Tips for Engaging Participants in Virtual Meetings

Ever notice how some leaders seem to have a sixth sense for meeting dynamics while others plow through their agenda oblivious to glazed eyes, side conversations, or everyone needing several "bio breaks" over the course of an hour? Research tells us executives consider 67% of virtual meetings failures, and a staggering 92% of employees admit to multitasking during meetings. After facilitating hundreds of in-person, virtual, and hybrid sessions, I've developed my "6 E's Framework" to transform the abstract concept of "reading the room" into concrete skills anyone can master. (This is exactly what I teach leaders and teams who want to dramatically improve their meeting and presentation effectiveness.) Here's what to look for and what to do: 1. Eye Contact: Notice where people are looking (or not looking). Are they making eye contact with you or staring at their devices? Position yourself strategically, be inclusive with your gaze, and respectfully acknowledge what you observe: "I notice several people checking watches, so I'll pick up the pace." 2. Energy: Feel the vibe - is it friendly, tense, distracted? Conduct quick energy check-ins ("On a scale of 1-10, what's your energy right now?"), pivot to more engaging topics when needed, and don't hesitate to amplify your own energy through voice modulation and expressive gestures. 3. Expectations: Regularly check if you're delivering what people expected. Start with clear objectives, check in throughout ("Am I addressing what you hoped we'd cover?"), and make progress visible by acknowledging completed agenda items. 4. Extraneous Activities: What are people doing besides paying attention? Get curious about side conversations without defensiveness: "I see some of you discussing something - I'd love to address those thoughts." Break up presentations with interactive elements like polls or small group discussions. 5. Explicit Feedback: Listen when someone directly tells you "we're confused" or "this is exactly what we needed." Remember, one vocal participant often represents others' unspoken feelings. Thank people for honest feedback and actively solicit input from quieter participants. 6. Engagement: Monitor who's participating and how. Create varied opportunities for people to engage with you, the content, and each other. Proactively invite (but don't force) participation from those less likely to speak up. I've shared my complete framework in the article in the comments below. In my coaching and workshops with executives and teams worldwide, I've seen these skills transform even the most dysfunctional meeting cultures -- and I'd be thrilled to help your company's speakers and meeting leaders, too. What meeting dynamics challenge do you find most difficult to navigate? I'd love to hear your experiences in the comments! #presentationskills #virualmeetings #engagement

I’ve been thinking a lot about the 90 minute virtual meeting paradox. We spend the first 30 minutes on welcoming everyone and introductions, the next 15 on framing, and then a few people share thoughts. Then, just when the conversation gets meaningful, the host abruptly announces "We're out of time!” and throws a few rushed closing thoughts and announcements together. Sound familiar? We crave deep, meaningful, trust-based exchanges in virtual meeting environments that feel both tiring and rushed. It seems like as soon as momentum builds and insights emerge, it’s time to wrap up. Share-outs become a regurgitation of top-level ideas—usually focused on the most soundbite-ready insights and omitting those seeds of ideas that didn’t have time to be explored further. And sometimes, we even cite these meetings as examples of participation in a process, even when that participation is only surface level to check the participation box.  After facilitating and attending hundreds (thousands?) of virtual meetings, I've found four practices that create space for more engagement and depth: 1. Send a thoughtful and focused pre-work prompt at least a few days ahead of time that invites reflection before gathering. When participants arrive having already engaged with the core question(s), it’s much easier to jump right into conversation. Consider who designs these prompts and whose perspectives they center. 2. Replace round-robin introductions with a focused check-in question that directly connects to the meeting's purpose. "What's one tension you're navigating in this work?" for example yields more insight than sharing organizational affiliations. Be mindful of who speaks first and how difference cultural communication styles may influence participation.  3. Structure the agenda with intentionally expanding time blocks—start tight (and facilitate accordingly), and then create more spaciousness as the meeting progresses. This honors the natural rhythm of how trust and dialogue develop, and allows for varying approaches to processing and sharing.  4. Prioritize accessibility and inclusion in every aspect of the meeting. Anticipating and designing for participants needs means you’re thinking about language justice, technology and materials accessibility, neurodivergence, power dynamics, and content framing. Asking “What do you need to fully participate in this meeting?” ahead of time invites participants to share their needs. These meeting suggestions aren’t just about efficiency—they’re about creating spaces where authentic relationships and useful conversations can actually develop. Especially at times when people are exhausted and working hard to manage their own energy, a well-designed meeting can be a welcome space to engage. I’m curious to hear from others: What's your most effective strategy for holding substantive meetings in time-constrained virtual spaces? What meeting structures have you seen that actually work?

🤔 How might you infuse more experiential elements into even the most standard Q&A session? This was my question to myself when wrapping up a facilitation course for a client that included a Q&A session. I wanted to be sure it complemented the other experiential sessions and was aligned with the positive adjectives of how participants had already described the course. First and foremost - here is my issue with Q&As: 👎 They are only focused on knowledge transfer, but not not memory retention (the brain does not absorb like a sponge, it catches what it experiences!) 👎 They tend to favor extroverts willing to ask their questions out loud 👎 Only a small handful of people get their questions answered and they may not be relevant for everyone who attends So, here is how I used elements from my typical #experiencedesign process to make even a one-directional Q&A more interactive and engaging: 1️⃣ ENGAGE FROM THE GET-GO How we start a meeting sets the tone, so I always want to engage everyone on arrival. I opted for music and a connecting question in the chat connected to why we were there - facilitation! 2️⃣ CONNECTION BEFORE CONTENT Yes, people were there to have their questions answered, but I wanted to bring in their own life experience having applied their new found facilitation skills into practice. We kicked off with breakout rooms in small groups to share their own experiences- what had worked well and what was still challenging. This helped drive the questions afterwards. 3️⃣ MAKE THE ENGAGEMENT EXPLICIT Even if it was a Q&A, I wanted to be clear about how THIS one would be run. I set up some guidelines and also gave everyone time to individually think and reflect what questions they wanted to ask. We took time with music playing for the chat to fill up. 4️⃣ COLLABORATIVE LEARNING IS MOST IMPACTFUL Yes, they were hoping to get my insights and answers, however I never want to discredit the wisdom and lived experience in the room. As we walked through the questions, I invited others to also share their top tips and answers. Peer to peer learning is so rich in this way! 5️⃣ CLOSING WITH ACTIONS AND NEVER QUESTIONS The worst way to end any meeting? "Are there any more questions?" Yes, even in a Q & A! Once all questions were answered, I wanted to land the journey by asking everyone to reflect on what new insights or ideas emerged for them from the session and especially what they will act upon and apply forward in their work. Ending with actions helps to close one learning cycle and drive forward future experiences when they put it to the test! The session received great reviews and it got me thinking - we could really apply these principles to most informational sessions that tend to put content before connection (and miss the mark). 🤔 What do you think? Would you take this approach to a Q&A? Let me know in the comments below👇 #ExperienceLearningwithRomy

“Let’s have a meeting to talk about meetings,” said no one ever. But maybe we should. A Microsoft global survey found the #1 workplace distraction is inefficient meetings. The #2? Too many of them. Sound familiar? Last week, I led a meeting effectiveness workshop for a team of 15 at the request of their practice leader—who happens to be my husband. His team’s meeting struggles? Rambling discussions, uneven engagement, unclear outcomes, and lack of follow-through. He thought a meeting AI tool might fix it. Nope. AI can help document meetings, but it can’t make people prepare better, participate more, or drive decisions. The fix? It’s not “Have an agenda”. It’s setting the right meeting norms. My husband was hesitant to put me in the late morning slot–worried the team would tune out before lunch. I told him, “Put me in, coach. I’ll show you engagement.” And I did. For 90 minutes, we tackled meeting norms head-on through interactive discussions and small group exercises. Here are 5 norms they worked through to transform their meetings: 1️⃣ 𝗦𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. An agenda is a list of topics. A purpose answers: What critical decision needs to be made? What problem are we solving? Why does this require a discussion? If you can’t summarize the purpose in one sentence with an action verb, you don’t need a meeting. 2️⃣ 𝗕𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗼’𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺. Some discussions only need two people; others require a small group or the full team. Match the participants and group size to the topic and purpose.  3️⃣ 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲. Before the meeting, define the problem or goal. Identify potential solutions. Recommend one. Outline your criteria for selecting the solution(s). Back it up with data or other relevant information. Preparation = productivity. 4️⃣ 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻. A good facilitator keeps conversations on track, reins in tangents, and ensures all voices –not just the loudest–are heard. Facilitation matters more than the agenda. 5️⃣ 𝗘𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀. Summarize decisions. Assign action items. Set deadlines. Follow-up to ensure accountability and progress. A meeting without follow-through is just wasted time. The outcome of the workshop? 100% engagement. (One person even admitted she normally tunes out in these things but stayed engaged the entire time!) More importantly, the team aligned on meeting norms and left with actionable steps to improve. Want better meetings? Set better norms. Focus on facilitation. What’s one meeting tip that’s worked well for your team?

I've attended 6 webinars/virtual events in the last 2 weeks. These have been hosted by very small teams/early-stage startups to billion $ companies whose brand names are synonymous with B2B SaaS. A few things I see across these events that are problematic: - Not enough context was given before the event - beyond the title and speakers, I don't know what to expect from a flow of the session perspective. - I have the event on my calendar but the pre-event reminder email frequency is super low. My recommendation is to use the 7-1-4-1 approach. 7 days out, 1 day out, 4 hours out and 1 hour out. Build excitement and drop hints on discussion points, value to the audience and who is attending in these emails. - Speaker and host energy - this is a big one. If the people on stage aren't excited about being there, your audience isn't going to be either. One Slack DM, one WhatsApp notification or an email and you've lost their attention. You need to think of your event as a captivating show on your favourite OTT. They need to be gripped as a result of your energy and the value you are bringing to the event. - Engage outside of the stage - Whether it's summarizing points from the stage to replying to chat or sharing resources in real-time. The chat better be active AF. - Always start with housekeeping - Run through the agenda and flow, and let people know about the assets they can expect, and what will they be able to learn and apply after. Getting them there IS NOT ENOUGH! - Post-event follow-up - every single event host sent out a follow-up email but only with the recording link. You need to share key takeaways, the assets and resources shared during the event and give them something they can engage with further. One and done is not going to drive your results here. What did you think of these observations? Is there something else you feel virtual events for marketers should have? Let me know in the chat. This is a topic close to my heart! LFG! #virtualevents #webinars #marketing

Hybrid Meetings ≠ Inclusive Meetings. I’ve lived it - and here’s 5 practical tips to ensure everyone has a voice, regardless of location. I spent more than 10,000 hours in hybrid meetings while as a remote leader for The Clorox Company. I was often the 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 remote attendee - while the rest of the group sat together in a conference room at HQ. Here’s what I learned the hard way: 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲... ...by showing who gets heard, who feels seen, and who gets left out. If you're leading a distributed or hybrid team, how you structure your meetings sends a loud message about what (and who) matters. 𝟱 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝘆𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀: 1️⃣ 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 �� who will actively combat distance bias and invite input from all meeting members 2️⃣ 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗿 – to monitor the chat and the raised hands, to launch polls and to free up the facilitator to focus on the flow 3️⃣ 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗴 𝗶𝗻 - so that there is equal access to the chat, polls, and reactions 4️⃣ 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗱𝘆 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 – pair remote team members with in-room allies to help make space in the conversation and ensure they can see and hear everything 5️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽 𝗮 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘂𝗽 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 – be ready with a Plan B for audio, video, or connectivity issues in the room 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳? 𝗧𝗿𝘆 𝗮 𝗗𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹-𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. If even one person is remote, have everyone log in from their own device from their own workspace to create a level playing field. 🔗 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗶𝗽𝘀 for creating location-inclusive distributed teams in this Nano Tool I wrote for Wharton Executive Education: https://lnkd.in/eUKdrDVn #LIPostingDayApril

Sitting through another online event, nodding along, but not really feeling engaged? I just experienced this feeling last week in an online webinar. There has been trouble with tech, which consumed a lot of time, there was little interaction with the participants, and the wasn’t quite built for everyone in the room. I left feeling disappointed and unmotivated. I've been moderating events, facilitating workshops, and giving trainings now for over 20 years. In this time, I’ve learned that truly engaging and great events are rare. The good part: it is a skill that people can learn. Three takeaways that I share with folks who are just starting out or for those with more experience who could also need a check-in from time to time are the following: Preparation is key. Always keep the audience in mind. And, offer various ways to learn. Preparation: With the goal and purpose in mind you should design the event. From opening with welcoming, sharing the agenda and rules of engagement to delivering the content to closing with a summary and feedback. Do several dry runs, meaning that you go through your whole program without audience or maybe with colleagues who can give constructive feedback. Also consider which tech will be used and test it before using it. Audience: The event is not for you; it’s for the audience. What do you know about the people who are attending? Do the participants know each other? Which questions could you ask to learn about their expectations, needs, and knowledge? You can do that, i.e,. through polls, surveys, or discussions. Be flexible and don’t be scared to adjust the agenda if needed, and communicate why you are doing what you are doing. There have been so many times that I was a participant and I couldn’t follow the instructions, or I didn’t understand what was asked of me. Learning: People learn differently. By offering various ways to learn, engage, and participate, everyone in the room has a chance to achieve the set objectives. It might be useful to make learning and reflection materials accessible prior to, during, and after the event. Some people prefer working alone while others prefer working in groups. Some need to hear, others need to read content. Don't just think about what you like, but educate yourself about what people with different ways of thinking need. And let me be clear. You'll never please everyone in the room. That’s okay. But by following the above-mentioned tips, you can get pretty close. And remember, there is help out there - hello Ellen and team 👋🏾 What is important to you in virtual spaces? What have been good or bad experiences? Do you need help in creating more engaging and inclusive events? Send me a DM. #Facilitation #Workshops #Training #Virtual #SaferSpaces ALT- Text in the comments.