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Engaging Virtual Meetings. Openers, Games, and Activities for Communication, Morale, and Trust. Edition No. 1

  • Book

  • 320 Pages
  • November 2020
  • John Wiley and Sons Ltd
  • ID: 5839059

Build a cohesive and high-performing virtual team with this fantastic resource full of actionable advice and practical tips

Engaging Virtual Meetings: Openers, Games, and Activities for Communication, Morale, and Trust offers concrete strategies and practical tips for bringing teams together across the digital divide. While many struggle to build teams in a virtual environment, accomplished author John Chen has found ways to create team cohesion, promote engagement, and increase virtual participation. In Engaging Virtual Meetings, he shares these methods with you, and also:

  • Describes virtual tools for promoting effective teamwork, like the Participant Map
  • Teaches you to optimize your teleconference setup for ideal audio and video
  • Illustrates ways to apply these methods in any virtual environment, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and more
  • Explores how to debrief your participants to improve your methods over time

Perfect for anyone working in or with the increasingly prevalent virtual environment, Engaging Virtual Meetings is a great addition to the bookshelves of anyone interested in how to create and build engagement in team settings of all kinds.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction: Virtual Meetings Don’t Have to Suck xv
By Ed Cohen

Part 1 Principles and Preparation for Engaging Virtual Meetings 1

Chapter 1 The ENGAGE Method for Leading Great Meetings 3

A Brief Overview of the ENGAGE Method 3

The ENGAGE Method in Depth 5

Check-in 5

Chapter 2 Preparing for Virtual Meetings 15

Good Looks - The Virtual Presence Primer 15

The Engaging Virtual Meeting Speaker Checklist 19

Chapter 3 Psychological Safety: How to Get the Quiet Attendees (and everyone else) to Engage 25

Chapter 4 Managing Participants 31

Mute and Unmute Audio and Video 31

Make Host 34

Make Co-Host 35

Rename 36

Mute All 36

Unmute All 37

Mute/Unmute Participants on Entry 38

Disallow/Allow Participants to Unmute Themselves 39

Remove 41

Raise Hand 42

Yes/No 43

Go Slower/Go Faster 44

Dislike/Like 45

Clap 46

Need a Break 47

Away 48

Clear All 49

Chapter 5 Virtual Engagement Tools 51

Chat 52

Private Chat 53

Breakouts 55

Reactions 62

Record 64

Share Video 64

Share Whiteboard 67

Share iPhone/iPad 69

Polling 74

Company-Wide Chat (only available in Microsoft Teams) 81

Channels (only available in Microsoft Teams) 82

Teams Apps (only available in Microsoft Teams) 83

Chapter 6 Security 85

Require Passwords 86

Turn Screen Sharing Off 88

Enable the Waiting Room 90

Require Registration 95

Lock Your Meeting 96

Control Your Meeting’s Chat 97

Secure File Transfer 97

Part 2 Openers, Games, and Activities for Communication, Morale, and Trust 101

Chapter 7 Openers 103

Why Use Openers? 103

Open with a Check-in Question 106

Check-in 107

Video Openers 110

Matching and Mirroring Openers 113

Virtual Meeting Nametag Openers 118

Chat Openers 121

Chapter 8 Activities for Communication, Morale, and Trust 125

“Yes, and . . .” - Accept Attendees’ Ideas and Improve Communication 126

Three-Headed Consultant - Communicating One Word at a Time 127

A to Z - Teaching Why Your Meeting Needs a System 128

Alpha Names - A Networking Activity to Learn Everyone’s Name 129

Last Team Texting - Sharing Valuable Information 131

PechaKucha (peh-chak-cha) - Present in Just 6 Minutes 40 Seconds 133

PowerPoint Karaoke - Improving Improvisation 134

Blind Tangrams - Do Not Assume in Your Communication 135

Broken Squares - Giving is Better Than Getting for Engaging Meetings 137

Trust Grid - Mapping and Improving Trust 139

The Johari Window - Discover Attendee Blind Spots 142

1 CACHE - Make Decisions Faster and Stick Longer 144

Chapter 9 Collab - Work Well with Others 149

Simultaneous Editing - Creating a Case Study 150

Towers of Hanoi - Build a Tower, Build a Team 152

Grid Unlock - How to Work Together to Solve Problems 153

Meeting Mine Field - Collaborating to Complete a Goal 155

Poll Survivor - Setting Meeting Priorities and Making Hard Decisions 157

Chapter 10 End Your Meeting on a High Note 161

Applause - Celebrating Together 162

Kudos - Acknowledging Attendees 162

I Commit . . . - Public Commitment to Change 163

Just Three Words - Powerful Closure Quickly 164

Call and Response - High Energy, Engaging All 165

The Last Word - The Final Statement of Your Meeting 166

Draw - A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words 167

Q&A - Questions and Answers 169

After Hours - The Party After the Party 169

One Thing Better - Improving 1% at a Time 170

Plus-Delta - What Did You Like? What Could Be Even Better? 173

WWW - What, So What, Now What? 174

Chapter 11 Fun and Games for High-Performing Teams 175

Happy Hour - Share a Beverage Together 177

Charades - Improving Your Nonverbal Communication 179

Reverse Charades - Improving Everybody’s Nonverbal Communication 179

Hat Day - Fun on Your Head 180

Pajama Day - Work in Your Jammies 182

Virtual Backgrounds - Your Setting Can Create Pure Laughs to Serious Business 183

Yoga - Stretch and Breathe 187

Dance Party - Freedom of Creativity 189

Karaoke - Sing a Song 192

Book Club - You Get a Book 195

Movie Night - Better Than the Drive-in 197

Talent Show - Your Meeting’s Got Talent 198

Dinner Party - Celebrate and Learn More About Each Other 198

Trivia Night - What Do You Know? 199

Where in the World - International Networking 200

Memory Match Breakouts - Learn Where to Look 202

Poker Tournament - I’m All In! 202

Chapter 12 Innovation 205

100 Uses - Use Something in Ways Not Intended 206

Post-its - Virtual Brainstorming 206

Add One Line - Adding Creativity 207

Move One Line - Creativity with More Than One Solution 210

License Plates - Innovative Communication with Few Characters 213

Office Move - Working Together to Switch Places 214

Part 3 Leading Large Virtual Meetings and Conferences 219

Chapter 13 Tips for Presenters, Trainers, and Sales 221

Engage and Interact with Every Attendee 221

Never Lead a Meeting Alone 222

Good Looks 224

Air Traffic Control 227

Get Productive with Virtual Tools 228

End Your Meeting on a High Note 232

An Example: Engaging Virtual Meetings Training 233

Chapter 14 Tips for Emceeing and Hosting 235

Engage and Interact with Every Attendee 235

Never Lead a Meeting Alone 236

Good Looks 236

Air Traffic Control 236

Get Productive with Virtual Tools 236

End Your Meeting on a High Note 236

Chapter 15 How to Run a Virtual Workshop or Conference 239

Tips for High-Stakes Meetings and Board Retreats 239

Hybrid Board Retreat Tips 240

The Challenge 240

The Solution 241

The Conference 249

The Result 250

Part 4 Advanced Engaging Virtual Meetings 253

Chapter 16 Advanced Tips 255

Annotate - Collaborate by Marking Up Your Shared Screen 255

Remote Control - Give Control to a More Technical Attendee 262

Branding Your Meeting Registration - Connect Registration to Your Company 266

Branding Your Waiting Room - Beautify Your Virtual Lobby 269

Customize Your Video Recording Waiver - Protect Your Company When You Record 272

Record Multiple Video Views - Get the Right Shot from Your Virtual Meeting 275

Microsoft Teams Share PowerPoint - Faster Attendee Review 280

More Advanced Tips 281

Chapter 17 The Future of Engaging Virtual Meetings 283

Suddenly Everyone is Interested 284

Virtual is Here Even If There is a Cure 284

The Hard Stuff is Easy, the Soft Stuff is Hard 285

Think Cinematically 286

Virtual is Going to Innovate Rapidly 287

The Theory of Bandwidth 289

Moving Closer to Reality 290

Endnotes 293

About Geoteaming 299

Authors

John Chen