Be Their Eyes

But online meetings are different in several ways. According to Ken Molay, president of Webinar Success, meeting organizers should distinguish between meetings with a local in-room audience and some remote attendees, and the meetings where everybody attends remotely. When possible, he says, keep the local meetings local and the remote meetings separate; it is tricky to meet the needs of both audiences when they're combined.

"In a combined audience situation, it is very important to continually think about the remote users' perspective," says Molay. "They can't see nods of the head around the table, or actions like looking through papers for the answer to a question. They also can't hear low-volume conversations." It's the meeting moderator's role to provide an audible connection with remote attendees. During a pause in the proceedings, for example, describe what is happening, so remote users understand the silence. Molay says, "Direct commentary loudly and clearly towards the microphone, and encourage other participants in the room to do likewise."

Nancy Settle-Murphy, principal and owner of Guided Insights, is making a presentation about a related topic, "Planning for Success: Translating from a Face-to-Face to a Virtual Agenda" at the upcoming International Association of Facilitators conference. She identifies six critical success factors for getting great results from virtual meetings:

• Planning a viable agenda or series of agendas.
• Effective use of technology.
• Preparing participants and prework.
• Keeping participants focused and engaged during a virtual meeting.
• Building trust and social capital.
• Maintaining momentum between meetings.