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
About the Author :
JOHN CHEN spent 10 years at Microsoft and earned 2 US Patents before founding and leading Geoteaming, a company that specializes in tech-based team-building and leadership training. He's been virtually meeting for over 35 years. He is a celebrated speaker and consultant, and has delivered his message to over 230,000 participants in over 30 countries.
