We're ALL remote.

Thanks to advancements in teleworking options, I can take a meeting from anywhere in the world - an airport, at home, or in the Ciena offices with little to no difference in meeting quality. I’ve held meetings in parking lots and grocery stores and while I hate to admit it, I’ve taken meetings on vacation- poolside and on the beach. In fact, I label myself as a ‘remote worker’ since I work from non-office locations the majority of my time.

We’re all remote. Unless everyone is in the same physical conference room, someone is remote to you and you’re remote to them. With all this in mind, I captured my top 5 suggestions to ensure that your meetings are as effective as possible:

1.    Turn your camera on.  People WANT to see you. If we were in the same room together, I wouldn’t close my eyes! So, get over it - we don’t care about your dog or an occasional kid walking by - that’s life and if anything, it helps us to get to know each other a bit more outside the office.

2.    Be an expert with your technologies.  Be proficient with the collaboration tools you have. It sounds simple, but it is important to test them out and be comfortable using them during your meetings otherwise your meetings will be less effective.

3.    Be mindful of body language.  Give meeting participants the same non-verbal cues you would give as if you were in the room with them. Subtle gestures like facial expressions are just as important over video. As the host, you should also be able to tell how effective your meeting is by reading facial expressions. Look directly into the camera to make eye contact. 

4.    Run efficient meetings. This is a standard for all types of meetings but especially important for virtual meetings. I start all my meetings with, “This meeting will be a success if…”. Doing this levels the expectations and it saves time so everyone is prioritizing the same business outcome. Some meetings are meant to inform, others are meant to take action. Make sure attendees know the agenda/objective of the meeting beforehand. AND - end your meeting once the objectives are met. You can recoup a lot of time in your day doing this.

5.    Have fun and build personal connections. One of the great things about remote working is that you can be yourself in other non-office environments and people can still get to know you on a more personal level outside the office. On 1:1 calls, ask the person you’re meeting with a question or two to kick off the call. It can break the ice, put attendees at ease and bring a new dynamic to relationships.

To the other "remote workers" out there – what tips do you have to run more effective meetings? Leave your suggestions in the comments below!