Remote Meetings With Impact
In an effort to keep business moving, most of us are quickly pivoting to remote meetings and events. From my experience graphic recording virtual meetings, I want to share six tips for what I’m seeing work well.
Remote graphic recording of an icebreaker activity in a virtual Zoom meeting.
Set the tone with music. Just like you would for an in-person event, have an energizing song playing as people enter the meeting.
Create an interactive icebreaker. One idea is to start a whiteboard and have people add to it as they enter the meeting. If you're using Zoom, the "annotate" button is in the upper right corner, and can be used to draw, type or write with.
Good visuals are key. Aside from each other’s faces, there is literally nothing else for people to look at except what you put on the screen. The visuals you show create the ambiance of the “room”. Have the slides professionally designed and be sure they’re consistent with and reinforce your brand. I'm partial to hand-drawn images in a high-tech environment because they add such an approachable human element.
Everyone loves video. Again, people are sitting and staring at a screen for a long period of time. Break things up and keep them engaged by showing something that moves.
Go low-tech if you want to. If you’re comfortable standing in front of a flipchart and making notes while you present or facilitate, then do it. People will stay more interested if they’re watching you do something.
Use a graphic recorder. Building on the call for good visuals, this is the best way to capture all of those juicy ideas and key takeaways. I use a drawing app on my iPad and either share my screen during breaks, or send the digital files to the client to reveal and speak to whenever they want to. Ask your graphic recorder or graphic facilitator to keep their imagery consistent with the visual look and feel you’re using for the rest of the meeting. That visual consistency will go a long way to making your event feel polished and professional.