Focused on the technology or the humanity

As we adapt to leading and working in some new and different ways, don’t lose sight that we are still leading and working with humans, people.

We might be learning new apps, systems and tools and discovering which button does what, or what the best features of the app are, but remember there are people there, wanting to connect and contribute.

Focus on the people. And allow time for it. Ask them questions. Seek their responses. Gain their participation and contribution. Validate their views and opinions.

Yes, the apps and tech may be new to us, and we may be distracted by these bright shiny objects, trying to learn them and be (perfectly) proficient with them. And yes, maybe we need the tech to help us do the task or job better ... you know, perfectly.

But the human connections you make with the other humans matter more than pursuing the perfect tech. Remember to ... Focus on the people. Look at their faces. Listen to their suggestions. Ask them more about their thoughts. See more of our humanity.

The more you talk, the less they can

The balance of participation in a meeting or workshop is curious to observe. The more you talk, the less they can contribute.

Have you asked a question? Did you acknowledge the response? Or did you just keep talking?

The space between when you stop talking ... and they start talking ... is known as ‘exchange time’. Is there an actual space there or are the usual voices picking up after each other? Can anyone break in to the conversation to add their comment?

I’ve been randomly measuring and observing exchange time in most of the online meetings and sessions I’ve been in over recent weeks - as both a session participant and a session leader.

When the topic engages and rapid comments come, exchange time shortens. It’s harder to add to the conversation. When two people are in conversation, exchange time can’t even be counted sometimes because the space is so thin. It’s impossible to find the gap. So it’s easier to just observe, to wait them out.

Disengagement and distraction are appealing. What do you deliberately do, to get the input and participation of people? Waiting for them to jump in is not a strategy.

Too often there is simply no space.

Accidentally excluded

It sucks to be forgotten, to be left off the list, overlooked and be invisible. It can happen by accident when we overlook or forget someone.

Yet this exclusion - when accidental - is not necessary, again. One ‘accident’ of leaving someone off a list somewhere should alert you that you need to be hyper-aware of inclusion. Every single time you’re trying to include people... check your list.

The standard questions of ‘who do we need to invite?’ or ‘who comes to this meeting?’ can’t be trusted to our overloaded attention and memory.

Set up a system. And have others check it too. Heck, even Santa makes a list ... and checks it twice.

Ask not ‘Have we missed anyone?’ - it’s a closed question that is easy to answer with ‘No ... I don’t think so.’

Rather ask, ‘Who have we missed?’ Our eyes, ears and brains then go searching for the missing pieces and names of actual people who should be there.

It’s not an ‘invite everyone’ solution either, as we drown under the weight of too many people at too many poorly led meetings. Who has been accidentally excluded ... and therefore needs to be deliberately included?

Making it worse / making it better

As more of our days are spent in online meetings, many of our bad meeting behaviours haven’t changed: they’ve transferred online... and likely gotten worse.

Meeting tips and advice often focus on the agenda: have an agenda and send it out before the meeting.

But the agenda is only the ‘what’ to be done. And the agenda is not usually the problem with bad meetings. It’s about the process.

Most meetings follow dull default processes:

- One person talks. Another talks. We vote

- Two people talk and assume everyone agrees

- One person talks. Everyone agrees so we can finish.

The problems are many: low engagement/buy in, less contribution, participation and performance, more invisibility, boredom, distraction, exclusion. If the agenda is the what, the process... is the ‘how’.

Meetings are made better when you improve the process of how you run the meeting. A better process that is run by the leader of the meeting.

To facilitate better meetings is a skill. And to facilitate better meetings online, another skill.

Progress, outcomes and people suffer because bad meetings are made worse when we flip them as-is to online. Better meeting experiences are possible. 

Do you ‘work' the chat box

More training sessions and meetings are online than ever before. But many of these feature just a few dominant voices, taking up most of the air time.

Facilitation skills are needed more than ever.

How do you get people more involved, engaged, participating, learning and contributing? Don't undervalue ... the Chat Box! The chat box in your online webinar/meeting software is a brilliant source of engagement.

Sadly, many presenters, leaders and speakers don’t ‘work it’ and they get caught up in their content and slides, fall behind with the comments or run out of time and miss the gold that’s right there in front of them. Participants in meetings and workshops want to engage and contribute.

The chat box is one place where you can leverage ideas, input, suggestions, questions and comments. It is a skill of being able to work with your content plus an agenda, plus the participants contributing via the chat box.