1. Get people on the video conference to turn up early to ensure the technology works for them e.g. test the sound and picture quality. Many people will be dialling in from home so may have background noise and other distractions, so a test is a good way to remove or minimise any unwanted background noise.

2. Welcome people as they ‘arrive’ on the video conference. Nothing worse than not hearing anything and thinking the sound system is not working.

3. Some cameras are now by the keyboard of the laptop which results in looking up noses etc, so if that is happening ask people to reposition the screen/camera. Similarly, some cameras are too high resulting in looking at a little of the top of the head and a lot of the ceiling!

4. As any good facilitator would do - kick off with a summary of your video conference rules -- something along the lines of: only one person speaking, wait until they have finished before jumping in with ideas.

5. Ask people to stay on the call from start to finish. Some systems will announce that someone is leaving or entering the call which can be very distracting. While being ‘fully present’ ask that participants have someone else handle any day-to-day business. They need to be fully engaged with the conversations.

6. A general tip: be conscious of your “air time” – ask for the thoughts of others who may not be contributing enough.

7. If you are doing a dot voting or sorting exercise: ask someone (note taker) to gather the comments or votes from the VC people, while you handle the people in the room. Summarise the outputs from each exercise so that everyone knows the end result (they may not be able to see the final position of sticky notes or dots.

8. If you are lucky enough to have 2 – 3 people in one location, they could do a short discussion and feedback the output to the entire group.

9. If you have a chat facility or DM (direct message), ask that people type in their questions or issues if someone is talking, so that the speaker is not interrupted. You can also share links on these message boards. Watch that people don’t get a bit silly with inappropriate comments here – it can derail the meeting.

10. I find it helpful to have the names and locations of the people on the video conference, e.g. it is easier to say “Hey Jim, what is the view of your group in Auckland?” Then we know that we are talking to a specific person and others know which region/city is being asked for an opinion.

11. Some video conference software allow you to share screens, powerpoint slides, move to a whiteboard etc– if you intend to use these tools, practice beforehand so that it looks slick and professional. If you plan to share a document e.g. MS Word or Excel, it may look quite small on the screen. Ensure that they can get their own copy or that it is clearly visible. Watch your font sizes – bigger is better.

12. Some people are naturally quiet speakers, ensure that they sit close to or directly under the microphone, do ask them to repeat or speak up so that everyone can hear.

Need a help guide written for your organisation?  email us carol@onedaytraining.co.nz