The pandemic presented problems that felt impossible to solve. But now that we have transitioned to remote or hybrid work, we’re faced with another problem: how to make virtual meetings more interactive.
And it really is a problem. A national survey of virtual workers conducted in 2021 found that workers are spending five times more time in meetings every week since the pandemic began, and more than 90% of employees said they multitasked during remote meetings.
In other words, people are not engaged in the virtual meetings they are attending. The solution? Hold more engaging virtual meetings. But that’s easier said than done. That’s why we created this list of ways to make virtual meetings more interactive. Read on to learn more.
How To Engage Remote Meeting Participants
Making virtual meetings more interactive doesn’t have to be a mystery any longer. With these six actionable steps, you can increase engagement during your virtual meetings.
1. Insist on Having Videos On
Faces are engaging. That’s not just something people think — it’s backed up by research. Apply that concept to remote work meetings, and you’re left with a clear takeaway: Participants will be more engaged with other meeting participants if they can see their faces.
In video meeting speak, that means we need to have our cameras on. It doesn’t have to be an iron-fist rule — that will squash engagement faster than anything — but you can make it fun. For example, you can implement a rule that anyone who has their camera off with no compelling reason has to sing a song or tell a joke to kick off the meeting. Or, pick and choose which meetings you require cameras on for, such as your weekly or monthly all-hands meeting.
2. Make the Experience More Immersive
In terms of meetings, nothing is more immersive than the real-life feeling of getting up from your desk, walking down the hall, and finding a seat in the conference room. That’s the feeling that is nothing more than a distant memory for so many workers, and it’s one you can capitalize on to hold more engaging virtual meetings.
But how, exactly, do you make your meetings more immersive? By adopting a meeting platform that’s built for immersive meetings. Scoot is a great example of an engaging meeting platform. Our platform allows meeting participants to virtually “walk” from place to place within meetings, joining and exiting conversations and mingling just as they would at an in-person work event.
3. Brand the Meeting
Help your team members remember that they’re not just at some boring Zoom meeting. They’re attending an exclusive meeting of insiders who work for [insert your company name here]. You can do that with branding. It can be as simple as a company logo in the corner of the screen or company-themed virtual backgrounds and background playlists chosen by the funky CEO — two features Scoot allows for users.
4. Break the Ice
There’s always ice to be broken at meetings, but at virtual meetings, the ice is pretty thick. People are farther away in space and separated by the relative anonymity of sitting behind a screen. That means you can’t skip the ice breakers if you’re wondering how to make virtual meetings more interactive. Think two truths and a lie, fun facts, and all the old standbys.
5. Give Shout-Outs
Want a simple and highly engaging way to start a video meeting? Give shout-outs. People like to be recognized and appreciated, and they pay attention when the praise starts getting passed around.
6. Trust Your Tools
Nothing kills engagement in a virtual meeting faster than technical problems. When the speaker says “Let me share my scree… een” and goes dark, people start pulling up their email, whipping out their smartphones, or simply letting their minds wander.
So, that means you have to have your tools in perfect working order before the meeting begins. And that includes tangential tools, such as your document management, spreadsheet, and workflow tools. Everything needs to work well together for seamless transitions.
How To Make Virtual Meetings More Interactive: Try Scoot
The simplest solution to the “how to make virtual meetings more interactive problem” is also the most effective. It’s Scoot. Our platform is optimized for engaging virtual meetings that foster participation and connection.
With lifelike movement and the ability to mingle and move from place to place, as well as the ability to customize branding, backgrounds, and even background music, Scoot is more than just a virtual meeting platform. It’s a remote work solution designed for the world we live in now — not the one we left behind in the virtual work revolution.
It’s time to give your team the engaging virtual meetings they deserve. It’s time to try Scoot. To learn more, request a demo or contact our team.
