Offices, Schools, and businesses are suffering from new coronavirus SOPs. The gathering of people causes the spread of the virus. Therefore, doing regular meetings become difficult and also affect daily routines. In these cases, virtual meetings technology comes to fill the gap and provide virtual meeting software. It helps everyone to continue the interaction, discussion, and decision making. Many people around the globe are shifting on this technology.
Universities and colleges are using virtual meetings solutions to teach students at home. The businessmen are using technology to interact with their clients, vendors, and customers. Even politicians are interacting via virtual meetings online. Assembly and Senate sessions are shifted online to protect members from the disease.
What is a virtual meeting?
It defines as hosting a meeting where members do not physically present at a certain place. They are available virtually from their places. They can be anywhere in the world connected via the internet. Meeting members use audio, video, and text messaging to interact online.
Virtual Meetings Software:
There are many Softwares that are used to meet online. The choice may depend upon ease of use, price, privacy concerns, and availability. Some top Softwares are:
Microsoft Skype, Adobe’s Connect, Google’s Hangout, Zoom app, Ring Central Meetings, Zoho Meetings, Intermedia Any Meeting, Click Meeting, Goto Meeting, etc.
How to Improve Virtual Meetings:
The following are the best practices that can provide a better experience for the members:
- Try to improve Audio and Video quality.
- Use better themes for virtual meetings.
- Virtual meetings best practices show the option of screen sharing to provide ease to members.
- Always do a test run before meeting time.
- There should be a facilitator available every time to help the participants.
- Rules for virtual meetings should be set and discussed with everyone.
- Use virtual meetings ice breakers to improve the interaction
- Interact with members and gather feedback on their experiences
Pros and Cons:
Pros
- Interacting online is much cheaper than setting a physical meeting.
- You can call a meeting in a really short time.
- There is very less headache of meeting planners because it does not involve food, mic settings, furniture, etc.
- Members feel very relaxed during online meetings.
- Easy access to any place around the globe in no time.
- It is really time-saving. This is because there is very little preparation for both members and organizers.
Cons
- Less physical interaction of members
- The interacting persons are less expressive and the spontaneity sometimes compromised. As we know sometimes there is a little time lag between speaking and hearing.
- There is a compromise in the connection which develops during the face to face interaction.
- There is a chance of hacking so there are Security concerns.
Virtual meetings are the future of interaction. The crisis situation is helping to break the fear of change. Normally many people resist change and continue the interaction in the old style but, lockdowns force them to do so. Hopefully, they will continue to interact online in the future.