The coronavirus pandemic has forced many employees to work from home, and now businesses are functioning through a surge of virtual meetings. Howard Tiersky, author of Impactful Online Meetings, shares tips to make yours more effective.

With COVID-19 here for the unforeseeable future, businesses are rethinking everything. More and more employees are working from home, which means people who once met face to face must now meet virtually. The good news is, platforms like Zoom and Google Hangouts make it easy to hold these meetings. The bad news, says Howard Tiersky, is that leading virtual meetings requires a skillset many people don’t have.

“Remote meetings are inherently different from in-person meetings, and this means they are often poorly run,” says Howard Tiersky, coauthor along with Heidi Wisbach of Impactful Online Meetings: How to Run Polished Virtual Working Sessions That Are Engaging and Effective—Zoom|Webex|GoToMeeting|Skype|Google Hangouts (Spiral Press, 2020, ISBN: 978-1-734-41533-9 (eBook), $.99). “That’s a serious concern even in normal times, but in times like these, it can be disastrous. It’s crucial that leaders get meetings right, right away.”

Another bit of good news (which we need plenty of right now) is that well-run online meetings can be extremely beneficial, says Tiersky. According to the Harvard Business Review, online meetings can be even more effective than in-person meetings when done right.

In his book, Tiersky offers a wealth of tips for making online meetings as impactful as possible. He also refers readers to his website, impactfulonlinemeetings.com, so they can be notified of book updates and also access other helpful supplemental resources.

A few tips for making your meetings more impactful:

• Don’t underestimate the socialization factor. 
• Establish the mood up front.
• Know your purpose ahead of time and keep it front and center during the meeting. 
• Make introductions. 
• Keep the cameras on. 
• Be strategic about sequencing of activities and announcements. 
• Find creative ways to keep people engaged. 
• Try to give everyone a task.
• Gear up with a good headset. 
• Keep your background visually clean and professional.  
• Dress professionally. 
• Sharpen your presenting skills. 
• Record your meetings. 
• Use “chat” to help facilitate discussion. 
• Wrap things up with a polished completion.

Howard Tiersky is the author along with Heidi Wisbach of Impactful Online Meetings: How to Run Polished Virtual Working Sessions That Are Engaging and Effective—Zoom|Webex|GoToMeeting|Skype|Google Hangouts. He is a successful entrepreneur who has been named by IDG as one of the “10 Digital Transformation Influencers to Follow Today” and by Enterprise Management 360 as “One of the Top 10 Digital Transformation Influencers That Will Change Your World.”

Howard is the founder of two companies that enable large brands to win in the digital world, FROM: The Digital Transformation Agency and Innovation Loft. He has worked with numerous clients to create highly engaging online workshops, seminars, conferences, and other types of collaborative experiences. His dozens of Fortune 1000 clients have included Verizon, NBC, Nutrisystem, Viacom, Avis, Universal Studios, JPMC, NFL, Facebook, Spotify, and Amazon.

Prior to starting his own business twelve years ago, Howard spent over fifteen years with Capgemini, one of the world’s leading consulting firms, where he was one of the founders of their global digital practice. Howard speaks regularly at major industry conferences and has served on the faculty of the NYU Interactive Telecommunications Program. He is a frequent contributor to CIO magazine.

For more information, please visit impactfulonlinemeetings.com.