This week’s Effective Virtual Conversations tip gets us thinking about what often is the norm, not the outlier- when technology happens. In a virtual setting a core practice is to “always have a back up”. Technology will break down.
Having a back-up is important on many levels. It may include:

• Having another line/service in case your preferred service breaks down
• Communicating to the group what to do in the event of tech failure (i.e. should they try to call in again, and then switch to another platform OR should they look to email to find instructions)
• Having a list of all contacts for the call – this could include email addresses and phone numbers along with your class list
• Having a back-up computer/laptop in case your system goes down (or decides to update)
• Having a back up copy of your presentation loaded to the cloud and/or USB key
• Having a back up copy of your material (print)

 
Remaining calm and moving into contingency mode is key when facing a tech issue. Before anything happens work through your own list of what you will do and write it down. Have these items in a location which you will naturally “go to” in the event of a break-down.

What else is important for you to note around having a back up?
​
With best wishes,
Jennifer

This week’s Effective Virtual Conversations Tip focuses on the question “On what platform will connection between calls work best?”. In coaching we have a saying that the “’impact of coaching happens in between the calls”. It is often the actions, insights and connections made in between your virtual sessions where people put ideas into practice, connect the dots, pass ideas forward, that learning and momentum happen.

The platform which connects group members in between the calls can be instrumental in enhancing this. There are many options which are possible including:

• Private Community Groups such as Mighty Networks
• Secret Facebook Groups (non-searchable)
• Chat groups on your own Learning Management System – we use Teachable as our e-learning portal
• Text

​What is going to keep the conversation going for the groups you are working with?

As you go to select your platform, consider these items:

• The purpose – is it to share successes, resources, links, files, other
• Accessibility and mobility
• Confidentiality

Best,
Jennifer

It’s March 15th which historically has been known as the Ides of March. My father always has said we can usually expect one more snowfall in Toronto on, or around this date. I’m always happy when it gets to be this time of year as I start seeing that spring is (usually) just around the corner.
 
For today’s FlashbackFriday I wanted to reach back to a former blog post (in fact one from the precursor blog to Teams365 – the BizToolkit blog), on a topic which I think has major significance today – Meetings!
 
Meetings can be the “bane” of most employees existence, and aren’t always held effectively. It’s not uncommon for leaders I work with, scheduled into 30 or more hours of meeting a week, leaving them little time for work they need to accomplish, strategic thinking and other discussions.
 
Here’s what I posted in March of 2014 as Teams365 #86: 

Five Ways to Keep Your Meetings on Track 
Copyright Jennifer Britton, All Rights Reserved, 2013 : Originally published on the BizToolkit blog, 2013

Meetings are a huge time-consumer in today's workforce. What is the state of your meetings? How efficient are they? Today's blog post includes five ways to keep your meetings on track, so you can avoid what Patrick Lencioni describes as "Death by Meeting" syndrome.

Some key tips to keep in mind are:
1. Assign a meeting facilitator. Facilitation comes from the Latin word "facilis" or to make easy. The facilitators role is to keep an eye on the process. As the facilitator, the focus is on:

• starting and ending the meeting on time, 
• keeping the flow moving, 
• summarizing and capturing key discussion points,
• identifying issues which may need to be shifted to other events (use of a parking lot)
• summarizing key action steps

It can be very useful to have a rotational facilitator role if meetings are held regularly with the same group. This supports capacity and skill development, and also recognizes that the facilitator's power is related to that role, not the role people usually inhabit. Who will be the "facilitator" for your next meeting? How will this be rotated?

2.  Have an agenda, and assign timelines to it. Does each meeting have an agenda, which has been circulated before the meeting to ensure that nothing else needs to be added? Putting time-frames on each item, and sticking to them, helps to manage time, as well as identify issues which may need to be carried into other venues. What does the agenda for your next meeting look like? How much time will it take? 

3. Ensure who you need is at the table. A common challenge in effective meetings is not having who you need at the table. This may be someone who has specific information, background on  a topic, or authority to sign off/give approval. Who needs to be at your meeting, based on the agenda?

4. Confirm Action Steps and Responsibilities - A common pitfall is that action steps, and who is responsible for moving things forward, is lost in the dialogue. Key action steps, and those who will take responsibility for making sure they are done, should be summarized at the end of each meeting. What are the major next steps? Who will be responsible for them?

5. Circle Back to Make sure Actions are being Actioned. What is the status of the action steps? How are they being moved forward immediately, and in the longer term. Who needs to know? Who is accountable? Action Plans are only as good as they are tracked and followed. What will support the implementation of decisions, and the reporting out of these actions? 

As you consider your upcoming meetings, in which context might you be able to incorporate some of these ideas?
 
As much as the meeting content may have changed in the last six years, I think a lot of these pointers remain the same. What’s the one tweak you could make to your meetings which would help them become more productive and efficient?
 
Enjoy your conversations,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Now available – PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner - Order a copy today on Amazon
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development).
Check out the new 19 Tips for Productivity On-Demand Course. If this is your year to get things moving, check it out now. Join Jenn for bi-weekly live group calls until July. $129 US. Learn more and enroll here.
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​Today’s Effective Virtual Conversation tip is that “Parking Lots provide a virtual space to leave issues for discussion later”. In any given program or meeting, it is likely that there will be additional items which cannot be covered during the conversation. Capturing these in a parking lot is really beneficial to make sure they don’t get lost. What is critical in any conversation is that the parking lot issues go somewhere and are not lost.
 
What can you do to create a parking lot in your work? What can you do to capture them? What will you do or schedule to make sure they are not lost?
 
With best wishes,
Jennifer

It's Monday and time for another Effective Virtual Conversations Tip. We are at pitfall #7- No one, or less people than registered, shows up. Whether you are expecting five people or fifty for your virtual session it is important to consider what you will do if no one, or less people than expected, arrive on time.

​Here's what I wrote in Effective Virtual Conversations:

"No one, or fewer than registered, shows – Rescheduling can become a slippery slope.  Whether you have four people on the call or 40 people on the call, consider how your virtual program (or components of it) can be packaged for future benefit. How will you record the call? What changes might need to be made to the process and approach? It is likely that people will be running late.
Solution: A best practice is always to start and end on time, given that people are likely to be calling in at different times of their days. As a facilitation team consider how you are handling missed attendees and last minute cancellations."

​What do you want to communicate to your group about process issues and starting and ending on time? How do you want to be known as a virtual leader? Our reputation can precede us, as it does in the in-person space. If you are known as someone adding value, and being firm on time, it's likely that that will precede you. A reminder the day of the call is also valuable.

​What do you want to do to remind people, and also keep your own energy up?

Enjoy the start to your week,
​Jennifer

As a virtual facilitator it’s important to be flexible. It’s likely that the unexpected will happen. Whether it’s the connection is going down or time zone conversions haven’t been made correctly, things inside, and outside of our control as the conversation leader can happen.

 In today’s world we talk a lot about agility, a term which is becoming overused. When writing EVC last year I chose to use instead the term nimble. Being nimble as a virtual facilitator could mean:

1. Having a back up plan just in case the platform you were going to use is switched last minute
2. Being comfortable with change (as it will inevitably happen)
3. Being flexible to adjust the game plan depending on the needs of the group
4. Knowing your materials and having a big picture overview so you know what can be adjusted. If there were 2-3 things for people to take away from the call what would they be?

What are some other things that we can do to be nimble?
One of the most important things I find with my work is to really know my material (or the roadmap of elements), know the platform as much as I can, and be present for what the group wants. The more we can encourage engagement and interactivity the more it becomes the group’s/team’s call, which usually is a good thing.

Make a list of half a dozen things you can do to enhance your “nimble factor”.

Have  a great start to your week,
Jennifer

Yesterday's Teams365 post explored several habits you will want to cultivate in hosting more effective virtual calls. On the flipside, there are several things that you want to avoid doing. In this post I am going to share some of the common habits we see transferred from the in-person realm, which may have a greater impact on the process and outcomes of virtual calls. Any of these items could lead to lower levels of engagement and impact in a virtual call.

There are also a number of habits we want to break which may be more magnified in the virtual realm. These could include:

• Using word fillers - ums and ahs
• Not having a plan for the all
• Not thinking about the key points (often 3 maximum) for the start, middle and end
• Being late for calls
• Trying to fit too much in
• Not asking for feedback
• Assuming everyone is ok - and ok with you
• Talking to much
• Not listening enough

(Source: Britton, Effective Virtual Conversations, pp 223)

Take a few minutes to consider which of these habits might be your downfall in leading virtual calls - virtual meetings, teleclasses, webinars. At the same time, note what you can do to avoid them. If you haven't taken a look at yesterday's post - Teams365 #1352 - Habits to Cultivate as a Virtual Conversationalist - take a click on over.

Have a great Wednesday,
Jennifer

Welcome back to Effective Virtual Conversations tip #10. Today’s EVC tip is about how masterful virtual facilitators are highly effective in reading the environment of virtual calls.

All calls have their own rhythm and it can be very useful to make sure that you are regularly taking the pulse of a call. In doing this, facilitators will want to notice:
How people are speaking
The energy and tone of the call
Any visual cues if you are streaming

A general rule of thumb for in-person programming is to take the pulse of the group every 8-10 minutes, considering pace changes. A pace change might involve asking a question to the group, getting people to write things down, getting people to move to a breakout or getting people to do something real-time. You may also want to use this metric a touch-point in your own groups.

A related part of mastery is in creating an enabling environment for the call. There are several things you can do to create an enabling environment in the virtual domain including:

• Welcome people as they join the call
  
• Get people to indicate on a map where they are calling in from
• Make sure there is a personalized welcome email before the call
• Noticing energy flows and navigating pace changes accordingly
• Connecting people early on in the call to their WIIFM – What’s In It For Me?
  

What other things can you do to create an engaging and enabling environment for your virtual calls?

Have a great start to your week,
Jennifer
 

Having a variety of questions in our back pocket is key for business success. As I explored last week, questions create a solid base for any virtual conversation. Today’s post includes 10 plus questions you might consider asking at different stages of the virtual conversation.

Questions to open up the conversation:
What’s most important for us to focus on today?
What end results do we want for this meeting?
What are you bringing to the call?
What’s the most important thing for you to get out of the call?
How engaged do you plan to be? (Note you may not ask for a reposnse on this but only pose it to get people thinking about their focus)

Wrap up
What are you committed to doing after this call?
What are you going to take action on?
What’s the one most important thing to recall from our conversation today?
What new ideas around process are you going to take?
What resources are needed to put your action steps into action.
What are you committed to doing in the next 24 hours, no matter what?

What are some of your favorite questions for virtual meetings? What helps to keep the focus and open up the space for conversation.

Have a great start to your week,
Jennifer

A couple of weeks ago I started a new series here at the Teams365 blog around different team develompent activities team leaders, trainers, coaches and facilitators can bring into their work with teams. Team development is an ongoing process and it's likely that many readers are eager to try or find something a little different. That was the impetus behind this current series.

Let's take a look back at the A-Z of Team Development Activities so far:

Teams365 #1074: H is for habits. Watch this video at our Potentials Realized YouTube Channel (6 min)

Teams366 #1072: G is for Goals. Watch this video at our Potentials Realized Channel. (4 min)
Teams365 #1071: F is for Foil Modelling. Read the post here.

Teams365 #1070: E is for Exceptional. Watch this video. (4 min)

Teams365 #1068: D is for Decisions. Watch this video. (5 min)

Teams365 #1065: C is for communication.

Teams365 #1064: B is for Boundaries. Read this post.

Teams365 #1063: A is for Assumptions. Read this post.


Which posts have been your favorite so far?

Have a great Sunday,
Jennifer


Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT
Potentials Realized - Leadership and Team Development, Coaching, Retreats
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)
Email us to find out how we can support you and your team in getting your best results through coaching, training or a retreat program
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