Tips for Virtual Meetings

Office of Student Engagement

Test out the technology before the start of the meeting. Work with a friend to test out your meeting platform to make sure everything works.
Always opt for video calling. While not everyone loves the idea of video calls, they increase connection and community. When possible, choose video calling for a more personal approach to staying connected. Note that in cases where reception is bad, you may have to switch off video calling.

Start each meeting with an icebreaker where everyone gets to share. If there are a lot of participants, consider using the chat features for people to respond and share.
Stick to set times. Set standard weekly times meetings should take place for consistency. We recommend, keeping with the regular times you had prior to going remote.
Set clear agendas, outcomes, and action items. We recommend using google docs as a way of creating living agendas where people can see updates in real time and items as the meeting goes along. At the end of every meeting, be sure to articulate clear action items and next steps.
Create new roles and rotate responsibilities. Think about daily and weekly tasks such as taking meeting minutes and rotate these amongst members to stay engaged. Additionally, consider forming new and creative subcommittees that can work on projects in more intimate chat groups.
Get buy-in. Make sure to create space for allowing others to provide thoughts and input. It’s important to ask things like “what do people think of this?” or “does anyone have anything to add?” Be ok with some silence on the other end as some people may need additional time to think.

Meet one-on-one. If you are in a leadership role within your organization, consider scheduling one on one check-ins with other Executive Board leaders and members. This is a great way to maintain connection and be able to accommodate the different needs of your group.
Centralize organization documents. Consider Google docs, Google Drive, PurplePost (Campus Engage), GroupMe, or another project management for being able to share information with your organization in a timely, adjustable fashion.

Centralize organization documents. Consider Google docs, PurplePost (Campus Engage), GroupMe, or another project management for being able to share information with your organization in a timely, adjustable fashion.
Consider a communication channel and set expectations. Consider using Google chat, GroupMe, What’s App, or even Facebook messenger as a centralized channel for the organization to communicate. This can help keep everyone up-to-date and help avoid the confusing text message chain.

While ensuring you continue to meet the mission and purpose of your organization is important, it’s also important to recognize that much of what your organization does is social, connecting students to one another. Even in a virtual environment, there are lots of ways to help people connect informally and socially. Here are some ideas:

Host a daily check-in or kick-off for members. This may be focused on organization-related items, or an opportunity to just wish everyone a great day!

Host virtual office hours outside of meetings for more personal connections and conversations.

Create a regular newsletter. There are a number of great resources such as Constant Contact and MailChimp that allow you to create free electronic newsletters. This can be a great way to keep members up-to-date with the activities of the organization. Consider adding trivia questions or fun challenges to make the newsletter more interactive.

Website Adapted from University of Colorado, Boulder; Virtual Meetings and Programs (source: https://www.colorado.edu/involvement/virtualrso )