This week’s Stand Out Virtually Principle reminds us that Things Get Magnified in the Remote Space. This includes the good, the bad and the not-so-great. What are the things you want to intentionally magnify? What are the things you want to minimize?

Items which may get magnified include:
Lack of interaction or one way passage of information. What are the ways you want to engage others in the conversation? Consider polls, annotation, using the whiteboard etc.

Lack of purpose or focus for the call. Be sure to frame out the main bullet points for each call. For example:

By the end of our call we will have:

• Explored ____ topic;
• Discussed _____ element;
• Created an action plan.

 
Lack of visuals – Too much text is not going to be absorbed in the same way as other messaging. What are the visuals which are going to support interaction and engagement with your message? Consider using icons, or going to sites such as Unsplash, Pixabay or Adobe Stock to build out your pool to draw upon.

What can you do to create a more focused, interactive call, so that the things you DO want to get magnified DO?

With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders 
Coaching Skills Training | Leadership Development | Teamwork
Growing Team Leaders, One Conversation at a Time™ in the Remote Space
Contact us to discuss leadership, coaching or performance needs for your and your team
Phone: (416)996-8326

While social distancing has put in-person events on hold, there’s a plethora of amazing things you can do virtually. From online conferences, to taking an entire post-secondary course, to virtual coaching groups and speed networking on Zoom, there is a wide variety of different options of what you can be doing virtually.

Today’s post gets you to think about three things when organizing or hosting virtual events, both large and small. You may want to read today’s post in conjunction with yesterday’s Teams365 blog post – 3 Ways to Stand Out Virtually.

When hosting our own virtual event, keep the following in mind:

Be clear about expectations. There are so many different types of virtual events, that it is important to clarify what your event is going to be like and what level of interactivity people can expect at your virtual event.

Clarify the small details – verbally and in writing. This might include email copy, a welcome video and a welcome email. Remember that not everyone is likely to read their email so if there is any pre-work required before people get in the room, note that you’ll want to reinforce key details in multiple ways.

Consider a balance of learning, reflection and dialogue. It’s likely that since the beginning of the pandemic you have been part of multiple learning events. Consider which ones allowed you to be an active learner, or whether you were being “talked at” during the session. 

As someone who started off her career as an experiential educator, I value the three-part cycle of learning and action, reflection, and then dialogue. What that can look like in the virtual space is a mix of learning something (i.e. a lecture), then a reflection piece of focusing of doing some individual work/worksheets and then dialogue- talking it out virtually with one or more people.

Get people “in the room” before the event to get them thinking about the experience. In cognitive science we call this “priming”.

Depending on the type of event you are hosting getting people in the room might include:

• A pre-call with each person to learn more about them, cover key logistics and answer any questions they have – this is ideal for small groups.
• For medium sized or larger groups, it might include a pre-call concierge experience. This could entail welcoming people into your “room” or platform for some pre-event networking, so they can meet others, and also “road test” the technology. This provides the benefit of providing a focus, connection point and networking experience for people.

 
Leave time to take action on WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP? Critical for virtual events, where running from one Zoom room to the next is the norm, is leaving time to take action, or at least schedule, the next step. Be sure to leave time in your programming to focus in on what’s the next step – for them, and for your next touchpoint.

Let us know which of these three areas are most resonant for you. I look forward to hearing from you.

Jennifer

PS – Don’t forget that this week I’m kicking off the Stand Out Virtually Fall 2020 program. Join us live on either Mondays from 1:00 – 2:30 or Fridays from 1:30 – 3 pm ET for the next 7 weeks. We’ll be exploring these tips and many more, geared to support you in creating your most powerful virtual programming. Check it out here. 

Last week I had a lot of FUN connecting in with professionals who are scaling their virtual conversations into the virtual marketplace. Whether you are an entrepreneur, coach or a leader inside an organization, it’s critical that we get better at communicating our messages for the remote space.

Some of the key themes touched on last week include:
The importance of having a robust toolkit of virtual engagement strategies. The days of “talking heads” are done, and so are the days of the Death By Conference Call (check out my posts from 2014 on this). Most people in the remote space EXPECT as interactive a conversation as possible – whether the engagement is via chat, voice, annotation or polls.

The importance of creating a clear business case. What’s important about this topic? What is the cost of not doing something? What is the cost of building capacity, or training people, or….?

In such a volatile business context, one of the only certainties is that virtual conversations and remote work is here to stay. To build up your toolkit of virtual engagement strategies be sure to check out the 5 Week Virtual Academy I am kicking off this Friday. We’ll be exploring the following topics:

• What’s your virtual offer
• Designing an Engaging Virtual program
• Building a Business Case for your Virtual Event, Training or Conversation
• Contracting
• Masterful Delivery
• Remote Team Needs

 
We’ll be taking a deep dive through on-demand modules and live sessions. I hope that you will consider joining us.

With best wishes,
Jennifer

This week’s Effective Virtual Conversations tip is one I cover in Chapter 6 of the book – the Latency and Recency Effect. This neuroscience principle asserts that we remember the start and end of things. The things that fall in the middle are forgotten (unless reinforced).

So, what are the implications of this for virtual calls? Consider what are the elements you want to reinforce or specify at the start and end of calls, given that these are the things which will be best remembered by those participating.
To make a start of a virtual call memorable:

• Let people know:
  • What the purpose is.
  • What level of engagement is expected. It’s different to attend a call when you are spoken to, versus a call where you are actively shaping the agenda and focus, feeding into discussions and dialogue.
• Provide an opportunity for people to “Get Grounded” and connected to the topic of the meeting. We move from one video call to another these days and it’s important to provide an opportunity for people to be able to focus on where you are going. What’s the question which will get people connected into the topic of the conversation?

​Capture people’s attention. What is going to e unique or memorable?
 
In terms of the end of the call, provide an opportunity to focus in on:

• What were key messages or topics covered?
• What are the next steps?
• Who is responsible for what and what are the different accountabilities?

 
Enjoy your conversations!
Jennifer

#1 – Start with the end in mind. As Stephen Covey wrote years ago “start with the end in mind”. Being clear on what you want people to LEAVE the meeting with, is core to identifying topics which need to be covered, what those topics will focus on, as well as what’s critical for success.

#2 – Have shared agreements about being on-camera and using (or not using) mute. There are several different types of meetings we may host and being clear on what the level of interaction is, is key. Because one Zoom room (or Teams room) looks like another, clarify what people can expect.

#3 – Consider activating video backgrounds. If people’s systems are fast enough, consider the video backgrounds which will work to block out extraneous backgrounds. While green screens can ensure that the background doesn’t make you lose your fingers, or that the glasses on the top of your head don’t fade out,  you can also get small portable green screens which fit on the back of your chair.

#4 – Use all the tools available. If you have to determine the focus of your conversation, consider how a poll or annotation might support you. If you have a large group, use breakouts to move into smaller discussion pods.

#5 – Track agreements as you go. Whether one person acts as a rapporteur (note taker) OR you capture things on the screen, capture agreements as you go. Note also that there are now several apps which integrate into the virtual space for transcription – such as the Otter.ai integration with Zoom and other elements.

Finally, as a bonus, consider your lighting. Being able to be seen automatically builds trust. Make sure that your lighting source is in front of you – windows work well.

What is going to help your next video meeting stand out?

Enjoy!
Jennifer

A big thanks to those who joined me this week for the Stand Out Virtually challenge. Who had fun? Who is walking away with some practical tips you can put into practice RIGHT NOW?

It’s never been more important to be able to deliver engaging and impactful virtual conversations. It’s key for both business and results.

This week we’ve covered a range of essential virtual tips – from the 4 PERC ingredients needed in every call, to working with visuals, to boosting engagement.

What are the elements which you are going to put into practice?

I’ll be hosting another Stand Out Virtually challenge later this fall, this time focusing more on design. Be sure that you are on the mailing list! You can sign up here for this and other updates.

Interested in Virtual Calls in general? Join the LetsTalkVirtual Mailing list here.

All the best,
Jennifer

As someone who has worked virtually for the better part of multiple decades I too can suffer from “The Death By Conference Call” or what’s now being referred to as “Zoom Fatigue”. I’ve been so committed to helping others create more engaging calls for themselves that I even wrote a whole book on it - Effective Virtual Conversations. Pick up a copy here.

Having hosted my own calls on Zoom since 2016, I’ve always had a majority of people say that they love virtual calls with me. So, what’s different? INTERACTIVITY. ENGAGEMENT. Not talking AT people, but sparking a dialogue.
Dialogue comes from the Latin words “dialogus”, meaning discourse or conversation.

What are you doing to spark a conversation in the remote space on your zoom (or Teams, or Blue Jeans) calls?

Consider these elements:

• Use breakouts where possible, and limit breakouts to 5 or less. The smaller, usually the better. People love to connect with peers, share their ideas and hear their own voices. Consider how you will have people report back with their ideas.
• Consider the multiple ways you are going to get people active during the calls. There are a variety of different ways from chat, to polls, to annotation. What’s going to help people interact and be in conversation, in multiple ways, on multiple channels?
• Ditch the texty slides - - or at least intersperse them with rich graphics. Our brains process visuals quicker than text, so consider alternative ways to communicate your message
• Consider the pre- and post- work (reading, videos etc) which can be done so that your time together is a conversation, not a presentation.
• Engage at least every 7-10 minutes. This “7-10 minute pace switch” which I write about is key to keeping calls moving and people engaged. You can change the pace by asking a question and having people respond, doing a poll or having people annotate on the screen.

What are the things we can do? What are the changes you want to make to your work?

Want to learn more? Consider joining me for the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program to boost your skills and confidence in leading virtual calls. Learn more and register here.

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

It’s the start of another week and this week’s Effective Virtual Conversations Tip #152 is all about PAUSE. Where could you benefit from taking a bit more of a pause – figuratively and literally?

One of the challenges professionals have faced this year has been the lack of pause in their work. For many, shifting to the virtual and remote space involved a tsunami of flurry. For those of us who already worked in the remote space it also meant a flurry of people using the same technologies and often access points we do.

Many have complained about Zoom fatigue and how exhausting virtual calls can be. One reason may be that leaders of calls don’t always leave in a pause during their calls. Consider how you might incorporate one of these pauses in an upcoming call –

• Giving people 2 minutes to capture and schedule their next steps after a call
• Providing group members with the opportunity to pause and have a 5-10-minute conversation with others
• Providing people with a quick opener or energizer at the start of the call, geared to get them thinking about what their own connection is to the issue. Note, this will likely lead to a better call quality overall!
• Having a short co-working session with colleagues to boost focus and attention

What else might you be able to do to boost your time in having a pause?

Best wishes, 
​Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders 
Coaching Skills Training | Leadership Development | Teamwork
Growing Team Leaders, One Conversation at a Time™ in the Remote Space
Contact us to discuss leadership, coaching or performance needs for your and your team
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out our Digital Resources to support you in your work and conversations 
​

Happy June and welcome back to another Monday Effective Virtual Conversations tip. This week we are at tip 148. The focus is this week is “What’s going to make your next virtual call memorable?” With people moving from back-to-back zoom calls, signaling that your call is going to be different is just as important as making your call different.

In my May 2020 Effective Virtual Conversations newsletter I cover five different ways to signal that your call is going to be different….

Here’s what I wrote:
​
With many in the virtual space becoming "zoom fatigued" and burnt out from virtual calls, it's never been more important for you to distinguish yourself as a masterful virtual facilitator, one who is cultivating dialogue, connection and providing the best experience for all involved.
 
With cynicism becoming more common place as some step into meetings, this month's call covers four things you can do quickly to signal that this just isn't "any zoom call”:
 
#1 - Talk about what people can expect in terms of process and interaction.
At the heart of setting the stage for a "different call" is creating clear expectations. Let people know what they can expect and how your call is going to be different. If it's going to be interactive, co-design agreements. Let people know what they can expect and how they may be able to pass if they don't have anything to add.
 
#2 - Connect people right away with their WIIFM. Connecting people early on with "What's in it for me?" boosts engagement and connectivity. If we don't see a connection with a topic, it's more likely that we will be unfocused or disengaged. Easy ways to connect people are to ask - What's your connection with this topic? or Who here ____ (fill in the blank)?
 
#3 - Make the start of the call different. Switch up the start. Consider incorporating video? Story? Breakout?
 
#4 - Make it visually rich. Icons are a favorite go-to for me, as is converting shorter blog posts into video. I often use Lumen5 to quickly convert content over. What content do you have that can get repurposed quickly?
 
#5 - Think about the right tool, for the right platform. What's the right tool for the right platform?
 
Check out the entire May EVC newsletter here.

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders | Remote Pathways Podcast
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Everything DiSC
Phone (416)996-8326

Get your Q2 planning on with the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner or Coaching Business Builder

Looking to enhance your virtual conversations? Webinars? Pick up a copy of Effective Virtual Conversations at Amazon, or join me for the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program

Contact us to discuss how we can support you and your teams and organization with remote work.

Check out upcoming virtual programs on our calendar
​
PDF copies of PlanDoTrack now available! Get yours here. ​

Keeping the conversation going with virtual meetings in the remote space can take some concerted effort and is critical in terms of getting right. For many teams, it’s going to be a while longer before they are back face-to-face.
 
Next time you are going to lead a virtual meeting or facilitate a virtual webinar, consider these tips:
 

• Keep it varied. Keep the pace moving and adjust pace every 7- 10 minutes. This might involve polling people in a larger audience or focusing more on
• Use the tools available. There are usually many tools we can activate in the virtual space to engage others. From annotation, to breakouts, polling, to chat, what do you want to ensure you do to bring in everyone’s voices?
• Wrap it up before the top of the hour. Maybe even 5 – 10 minutes early. With back-to-back virtual meetings becoming the norm, what would it be like to adopt a 50- or 55-minute meeting length so people actually have time to move from one meeting to the next?
• Leave 30-60 seconds for people to note what they are going to do and schedule it in. How many times have you left one meeting, clear on what you had committed to doing, and then by the end of the next hour had forgotten what it was?

Always run through your pre-meeting checklist before you get going…. check out my past post around 8 Meeting Questions you always want to ask. You can read it here at the PlanDoTrack Blog.

What’s going to help make your next meet be most efficient?
​
With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders | Remote Pathways Podcast
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Everything DiSC
Phone (416)996-8326

Get your Q2 planning on with the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner or Coaching Business Builder

Looking to enhance your virtual conversations? Webinars? Pick up a copy of Effective Virtual Conversations at Amazon, or join me for the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program

Contact us to discuss how we can support you and your teams and organization with remote work.

Check out upcoming virtual programs on our calendar
​
PDF copies of PlanDoTrack now available! Get yours here. ​