You’re excited to host your project meeting over video. Even though you were hoping to get everyone together in person, videoconferencing allows for an added layer of participation over a phone call; participants can see each other’s reactions and body language (and are likely to be more involved in the process, since everyone present can see them).
How to Run an Efficient and Productive Project Meeting with Your Team
Your meeting can be the springboard that moves a project forward, or be just one more way the process gets bogged down in details. In many cases, the difference is how the meeting is run.
Here are a few tips to help your meeting move your project forward:
- Organize. Meetings are a time commitment for all of the participants, and proper organization is key to getting the most out of everyone’s participation. Identify your goals for the meeting, and write an approximate timeline at the side of the page to make sure all topics are covered before the meeting ends.
- Recognize. Start the meeting by celebrating past successes and individual achievements. Many projects grind to a halt because team members feel that their contributions are unimportant or overlooked. Taking a moment to appreciate team members will strengthen working relationships and encourage full participation in the meeting.
- Identify the issues. After welcoming your guests, the first step should be to identify the problems each of your teams is having. This should be a note-taking exercise that encourages participants to list any issue, no matter how small.
- Brainstorm. Once you have identified the potential problems with the project, have a brainstorming session to find a creative solution. Again, encourage everyone to share ideas, even if they seem farfetched. You never know what suggestions will lead to an ideal solution.
- Debate the pros and cons. Once you have compiled a list of problems and solutions, you must rely on input from your teams to identify the optimal course of action. Videoconferencing allows you to see you participants react to each other’s ideas: some may nod encouragingly, others may roll their eyes. If you see potential disagreement, encourage a discussion. Why is the idea not viable? Allowing people to voice their concerns early will avoid delays and problems later.
- Stick to the facts. With each person you add to the meeting, the potential for distractions increases. Attention may wander, accusations may be thrown—and anything off-topic can waste your company time. Be ready to reroute focus back to the issue at hand; your job is to keep the participants on track.
- Choose a course of action. Once you have heard all concerns, your voice will be the deciding factor in what will be done. Whether or not they agree on the solution, your team must take collective responsibility for the course of action that has been chosen. If something truly will not work or a team member has doubts, this is the final time to voice concerns so that plans can be modified.
- Set clear goals. Goals should be two objectives: to generate enthusiasm, and to establish clear deadlines and metrics for each phase of completion. Deadlines should be manageable and make sure employees aren’t feeling overloaded, but should also avoid the frustration of having one team wait for another’s contribution.
Even if you have organized your videoconference down to the minute, technical problems can throw your timeline into upheaval, wasting the time and effort it took to bring everyone together. At Casamo & Associates, we know that time is the most valuable commodity your organization has. That is why we offer an onsite tech support team in our fully-equipped conference venue to make sure you get maximum productivity out of your meeting. Visit our videoconferencing page to see how we can help your meeting go well!
