Working from home might be easy and productive, but it can also be inconvenient, especially for meetings. We’ve all been through dreadful Zoom meeting —the team member with a shaky internet connection. In the background, there’s a dog that continues barking. This is the point at which everyone attempts to speak simultaneously.
There are also additional obstacles to overcome. Forbes reports that:
Video calls have caused mental weariness in 40 percent of workers.
Background noise or poor audio quality has caused 52 percent of workers to lose attention.
After a week of virtual meetings, 38% of workers said they were weary, and 30% said they were anxious.
Zoom exhaustion is a genuine thing. You risk squandering time and straining your team if you can’t get your online meetings into a productive routine. We can’t afford to overlook this as more and more organizations go toward a remote model.
Here are four strategies for ensuring a successful remote meeting for you and your team:
Look for a place that isn’t too crowded
Pay attention to what’s going on around you. Things like unwashed dishes or an unmade bed in the backdrop might be visually disturbing for meeting attendees if you don’t have a separate remote office. Make sure everything that will be seen in your video frame is clean. A tidy environment aids in focusing people’ attention on the task at hand.
Reduce the amount of background noise
It may be challenging to navigate this area. A puppy, a nearby lawnmower, or youngsters may all be picked up by your microphone, causing everyone to be distracted. When you know you’ll be on a video-conference call, ask the support of others in your house or office to reduce this. If that’s not an option, mute yourself when you’re not speaking, and make sure your devices are turned off and alerts are turned off.
Meetings should be kept to a minimum regarding both number and duration
Determining if an appointment is essential is an essential first step toward successful meetings. Many of them aren’t. Unfortunately, video technology makes it easier to conduct meetings merely because it is so simple to click a link. One of the biggest causes of Zoom fatigue is this. One research found that when workers converted to remote work, meetings rose by 13%. Don’t be caught in this trap. When you need to have a meeting, keep it to a minimum. Instead of holding open-ended meetings, arrange a follow-up if required.
When you’ve achieved the intended result, come to a halt
Finish the meeting if you’ve reached the intended result before the set end time. Don’t go looking for extra tasks to occupy your time. Your employees will appreciate having more time to fulfil their duties. Also, avoid engaging in too much small chat after a meeting. While some talk may help improve connections, it can lose its effectiveness if participants feel unable to move on to other tasks.
Without stress or exhaustion, it is feasible to converse effectively and have very productive distant meetings. Remote meetings aren’t the issue; they have a few problems. However, these are issues that can be resolved. What improvements can you make to improve your team’s remote meetings?