Online board meetings have become a reality for a variety of organisations, and with good reason. They save time and money as well as providing a wider range of opinions regarding decisions. Virtual meetings can be difficult to manage. They can derail discussions and reduce productivity.

To ensure a productive meeting, it is essential to keep participants from afar engaged. Use video to introduce participants from remote locations and encourage them whenever possible to make eye-contact using their webcams. Encourage participation by asking participants to raise their hand when asked for feedback or questions. Also, remind them to mute themselves when they are not talking to silence background noises like pets and kids. Set a maximum amount of time to speak to ensure that no one person dominates the conversation and to avoid boredom. You can accomplish this by listing the timeframes in your agenda or appointing a person to be the timekeeper.

Ensure that your board members are prepared for the meeting prior to the time by providing them with an agenda and a list with things they’ll need to address during the call. This will ensure that your board members arrive prepared and are able to make responsible decisions. The board members should be encouraged to keep the discussion focused and stay clear of tangential discussions that could not help the agenda. It’s also an excellent idea to keep minutes of the meeting in order to preserve the conversation and be a valuable resource for reviewing the meeting later. In addition, organizing and sending follow-up tasks to participants following the meeting can aid in ensuring that all issues are addressed promptly and that deadlines are not missed.

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