Virtual meetings: Managing time more effectively

If you are leading a virtual meeting or a webinar, managing the time effectively is crucial. Don’t try to cover everything that could be covered and say everything that could be said. Instead, focus only on what you really have planned to finish. Otherwise, if you repeatedly fail to use time wisely, your colleagues will start leaving such meetings early and thus discussing anything properly with these colleagues will become much more difficult.

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One of the best ways of monitoring time is to make it clear to everyone that they are entitled to speak up if they feel time is being wasted. You can also ask someone to watch the time for you. This might be either a formal assignment or just a private message to remind you that you should stop talking and move on.

Meetings must start and finish on time

Of course, you shouldn’t cut short a discussion only for the sake of managing time. Participation of colleagues is much needed and to be welcomed. Sometimes a proper discussion simply does need more time. If this is possible, carry on; if not, maybe you could schedule a follow-up session so as not to close the topic entirely.

Check with other participants at the beginning of the meeting that the agenda is clear. Are people not prepared for certain items? Do they need to tackle something different? During the meeting, you can still re-prioritise your agenda. Items which are critical can definitely take priority over other items. And if you learn about such a critcal item during the meeting itself, feel free to propose a change to the agenda.

Involve your team

Encourage your colleagues jointly to set expectations and get their buy-in to sticking to the agreed timeline. This advice comes from the management-issues.com website. Consider also whether everyone should really be leaving the meeting at the same time. Perhaps you could first deal with items relevant to everybody and only then proceed to the rest, thus allowing some people to leave earlier.

When the time for a certain item is about to run out, check with everyone whether what they needed or wanted has been accomplished. Find out what remains to be discussed further. This will enable you to move on from topics have been exhausted quickly and secure some extra time for the subsequent items.

-jk-

Article source Management Issues - British website cntaining practical information, tips and advice to managers
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