Tips for Connecting Virtually
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During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are looking for ways to keep in touch with their friends and family at a distance. Although we need to remain physically distant to slow the spread of COVID-19, that’s no reason to be distant socially. However, especially if you’re not used to virtual methods of connection, it can be hard to replicate the experiences you had in person. Whether you’re using virtual connection tools to stay connected with your peers, with your patients, or with your family and friends, these tips can help you make the most of your virtual meetings.
Set Ground Rules
In a new virtual environment, it can be harder to keep the conversation flowing. You don’t have as many of the non-verbal cues you’re used to from an in-person environment. You may not be sure when to speak or how to tune out background noise from both your own environment or the environment of others.
Setting some ground rules before the meeting starts can ensure you get the most out of the experience. As a group you can agree on clear rules which can include who will be the meeting facilitator, a signal for when you’d like to speak or when you have a question, and an agreement to mute your microphone when you’re not speaking. Some simple rules can make sure you spend less time trying to figure out how your meeting should work, and more time connecting with your friends, family and colleagues.
Make a Plan
Having a plan can help you get what you need out of your meetings. It doesn’t have to be anything too formal or official, but you can take a moment before your virtual meeting to determine what you want to get out of it. Whether you want to check in on a family member to see how they’re doing, or do an activity with a friend like cooking a meal or playing a game, having a plan helps make sure the meeting is a positive experience for everyone. By planning to speak to a friend at a certain time on a certain day, it can also help to give your life some more structure.
If you’re planning to meet virtually with colleagues to discuss professional issues, you can make an official agenda including objectives that you want to achieve by the end of the meeting. You can determine if anything from the meeting will be recorded, and after the meeting, agree on any action items that you want to complete. You can set a specific topic for a meeting with colleagues, or make a more general discussion, but professional meetings especially can be more productive and beneficial with some structure.
Be Present and Share Experiences
Once you’ve set your date and time to meet and designated a host for the meeting, you want to make sure that you’re fully present and engaged while the meeting is happening. Turn off any other devices and even put them in a different space to make sure you’re not distracted. Find yourself a place in your home that is comfortable and as free of distractions and interruptions as possible, so that you can enjoy the meeting.
If you’re not sure what to talk about in a meeting, or you want to make sure all participants remain engaged, it can be great to include an activity in your meeting, so that everyone is experiencing the same thing at the same time even though you can’t be physically together. For more social meetings it can be cooking the same meal, watching the same show or figuring out how to play your favourite board game online. For more professional meetings, you can read and discuss the same professional book, or attempt to create new marketing material together. Whatever the activity, the shared experience will make you feel more connected to your network.
Be Inclusive and Treat it Like an In-Person Gathering
If you invited a bunch of friends to an in-person party, you would likely introduce people to other guests that they don’t know. You would also probably greet people as they arrive, and let the conversation flow naturally. You can do the same with a virtual meeting.
Acknowledge people as they enter the meeting, and introduce everyone to guests they don’t know. Although you may technically be the host of the meeting, especially for a more social meeting you don’t need to strictly direct the conversation. Allow the conversation to evolve on its own and move in different directions, just as it would in an in-person gathering. At the same time, if you see someone who hasn’t been participating as much, do your best to include them in the conversation.
Make Time for It
Now that the casual interactions we used to experience in our day-to-day lives are no longer happening, it’s important to be more deliberate about connecting with others. Reach out to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while, join a virtual networking group, or host a virtual dinner party. Find a particular start time that works for everyone, and also don’t be afraid to end the meeting when things are winding down. There are many ways you can adapt the virtual meeting experience to make it similar to doing the same thing in person. This will help you maintain and even strengthen your connections during this difficult time.
Virtual Meeting Options
If you’ve never done a virtual meeting, it can be hard to determine what platform to use. There are many platforms available, and the one that works best for you might depend on the type of meeting you want to have.
Facebook Messenger – If everyone you want to meet with uses Facebook, you can start a video conversation with Facebook messenger, simply by clicking on the camera icon in any Facebook messenger conversation. It can be used for groups of up to 50.
Facetime – If you and the others in your meeting all have Apple products, you can connect virtually through Facetime.
Zoom – Zoom is particularly popular for professional meetings, but can be just as effective for personal meetings. For meetings of three or more people, there is a time limit of 40 minutes, but you can choose to start a new meeting immediately after the 40 minutes have elapsed. It’s easy to record and share meetings on this platform.
Google Hangouts – As long as you all have a Google Account, Google Hangouts offers easy to join video calls. This is better for smaller groups as the limit on video chats is 10 people.
Houseparty – This app tells you when your friends are online, and has become popular for impromptu gatherings or for hosting virtual parties.
Cisco Webex – Also more popular for professional meetings, Webex has recently removed the time limit from their free version, meaning you can meet for as long as you want.