Tips for an Effective Meeting

Preparing to Host 
Attend Fugent Classes 
In preparing to host a virtual meetings, there are several steps you will want to take. The first step would be to attend Fugent’s Training Classes 1 & 2. If necessary, you can attend them more then once. 

Join other virtual meetings as an attendee 
Your next step would to be to participate in online meetings to give you the perspective that you need for when it’s your turn to take the controls. Participating gives you an idea of what your participants will see. Join a few meetings even if the material is not relevant to your planned meeting. 

Practice, Practice, Practice 
Practice makes perfect, even a good speaker practices their speech before getting in front of an audience. Ask a coworker to attend your meeting and be your sounding board. 

Record your practice session 
A great way to see if you are prepared is to record your practice session. Using the recording feature and either a microphone or a Dynametric you can evaluate how the meeting flows and if you are mumbling or saying “um” a lot. Elocution does count when you are presenting. 

Gather your presentation materials 
One of the most important steps in meeting preparation is making sure you have everything you need. Just as if you are standing in front of a conference room full of people, nothing causes disinterested like a speaker scrambling for their papers. 


Starting the Meeting 

Start your meeting 10 – 15 minutes early! 
When you’re at the point of where you have practiced, you have all your materials together, invitations have gone out and you are ready to start your meeting, the first thing you want to do is start your meeting early. Creating a good first impression is important, especially when you are introducing a new communication product such as on online meeting. So having the meeting open and ready for your attendees to join is the first step in making that good impression. 

Set attendee privileges 
As discussed in Meeting and Event Training Class 2, you have the ability to set your attendees privileges. Once you are in the meeting you can select Assign Privileges from the Participant menu at the top of the screen. This is where you can set your attendees ability to chat privately or with others. Also this is where you can set other options such as their ability to see the participant list and annotation. Check the boxes of the privileges you want and click assign. This is something you will want to do before your attendees arrive. 

Open files/applications to be shared 
Opening the applications or files prior to your attendees joining will make your meeting flow better and you won’t be fumbling around searching for files or waiting on software to open. 

Post an Introduction/Welcome Slide 
Creating a introduction/welcome slide adds a nice touch to your meeting and provides a starting point for you. You can include important information such as the dial in number on this slide. Also, adding a picture of yourself gives the attendees the ability to put a face with the voice making the online meeting more personal. 


Presenting and Engaging 

Keeping your Attendees attention. Prompt for Interaction/Ask Questions 
A good way to keep your attendees attention is to prompt for interaction. You can just have a normal conversation with your attendees or ask your attendees questions relevant to the meeting. It is best to verbally ask easy questions that can answered in a few short words. 
You can use the polling option to allow for feedback, or the chat option to encourage questions and discussions. If you take a look at the Participant tools manual under the support section in your Fugent account, you will get a good idea of what tools are available for your participants to use and how you can set them up to use them. Other ways you can keep your audience engaged is; prompt for interaction often, pass control allowing the attendee to use a feature and make the meeting relevant to your current audience. 

Building your Meeting Skills, one at a time 
When it comes to all the great features available in a Fugent Meeting, do not attempt to use all the meeting features in your very first meeting. Focus on the ones that are important and build up from there. While the platform is easy to use and very user friendly, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to remember how to do everything while giving your presentation. Take it one step at time. Writing a script or outline of the material you want to cover will aid in keeping the meeting moving smoothly. 

Are 2 Presenters Better then One? 
Having a co-host for your meeting frees you up to focus on the meeting. Your co-host can do things such as handle the chat questions or any technical issues that can arise. Or they can present as well. 

Keep Talking 
Think out loud – awkward pauses are even more pronounced when the audience can’t see you. Thinking out loud can help you maintain a constant patter and fill in the gaps. Use short, precise sentences. 

Keep a cup of room temperature water with a straw nearby. Room temp water is the best for your vocal cords. The straw makes it easier to take a quick sip. 

Schedule Breaks 
Schedule breaks if your meeting is going to be more then an hour long. 

Using Chat for Q&A 
Use the chat feature to log questions, this will aid you in answering any questions completely. 


Seven Messages of a Good Speaker 

1. I will not waste your time 
Spend no more then 2 minutes introducing the meeting. This will give a fast paced feel that will keep your participants tuned in. 

2. I know who you are and why you came 
Ask good, relevant questions. Questions about such things as demographics or company name can be obtain through registration. 

3. I am well organized 
Make sure you have everything you need and are ready to go. 

4. I will deliver this speech in an interesting, conversational way 
DO NOT JUST READ THE SLIDE. And try to not just read your notes. Vary the tone of your voice. 

5. I know my subject 
The #1 fear people have is public speaking. As long as you know the material, that fear should subside. So know your subject and know it well. 

6. Here are the most important points 
Keep focused on the important points of the material. Try not to wander too far from the subject. And if you do wander, remember where you were and try to bring it back to the original point. 

7. I am finished 
Have a closing slide or obvious point where the presentation is over and either it’s time for Q&A, open discussion or the end of the meeting. 



Creating Concise Virtual Presentations 

Keep it Super Simple 
Whether you are able to create your own presentations or have input with the team that makes your presentations, try to remember to keep the presentation “Super Simple”. Your attendees don’t have the luxury of rereading your presentation, so if they don’t grasp the concept immediately, you’ve lost them. Also, use short, familiar words, now is not the time to break out your thesaurus. 

Use PowerPoint® for best results 
Power Point is really the best tool to use when creating a presentation for an online meeting. The features such as custom animations and the graphics really work well to enhance your presentation without making it too busy. 

Font, colors & graphics, Oh My! 
Use a font and style that is easy to read and keep the background as simple as possible. A busy pattern with a lot of text is hard to read and if something is hard to read, you’re going to lose the attention of your audience. It is a good idea to use simple animation with your presentation, this helps keep your audience focused on your presentation. When there are things moving on the screen, your eyes are automatically drawn to it.   

Even if you can not create your presentation, you can use the whiteboard feature to create a welcome screen. If you can use PowerPoint to make a welcome slide, add your picture to it or add a quote relevant to your topic. All of these tools will help capture your attendees attention and the start the meeting off with a bang! 

Make sure you proofread your presentation, run spell check as well as read it word for word. Nothing looks as unprofessional as misspelled words or jumbled sentences. 

Get to the point 
But most importantly, get to the point. As we talked about in previous slides, you want your attendees to feel you are not wasting their time and that your presentation is beneficial to them.