is not clearly visible.
3) Establish rules of engagement. “I
have prepared a 10 minute overview that will bring everyone up to speed. At the
end I am going to ask you a few questions.” Every teacher knows the threat of a
pop quiz will snap students to attention.
4) Use stories to bring it to life. Even
a finance presentation can be made more interesting with an occasional metaphor
or personal anecdote. You can also ask your audience to provide color, “Does
anyone have a story that supports or refutes this point?” This temporarily
shifts the burden of engagement from you and lets people know they could be
called on next.
5) Take a breath. People enjoy
monologues on the Tonight Show, but not in meetings. If you don’t want or need
dialogue, why did you call a meeting? You should be asking a question (and
listening) at least once every 5-7 minutes. If you want to give a speech,
record and send it to them so they can listen at their convenience. Better yet,
send it in advance of the meeting so the group is ready to discuss.
6) Loosen up. I used to be extremely
uptight about people not looking at me or responding to me when I presented. Once
I was giving a marketing overview to a group of sales reps in a conference room.
As soon as I sensed the eyes starting to drift down into digital world, I
stopped cold and announced a crackberry break. “You have 5 minutes to check
your inbox and make one quick call. Then I ask you to come back and give me
your full focus and feedback… Go!” You should have seen the look of relief in
the addicts’ eyes as I let them have their fix.
7) Give online participants a voice. The
most common question I hear is… “If I can’t see someone’s eyes or body
language, how do I know if they are paying attention?” There is one simple way
to know – ask them. WebEx provides you with a list of participants by name.
It’s not just a nebulous conference call where you have to guess who’s lurking
in the background. Go down the list and include every person in the
conversation, especially the silent one who is probably sitting on the best
idea waiting to be asked.
My final bit of advice is something that has helped me
tremendously in my career. Work on your presentation and listening skills, and
practice outside the business environment. I became active in Toastmasters five years ago to raise my game and
this kind of coaching could pay off for you too. When presenting face-to-face,
your body language needs to be consistent with your message. When presenting
online, your voice takes the lead role and needs to be delivered with the power
and passion of a great radio talk show.
People are judging your content and communication style every
second that your mouth is open. If they sense even for a millisecond that you
are boring or disconnected from them, they will tune you out… and they SHOULD. The
truth about multitasking? It’s a symptom of a greater illness. Take it as
valuable feedback from your meeting audience and tighten up your show.
What tips can you share about making meetings more dynamic?
(Please submit in Comments below.)
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