Online board meetings require a different level of engagement as opposed to offline meetings, and it can be challenging to find new ways to energize them. Start by ensuring your virtual boardroom has reliable video conference, clear communication protocols, and adequate meeting resources. From there, you can set up efficient protocols that guide participants through the online meeting process and help participants to participate in productive discussions.
Make sure that each agenda item is accompanied by a conversational goal that is, for instance “decide on an action item” or “spark ideas.” This will allow you to get away from the topic at hand as soon as your desired outcome is achieved and avoid over-staying your welcome. Additionally, setting an appropriate time limit for each discussion point will keep the meeting from going on for too long.
Start with the most crucial items on your agenda. When you are in person for board meetings it is possible to pick up on body try this language signals that indicate when other members have something important to say. These cues are harder to detect in remote meetings. Starting with the most important issues will ensure that everyone contributes to discussion and will feel their time has been well-used.
Use an agenda that is a consensus to save time for more controversial discussions that may not have as much of an impact on the organization. Everyone can vote on items that are not controversial prior to the meeting begins, which means you can focus on the most important issues. Additionally, you can invite expert guests to provide short presentations or insights that can widen the board’s view and help to ward off boardroom groupthink.
