Your guide to successful online meetings

• What type of online meeting best fits your group's needs
• Who should lead and who should attend the meeting
• When to plan a meeting for maximum attendance
• Where to hold your meeting
• How to run a successful online meeting

Before we get into these questions, let's answer the most crucial question ? why?

• Facilitate participation from a distance, reducing travel costs and time required to bring people into the office.
• Provide a record of the entire meeting without dilution or miscommunication from meeting participants.
• Allow easy information sharing with an entire team or department, reducing unnecessary repetition and follow-up meetings.
• Enable fast, reliable, on-demand communication with clients and partners across the globe.

Audio-only meetings

Standalone audio meetings are perfect for quick touch-base sessions when you don't need Wi-Fi, video or screen sharing capabilities. Your meeting may involve discussing just a few items, sharing an important piece of company news, or alerting team members to a change in protocol. Make a note of who attends the meeting to serve as a record for future reference or follow-up.

Video conferencing

Adding video to your online meeting can be valuable if the meeting involves a small, dispersed group or a virtual face-to-face with a client. Video conferencing builds better rapport and trust among meeting participants and strengthens communication by reducing the chance of misread nuances or tone.

Identifying the best person for leading a meeting can be a challenge. The ideal leader may not always be the most senior person in the room. Choose someone who knows how to lead a meeting effectively ? an organized, natural public speaker who will keep the meeting on track.

Delegating responsibility is also key to a smooth meeting. Encourage your host to delegate specific tasks, such as keeping a written list of meeting highlights in case of a recording malfunction, and handling the meeting's Q&A portion.

Selecting the best time for meetings is crucial to ensure solid attendance. Mondays are usually catch-up days for many, and by Friday, people are heading home early or thinking about weekend plans. Whenever possible, schedule your meeting mid-week and aim for a time slot between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Be sure to take into account attendees in different time zones.

The best advice on how to encourage participation in a meeting is to give attendees plenty of advance notice and send reminders. Be clear about the meeting's purpose and clarify the expected start and end times.

• A remote workstation or from home
• A business location in a different time zone
• A hotel, airport or overseas location

Here are a few tips to help you conduct a killer presentation:

• Be descriptive with your words, especially when you're not using visuals
• Screen share vital information, reports and key metrics
• Use a slideshow to highlight points, but don't read directly from it
• Keep your information pointed and on pace
• Avoid distractions or interruptions that may derail the flow of the meeting

At the end of the meeting, encourage participation via an "open mic" discussion or through a more structured Q&A session.

After your online meeting concludes, always send a follow-up email after the meeting to all attendees. Recap the session with key highlights and any conclusions or decisions that you reached. When possible, send a recording or transcript of the call.

Now that you understand the benefits of online meetings, you're ready to plan, organize and execute a successful and engaging video conferencing session.