But with McKinsey estimating that 90% of organizations have adopted or will adopt hybrid working approaches post-pandemic, getting those hybrid meetings right matters.  

Here are 7 common mistakes that can derail a hybrid meeting. 

1. Poor audio quality

Many organizations focus on the visual aspects of their meeting, to the detriment of audio. When most of the audience is in the room together, the ability to hear each other can be taken for granted. Now is the time to equip your meeting room with high-quality microphones to ensure that remote participants can easily hear everyone talking. Passing around a hand-held microphone is another option to improve audio access for remote participants.

2. Poorly thought out visuals.

Presentations that rely on visuals can pose a barrier to access for remote participants. If your team is presenting a slideshow, video or other visual-heavy media, keep and hold attention by ensuring that remote viewers can see all text and graphics, as well as presenters and other participants. Rather than using a “share screen” option, set up a quality webcam that offers a clear, full view of the presentation space so that the people who are attending remotely feel as though they’re actually in the room. Having someone in the room sketch out the meeting notes can also boost engagement and improve comprehension and engagement.

3. No moderator or facilitator.

Meetings don’t run themselves. A meeting without a clear facilitator results in uneven floor time and fewer opportunities for participants – and especially remote participants – to ask questions or share the floor. They can also run over their allotted time, which can be a frustration for those working from home. Appoint a facilitator who can oversee the meeting and make sure that remote participants are given time to and opportunity to speak up. 

4. Long meetings…or meetings that could be an email.

Most employees aren’t fans of meetings in the first place, and the longer the meeting, the more challenging it is to keep people engaged and present. This is particularly true of virtual participants. When outlining your hybrid meeting, give it a hard stop, and ensure that virtual participants are only required to attend for the parts of the meeting that are relevant to them. This will help keep your meeting on track while ensuring that your employees get the most out of the meeting time.

5. Minimal channels for engagement.

In a hybrid environment it’s natural to focus on who’s in the room, which is bad news for remote participants. Remote employees can easily end up being silent participants if they’re not actively called upon, or if their only option for speaking up is through their microphones – which are usually muted anyway. Schedule time for Q&As, and include options such as live chats, polls, speed networking, and breakout rooms so that remote employees can be equal participants.

6. Not having an intermediary for remote participants.

Rather than having remote participants address the room directly, provide a designated intermediary who can take questions or comments, then address the room. This goes both ways – these intermediaries can also help provide feedback from remote participants to presenters without the need for remote participants to spend the meeting publicly asking for people to speak up or repeat things. 

7. Not testing your tech.

Failure to do a dry run ahead of time is a courting disaster. Always do a quick run-through of your meeting to check that your set-up works for both remote and in-person participants, and that any tech, media, or software you’ll be using during the presentation works as it should. If you can, host digital aspects of your presentation locally rather than in the cloud to minimize the risk of delays and glitches. And always have a back-up plan – and back-up tech – just in case.

Ready to deliver a perfect hybrid meeting environment? We offer graphic recording, meeting consulting or meeting producer services to help elevate your meeting. Talk to us today to learn which of our services is right for you!

Communities of Practices (CoPs) are essential to the growth of any organization or industry. And like every community, CoPs take time and effort to mature. 

Without a proper plan for your CoP, you might hit various roadblocks along the way. In this piece, we cover the best practices for facilitating your Community of Practice. 

1. Create Goals 

You must have clear goals for your community. 

•         What is your vision for the group? 
•         What do you plan to achieve? 
•         What are the steps to achieve your vision? 

After you understand the vision, you will need an articulate mission statement that encompasses it. With a clear mission statement defined, you can create outlined goals that will help your CoP realize its objectives. 

Pro Tip: A visual board or mind map is an excellent way to do this. Visual thinking will drive your creative processes. 

2. Build Your Core Team and Community Members 

To achieve a self-sustaining community, you must have an effective core team. There are usually four roles within a CoP:

•         Program manager
•         Manager 
•         Core team members 
•         Members 

All community members must be engaged, included and dedicated. Be aware of the knowledge and experience each member brings to the table. 

Pro Tip: Create a system that allows every member to showcase their strength. Ideally, you want a diverse group; everyone should bring something unique and valuable to the table. 

3. Create an Effective Knowledge Management System

Communities of Practices are all about peer group learning and knowledge exchange. Each member must be able to access and share useful information at all times. 

You must create a way to store all information in an efficient and intuitive manner. Your community will generate a lot of content. So, you must have a way to categorize data and filter the useful from the outdated information. 

Pro Tip: Carry out periodic ROT analysis to validate relevant content. You can do that every three to six months. 

4. Plan Regular Meetings 

Consistent, planned meetings are necessary for continuous communication and collaboration. And that is the secret to maintaining your community. 

Schedule regular meetings, meet-ups, educational workshops to ensure members’ engagement. It is recommended to meet up at least once every month to maintain the conversation and forward progress. Send surveys to get a sense of days/time that work best for your community.

If in-person meetings are not possible, video or messaging apps, like Slack and Zoom, are a great way to guarantee regular communication. Organize virtual meetings – either visually using video or in message thread format using a chat app. 

Pro Tip: If your community is large, create smaller groups of members to ensure easy communication, such as breakout sessions. 

5. Your Lead Facilitator & Co-Facilitator are key to the Success of Your CoP

Your lead facilitator is vital to the success of every meeting. They will guide discussions during each session and keep everyone on task.

Make sure you appoint an aide knowledgeable about facilitating meetings. The co-facilitator must be able to handle the technology platform, resolve tech issues, keep a clear and consistent meeting schedule, and keep everyone involved and engaged. 

Pro Tip: If you don’t have a qualified facilitator within your CoP, you should employ a professional to help. 

Do you need help creating and facilitating your Community of Practice? Reach out to us at See in Colors for meeting design & facilitation. 

Are you struggling with a lack of professional development or problem-solving skills within your organization? Or maybe there is little to no cohesiveness and interaction among key professionals within your industry? 

If so, a community of Practice (CoP) just might be what you need to consider as an effective solution for these challenges. 

What is a Community of Practice? 

A Community of Practice is best defined as a group of people who share common interests or concerns, i.e., they take part in ongoing interactions with objectives focusing on a set of problems, a specific industry, or a discipline. 

Why create a Community of Practice?

Although CoPs were first developed to facilitate the exchange of information and knowledge, they have evolved to be more than that. A CoP provides an environment where professionals can share best practices and generate new answers, theories and learning. 

CoPs are now used as an effective tool to improve clinical and public health practices. But they are not only useful in the health industry. They are also helpful in several industries, including business, child welfare, and education. 

So, what are the purposes of a Community of Practice? 

1. To promote the standardization of practices for professionals. 
2. To initiate and manage a body of knowledge for members to draw on. 
3. To innovate and create new ideas, knowledge and practices. 

The Benefits of a Community of Practice

Increased Collaboration 

A Community of Practice (CoP) connects people and creates an avenue for people to interact, pool resources, and work in partnership. By organizing collaboration, a variety of people get to work and interact with each other. Without a CoP, these relationships may not have occurred otherwise. 

Exchange of Information and Knowledge

A CoP provides the context for people to communicate, share information and knowledge. It does this by creating an avenue for people to interact and share insights and stories improving awareness and comprehension around a body of thought.

Innovate and create new ideas/knowledge 

A Community of Practice (CoP) allows people to share experiences and create new ideas/knowledge. These valuable interactions generate learning pathways and develop new concepts and innovations.

Professional Development

CoPs encourage peer learning groups, educational workshops, and learning communities which helps professional development. This also helps to increase productivity and performance. 

Rapid Problem-Solving 

Communities of Practices provide a centralized place for communication and valuable information for solving organizational problems. CoPs foster expertise and rapid problem-solving skills within people. 

Conclusion 

A Community of Practices can be an excellent strategy for building a more open organization. It is also an effective way to get advanced solutions to complex problems. 

Communities of practice foster learning by connecting people and encouraging collaboration. This, in turn, creates a platform for creative problem-solving and innovation. 

Do you need help creating and facilitating your Community of Practice? Reach out to us at See in Colors for meeting design & facilitation. 

Are you keeping up with the ever changing virtual event workspace?

How up-to-date is your virtual vocabulary?

If you host or attend virtual events, understanding the meaning of specific terms will improve the value-add that you and participants experience from virtual meetings and workshops.

Types of Virtual Events

Virtual events are online gatherings (formal or non-formal) in a virtual environment. Virtual events are used to deliver an entirely online experience for participants that are not physically together. Learn the terms for the various types of virtual meetings, such as hybrid meetings, so that you know what meeting type will best suit your participants.

• Virtual Meetings: Virtual meetings are meetings hosted online. They are hosted on online meeting platforms like Zoom and Meet or in a custom virtual world. 
• Video Conference: Video conferences are much like in-person conferences, except they are online. They are built around a live agenda with sessions, breakout, and keynotes. 
• Teleconferencing: An online meeting that uses telecom services like phone services and instant messaging. Teleconferencing allows participants to discuss a project, share documents, and ask/answer questions in real-time. 
• Webinar: A transmission of a presentation (audio only or audio-visual), either live or pre-recorded. Webinars can access multiple viewers/listeners at the same time. Webinars usually have a level of audience interaction using Q/A, chat, and polling.
• Webcast: Like a webinar, a webcast is also a transmission of a presentation. However, no level of audience engagement is allowed. 
• Hybrid Meeting/Event: Hybrid event is a combination of both a physical and virtual gathering. It is a physical gathering of people with a virtual event running for people that are not present.
• Virtual Trade Show: Virtual trade shows replicate a physical trade show. Participants can watch live/on-demand presentations from different vendors and contact them through web chats.

Virtual Meeting Glossary Terms 

When it comes to planning and hosting virtual meetings and events, knowing these virtual meeting glossary terms is key in your event’s success.

Virtual Event Technical Terms

• Bandwidth: It is a measurement of how much data is delivered for an internet connection over time. Bandwidth is measured in bits and bytes or megabits per second (Mbps). The higher your bandwidth, the better your video and audio quality.
• Green Screen: A green screen is a background used to create virtual sets. With a green screen, you can replace your background with any virtual backdrop of your choice.
• Green Screen Studio: Green screen studios are filming locations with engineers that specialized in adding graphics into your videos. These studios can help you stimulate virtual background during your virtual event. 
• Cloud Recording: Cloud recording lets you record and store a large volume of data without physical restraint. Cloud storage is expandable, and your data is well-protected.
• Live Streams: Live meetings/events are real-time meetings or events that can’t be replayed after the event is over. 
• On-Demand: On-demand sessions are recorded and can be accessed/replayed by a listener.

Virtual Audience Terms 

During your virtual event or workshop, there are various ways to interact with your audience to increase engagement and improve participant experience. Try one of these audience engagement techniques at your next virtual event.

• Breakout Rooms: Breakout rooms are smaller shared rooms that a group of attendees can meet separately. 
• Q/A: Q/A (Question and Answer) lets your audience leave questions for the presenters. The audience can use the chat for Q/A. However, it can also be a separate tool.
• Polling: Polling gathers information through real-time input from the participants in a virtual event. Often, the audience’s opinions are recorded through a series of multiple questions.
• Polling Module: A polling module displays the information gathered from polling.
• Chats: Chats are used to send messages in real-time to participants or organizers during virtual events. The audience can use chats for Q/A or to start a dialogue and engage.

Know the correct terms for virtual meetings to keep your virtual meetings and workshops current with the changing times. It’s important to understand these virtual meeting terms before planning and hosting your next virtual meeting or workshop.

Do you need help with designing or hosting your next virtual event? Reach out to us to learn more about our Meeting Design & Facilitation services.

The planning phase is arguably the most crucial stage of a project’s life cycle. At this stage, you determine the logistics, budget, and other important details.

Here you can define and discuss potential problems your project might face at the different stages of execution. Then you can brainstorm with your team and provide possible solutions to these problems.

More importantly, it is during this project planning phase that you need to identify and select the RIGHT problem that your project will solve upon successful execution.

Why?

Identifying and presenting the key problem your project will solve to stakeholders is vital for effective communication and ensuring expectations are met.

So, how can you create an invaluable project management plan and identify the correct problem?

There are several visual planning tools and project plan visualization techniques that can help you execute this crucial part of the project planning phase.

Why Should You Use Visual Planning Tools and Techniques?

Turn a project’s large volume of data into useful and straightforward diagrams that help you brainstorm and communicate the project’s SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). 

Outline and visualize all stages of your project’s life cycle so you can present a high-level plan to project stakeholders.

Better yet, you can use visual planning tools at all stages of your project execution!

It’s true, visual planning techniques help foster creativity when approaching and solving complex situations or problems. Visual techniques like mind mapping, process maps, or cost breakdown structures are crucial to your project planning.

Types of Visualization Tools for Project and Program Planning 

There are many project planning tools and techniques to use for project management, but not all are suitable for the planning phase. Your visual planning phase should be a detailed process where you might use several project planning techniques and tools.

Here are the top visual planning techniques that will help ensure that you identify the key problem, that your project’s stakeholders and team are on the same page and that expectations are clear and met. 

1. The Six Thinking Hats:

This can be done remotely or at in-person meetings to explore different viewpoints related to complex situations or problems. Team members will wear different “hats” that represent different thinking perspectives. The six thinking hats are: Creativity, Process, Benefits, Facts, Cautions and Feelings. Use an online whiteboard tool to take notes on each of the participants points of view.

2. Starbursting:

Help meeting participants fully understand the problem that your project is going to solve. Once a team identifies a problem, draw a 5-point star and label each of the 5 points: What?, Where?, When?, How?, and Why? Have meeting participants collaborate and add detailed questions to each of the 5 categories.

3. The Five Whys:

More specifically used for quality improvement, and to thoroughly analyze a problem, repeatedly ask the question, “Why?”. Using a whiteboard, state the problem. Then list out five boxes below the problem statement, each with the question of why? As you repeatedly answer why, you will eventually reach the root cause of a problem.

4. Mind Maps:

Mind mapping is a useful way to gather and organize all information about your project. Mind maps are crucial to the information-gathering process. Mind maps can be helpful during brainstorming sessions to generate and gather new ideas. Besides, you don’t have to collect information hierarchically. You can add ideas as they come to mind, and the mind map will help you present the information in an orderly and meaningful way.

Project Management Apps For Visual Project Planning 

Project management software helps you collaborate effectively with your team and carry out your visual planning. Most apps are designed to work for remote meetings as well. So, your team members and project stakeholders don’t have to be physically present to brainstorm on your project. 

There are various project management applications that help to effectively assign tasks, manage, and track your team’s progress such as Trello, Asana, and TeamGantt. But what about apps for visual project planning?

Think collaborative whiteboard apps, such as Mural, Miro, Zenkit, Google Jamboard and Lucidchart.

Collaborative whiteboard project management apps provide the option to collaborate visually in real-time, and allow meeting participants to add sketches, notes, videos and more to a digital canvas.

Conclusion 

Project planning is a crucial phase of your project. You can’t afford to skip it. Visualization techniques can help you get on the right track. But you must be sure you are using the right tools and techniques to get the desired results. 

Do you need help facilitating your meeting so that everyone can see the big picture? You can reach out to us here to help you out with visual planning.

As a program manager or project manager, you are responsible for setting the tone and flow of your meetings. Your goal is for all stakeholders to participate actively and engage so that your meeting provides for a productive discussion.

Virtual meetings can be challenging to facilitate and get started. And that is because it is easy for participants to get distracted and disengaged. 

It’s important that you handle the “ice” that is present at the start of a meeting. Many times, how a meeting is started will determine how well people will be compelled to engage during your virtual meeting. 

So, how can you get your virtual meeting off to a good start? How can you set the proper tone and promote conversation during your virtual project performance reviews and strategy meetings?

Ice breakers! 

Ice breakers can help you shake things up and create quick connections at the start or during your meeting. They can also help you generate engaging conversations and spark up brainstorming sessions with and among the project’s stakeholders. 

There are various types of ice breaker methods! You can use questions, project stories, or simple exercises.

Here we look at ice breaker questions and activities that will provide quick and engaging ways to set the tone at the start of your meeting.

Hybrid Project Meetings 

Here are some ice breaker questions that you could attempt at your next all-virtual or hybrid (meetings that have in-person and virtual attendees) meeting.

Ice Breaker Questions for Hybrid Meetings

• What would you do at work if you knew you couldn’t fail?
• Which gives you more energy: starting big projects or finishing up all the details? Why?
• Name 3 things that you and your team have in common.
• Who in the company would you like to learn from? What would you like to learn?
• What fictitious character best represents you and why?
• What’s one thing you’ve learned from your team? What does it mean to you?
• Describe the last project you worked on, like you would describe the weather? Sunny?
• How might we learn from each other more often?
• What book would benefit the project team if we read it together?
• What would you rather hear first, good news or bad news?
• What’s one thing about the project/program you’ve learned in the past month?

Team-Building Ice Breaker Activities for Hybrid Meetings

• Group Storytelling: You can ask everyone to share their part of the project on a slideshow. 
• Simulated Problems: Create a fictional scenario that the team might face later on in the project. Then ask them to strategize together to come up with a solution. 
• Future Headline: Ask each person to write a magazine or newspaper headline about the project in the future. 

Remote Project Meetings

Has your office just recently transitioned to 100% work-from-home status? Do you collaborate with the project’s stakeholders remotely a majority of the time? Test out these thought-provoking ice breakers for your next virtual project meeting.

Virtual Ice Breaker Questions for Projects with Remote Stakeholders

• Have you travelled for work recently? Where did you go?
• What’s your favorite virtual meeting platform and why?
• What web-based project tool do you use often at work and can’t live without?
• What do you miss most about the office?
• What’s one time where a program team took a risk, and it paid off?
• How have you been able to stay productive working from home? 
• Where are you joining us from?
• What is the most exciting industry-relevant article you have read of late and why? 
• What is your number one work-from-home productivity tip?
• If you could change one aspect of your remote workspace, what would it be?
• What criteria helps you decide whether to say “no” to something or commit to it?
• What makes a virtual workplace presentation compelling to you?

Virtual Ice Breaker Activities for Program Meetings with Remote Stakeholders

• Share a Picture: You can ask the group to share a recent picture of themselves or share a picture of their work desk. You can create a guessing game during this activity. Say you ask them to share a photo of when they were younger or of their workspace, and then invite others to guess who is in the picture or whose workspace it is.
• Build a birth map: Create a collaborative map in Google Maps and, before the meeting, ask everyone to drop a pin where they were born. Then, during the meeting, you can ask people to share something about where they were born.
• Use chatstorms on Zoom: Use the chat to create a storm of responses in your meeting to increase engagement.
• Zoom background challenge: Ask your group to share their virtual backgrounds at the start of the meeting. To turn it up a notch, ask everyone to come with a themed virtual background, like their favorite vacation spot, or a scene from their favorite TV show or movie.
• Create art together: You can share a whiteboard with everyone, using an online platform like Mural or Miro, and ask them to draw. It may be to draw a picture of how they are feeling about their part of the project or even something a little more informal, like their pets. 

Whether you are hosting a kick-off meeting for a new program or a regional stakeholder meeting in which participants are meeting for the first time to work collectively on an initiative, include an ice breaker (or two!) that is industry-appropriate to improve the effectiveness of your next project meeting.

The team at See In Colors specializes in meeting facilitation, reach out if you need help with your next project meeting!