How to Get People to Speak Up in Virtual Meetings; Harvard Business Review (HBR), January 10, 2022

Joel Schwartzberg, Harvard Business Review (HBR); How to Get People to Speak Up in Virtual Meetings

"There’s no question that virtual meetings have made workplace communications easier. Not only are virtual meetings easier to arrange and attend (just count how many more Zoom meetings you have now compared to live meetings you had then), but features like chat, Q&A, breakout rooms, reaction icons, virtual whiteboards, and a range of apps have made it easier than ever to ask questions and request ideas from meeting attendees.

But proposing a question and receiving meaningful answers are two very different things, which brings up an age-old question with a modern twist: How do you ask for ideas or feedback during a virtual meeting in a way that returns valuable answers (and not just from the usual extroverts)?

Based on my experience leading meetings, working with meeting leaders, and exploring ways to improve virtual meeting effectiveness, below are eight tactics to get responses from even the most mute-happy meeting members.

1. Share Your Questions Ahead of Time

If you’re asking people for insight, it’s only fair to give them as much time as possible to think about the problem at hand. Once you’ve established who’s attending the meeting, email them up to five of the questions you will be asking. Place those questions in the meeting agenda and the calendar listing so everyone knows what’s coming and can prepare."

5 Questions That (Newly) Virtual Leaders Should Ask Themselves; Harvard Business Review (HBR),

Melissa Raffoni, Harvard Business Review (HBR); 5 Questions That (Newly) Virtual Leaders Should Ask Themselves

"First, it’s important to be aware of the factors that make working together virtually such a challenge:

• For some, it’s uncomfortable. Every day, I watch my teenagers laugh and chat with their friends on Facetime, as if they were just another person in the room. But for many of us adults, who didn’t grow up with that same technology, it can still be quite uncomfortable. This lack of comfort makes it harder for some to open up, connect, trust, and communicate with each other virtually. If you are a leader today, in a virtual setting, you may be struggling to display the same level of authenticity and provide your team with the same sense of safety as you did in person.
• Interpersonal dynamics are harder to manage. Both for technical reasons and because people are harder to read over video, the appropriate affect, tone, pacing, and facial expressions that we rely on for effective communication in person are more difficult to give and receive virtually, especially in group settings.
• You can easily lose people’s attention. It’s challenging enough to engage people in a face-to-face meetings, but virtual meetings often come with a plethora of new distractions that you have little control over.
• New skills are required, from you. Whether it’s managing tech, maintaining strong facilitation skills, or rethinking agendas, virtual is different than in-person. Knowing that is half the battle.

With these factors as a backdrop, ask yourself five questions to ensure you are being the best leader you can be as you manage your team from home."