EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN
I can't help but notice the deluge of virtual meeting facilitation tips and tricks offered via social media feeds; as if a virtual meeting differs from an in-person one. Some common recommendations: make sure you develop an agenda ahead of time, show up early, give each attendee an opportunity to participate, wear pants.
A meeting is when people assemble at the same time to discuss a topic. Place does not define a meeting. It must certainly be considered and accounted for, but everything you know about good meetings remains true regardless of where it is held. What you would do in an in-person meeting you should do in a virtual one, and vice versa. With this lens you'll get twice as much value from the meeting advice swarming the internets as those who consider the virtual meeting so different from an in-person one.
So what might account for this proliferation of punditry? Do people not know how to have good in-person meetings? While bad meetings will certainly continue, I don't think this is our answer.
More likely, this sea change we're dealing with ignited our powers of observation: good meeting practices that have been taken for granted are now pushed unavoidably in our path; we can't help but notice and want to share them with everyone on LinkedIn.
So how might you take advantage of your heightened powers of observation?
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