Virtual collaboration

What is a virtual meeting?
Your basic guide

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly accelerated the ongoing shift to remote and hybrid work. People have found themselves increasingly working from home and interacting with colleagues primarily via online means.

All of this has led to one collaboration mode emerging as the most prominent: the virtual meeting.

Below, we’ll explore:

  • What a virtual meeting is
  • The benefits and drawbacks of virtual meetings
  • Types of virtual meetings
  • Tips and best practices for setting up and hosting virtual meetings

What exactly does a “virtual meeting” mean?

In essence, the term “virtual meeting” can be applied to any meeting that has at least one remote participant. Instead of everyone being present physically, with virtual meetings some parties connect to colleagues via web software or tele-conferencing equipment.
In practice, most virtual meetings have multiple participants tuning in from different locations into a shared digital workspace.

The pros and cons of virtual meetings

As with most things, virtual meetings offer a number of benefits but also entail some drawbacks.

Advantages

Relying on virtual meetings has a number of clear benefits:

  • Better collaboration: Colleagues can work together across countries and continents.
  • Reduced travel costs: No extra flight, accommodation, or food expenses for companies.
  • Flexibility: Scheduling is easier, since people can work from anywhere at any time.
  • Expanded customer base: Companies can engage potential customers regardless of their location.
  • Stability: Virtual meetings can support communication during unforeseen events like COVID or other crises.
  • Employee satisfaction: Virtual meetings open up for hybrid and remote ways of working, empowering employees to work whenever and wherever they want.

Disadvantages

Yet virtual meetings also present a few distinct challenges, including:

  • Setup complexity: All participants must be equipped with the right hardware and install the necessary software in advance.
  • Technical issues: Poor internet connection or subpar audio and video equipment can lead to meetings being less effective.
  • Lower engagement: The physical distance makes it harder to maintain focus and a positive group dynamic.

However, most drawbacks of virtual meetings can be mitigated with the right audio and video conferencing solutions.

The 3 types of virtual meetings

Virtual meetings have evolved rapidly with access to new tools and audio equipment. The following are the main types of virtual meetings:

  • Teleconference

    This is the classic audio-only conference call. Participants dial in using their phone or may share a meeting room speakerphone to connect to remote colleagues. The lack of video makes it impossible to pick up any nonverbal clues. With teleconferencing, the quality of audio takes center stage, as poor audio will negatively affect the entire meeting.

  • Video and web conference

    With advances in video conferencing equipment, it became possible for users to get even closer by sharing live video feeds during virtual meetings. This makes it easier to read body language and connect to colleagues on a deeper level.

    Today, Internet-based video conferencing is what most people will associate with a virtual meeting. Such web conferences enable audio and video streaming, presentation tools, and give participants the ability to share their screens remotely. It’s a huge step closer to true virtual collaboration.

  • Virtual reality conference

    Emerging VR technologies aim to make virtual meetings almost indistinguishable from in-person ones. In theory, this should retain what’s best about virtual meetings while eliminating a lot of their drawbacks.

    For now, virtual reality conferences remain a curious gimmick. But as the VR conferencing solutions and our acceptance of them mature, they may just become the next natural step in the evolution of virtual meetings.

How to set up a virtual meeting?

If you’re in charge of setting up a virtual meeting with your colleagues, here’s how to go about it:

1. Settle on the date and time

Scheduling meetings with large groups of people is always tricky, but it helps that virtual meetings allow for more flexibility in terms of timing.
First, identify which participants are critical and which are optional. Then find a date and time that works for this group of people. (Corporate scheduling tools usually make this a straightforward task.) Finally, lock in the date far off in advance to give everyone the chance to block their calendars.

2. Select the conferencing software

There’s no shortage of paid and free virtual conferencing platforms. Select the one you intend to use and make sure all participants are able to access it.
Some of the most popular virtual meeting platforms are:

In many corporate settings, the conferencing platform may already be predefined by the IT department, which makes this step easier.

3. Set up the equipment

Next step is to ensure that everyone has the right equipment to make the most of the virtual meeting.

First, this means informing the meeting participants of the minimum technical requirements on their end. This gives them the chance to prepare and test their setup in advance.
Second, this also means preparing the physical space if a large group of colleagues will be participating from a single office location. Make sure your video conference room setup can adequately facilitate the meeting. This involves ensuring the right lighting, acoustics, and video conferencing equipment.

4. Set a clear agenda

Sharing a detailed agenda for your virtual meeting gives everyone the chance to prepare their talking points and questions in advance. It also ensures that the meeting itself will have a predictable and structured flow.

5. Assign roles and responsibilities

Finally, if you expect participants to prepare presentations or share key figures, make sure to communicate this in advance. Giving people clear responsibilities will also help keep them engaged on the day of the meeting.

Virtual meeting best practices

Once the meeting kicks off, sticking to the following rules of virtual etiquette will make sure it runs smoothly.

1. Engage the participants

As mentioned, virtual meetings make it more difficult to keep everyone’s attention. Try to involve everyone right from the start, whether it’s via a quick round of introductions or a rundown of speakers and their talking points.

2. Set the ground rules

If you want to enforce certain rules, communicate these clearly from the beginning. Must everyone have their video on at all times? Are participants allowed to use the “chat” function during the meeting? Will you be answering questions in real time or at the end of the meeting?

3. Remove distractions

Multitasking has its place, but it’s best avoided during virtual meetings. The participants deserve your undivided attention. As such, try to eliminate any distractions that may prevent you from focusing on the meeting itself. This means putting your phone on silent mode, turning off notifications, closing down any irrelevant browser tabs, not checking your emails, and so on.

4. Invite questions and input

To keep the level of engagement high, pause frequently to invite feedback and questions from the meeting attendees. This helps to ensure they’re following the agenda and makes them feel involved.

5. End with an action plan

Once the virtual meeting wraps up, you should have a mutually agreed upon action plan. This should outline the next steps, roles and responsibilities, and any potential future meetings.

6. Share a summary

It’s always a good idea to share the meeting minutes via e.g. email after the call ends. This helps cement the decisions agreed upon and brings any absentees up to speed. Modern intelligent speakers like the EXPAND Capture 5 can even automatically transcribe meetings for you, so that nobody has to take these meeting notes and can instead focus fully on the meeting.

Enhance your virtual meetings with EPOS

EPOS offers a range of solutions for every kind of virtual meeting, from speakerphones and headsets to all-in-one smart video conferencing solutions. No matter the size or type of virtual meeting you organize, EPOS empowers you with the right audio and video solutions.