Title Handling Virtual Meetings Handout.pdf ✅

1 Virtual Meeting Handling
2 Virtual Meeting Handling Definition Virtual meetings are a solution to virtually meet in situations in which participants cannot get together personally for different reasons. Objective To foster an encounter for the exchange of information, evaluation or decision making,regardless of the physical location of the participants using electronic tools and collaborative methodologies.
3 Phase I Preparation This Phase involves the organization and preparation of the virtual meeting 1. Defining the type of meeting: It is important to define the type of meeting, a) Problem solving b) Decision making, c) Master conference, d) Coordination or management of a decentralized or network project, or e) Information and knowledge sharing. 2. Selecting the knowledge management tool: For effective performance, the virtual meeting requires the use of a tool that facilitates the exchange between members, easy to operate by all the participants, and requiring little prior learning. There are many tools designed for conductingvirtual meetings and typically organizations are already using some of them. It is preferred to usewhat is already available and offers technical institutional support. 3. Setting up the room: As in any meeting, the room must be available and prepared in advance. In the case of virtual meetings, this step is called “set up”. Afterwards, it is necessary to select the tool to be used: a. Links to the room: many electronic conference systems have links for the moderator and participants. It is advisable to know and try both of them before the meeting to ensure they are working properly. b. Technical support: Having a technical support available during the meeting start up is vital to reduce the stress in case of difficulties. c. Preliminary tests and instructions: Sometimes participants are not familiar with the system to be used during the meeting. In this case, it is always a good idea to invite themto connect 20 minutes in advance to take short basic tests of use, especially because in meetings, unlike presentations, everyone participates. Therefore, it is not desirable that participants feel constrained to participate because they are not familiar with the technology. d. Documentation for the meeting: It is advisable to have all the information (documents) that will be used in the meeting in a single folder. This is easier to share and upload to the room to be viewed, etc.
4 4. Participants - Roles: People attending a virtual meeting usually have roles well defined by the meeting coordinator. This helps to prevent potential disorganization during the meeting. a. Moderator: It is usually the person who convenes the meeting. Some of his/her tasks involve: i. To assist those who are not familiar with the platform ii. Check that all the participants are available to start the meeting. iii. Say a few initial words and establish behavioral guidelines for the encounter iv. Make sure that the agenda is observed iv. Organize participants’ – planned and spontaneous – interventions: b. b. Speaker: In case the meeting includes presentations, the speaker – that may not be the moderator – is in charge of these interventions. Upon speaking, he/she must have his/her presentation available to share with the participants. c. c. Participants: All the people invited to a meeting are participants. They usually make comments, questions, and brief presentations of subjects they consider relevant. To do so, they should see to the organization of the event and respect the moderator. Bear in mind that comments may be made by using the microphone or the chat rooms. 5. Agenda: Even if brief, an agenda previously agreed and shared with participants is an element that, when organized and respected, prevents the unnecessary prolongation of the event. It is advisable to send the agenda in advance and avoid submitting it on the same day of the meeting. Preferably, it should include: a. Identification rules for participants: when the tools allow it, participants should include the following data when joining the meeting: Name, Last Name, Institution, Country or City. This information facilitates the correct identification of each participant as well as the virtual network connected to the event. b. Space for beginners: 20 minutes in advance for those who have never used the platform c. The meeting moderator will welcome participants d. Introduction of participants e. Development of the meeting f. Closure and next steps if required by the type of meeting Phase II Development This Phase involves the development of the virtual meeting 1. Right before the meeting: It is advisable that the moderator attends the room 20 minutes beforethe scheduled time in order to: a. Test how the room works b. Load documents c. Welcome each attending participant d. Check with each participant that the audio is working properly e. Help those attendees that are not familiar with the tool 2. Meeting opening: The meeting starts when all the participants are in the room, the moderator welcomes participants and provides ground rules for the organization of the event and proceedsto observe the scheduled agenda. It may happen that not all the participants have joined the room; this should not be initially considered tardiness or a lack of respect. Although technologieshave greatly improved lately, there are often many difficulties to access from different places, aswell as connection troubles. Having an alternative means to communicate with those who have not arrived yet, ask them if they have any problem and offer them help is the right attitude bothfrom the moderator and from the rest of the attendees.