Video conferencing is an important tool for project management. It can help you collaborate more effectively with colleagues and clients, give you a better sense of remote team members’ facial expressions to help interpret their feelings and body language, and reduce travel expenses.
But there are also some challenges associated with video conferencing that can make it harder than in-person meetings. For example, video conferences can be distracting if they’re not planned out carefully or if they don’t follow best practices. Utilizing tools like a project task tracker can help streamline these meetings by keeping everyone on the same page and ensuring tasks are clearly defined and tracked. With that in mind, here are our top tips for planning the perfect project management meeting using video conference:
Use a Video Conferencing Platform that Aligns with Your Team’s Needs
When choosing a video conferencing platform, it’s important to consider the needs of your team. For example, if all of your employees have laptops and use Gmail as their email client, then Google Hangouts is likely the best option for you. You also want to make sure that each member has access to the same online meeting software–it can be frustrating if some people are using Skype while others rely on Zoom or GoToMeeting.
Finally, make sure that whoever handles project management at your company knows how their chosen video conferencing tool works before they start scheduling meetings with clients or other departments within the organization!
Plan, Prepare and Practice
Project management is an art, and like any other form of art, it requires planning, preparation and practice. You’ll want to make sure that you have everything set up in advance so that when it comes time for the meeting, everyone can get right down to business.
Planning: The first thing you need to do when planning a video conference meeting is decide what topics will be discussed during this specific session. If there are multiple people who need input on different topics or projects within your organization, then having them all present at once could become overwhelming very quickly. Instead, try separating each topic into its own meeting where only those involved with said subject will attend (and not everyone else). That way, if something needs further explanation, it can be given without interrupting anyone else’s agenda or discussion points from previous meetings being discussed simultaneously by others within an organization.”
Create a Consistent Environment
To ensure that everyone is on the same page, you’ll want to create a consistent environment. This means making sure everyone has:
- A quiet place to work (and not in front of their computer speakers), so they can hear each other more clearly.
- Good internet connections, so there aren’t any issues with latency or dropped calls.
- Good microphones and webcams, which will allow you to see each other while talking face-to-face, instead of looking at yourself on your screen when communicating via free web conferencing software.
- Headsets that enable clear communication between all parties involved in the conversation–so no one misses anything important because they didn’t have headphones plugged into their computer!
Make Sure Everyone Can See Everyone Else
The important thing to do is make sure everyone can see everyone else. If you’re using a video conferencing platform with a screen-sharing feature, this is easy: just turn it on and go. But if not, there are still ways to ensure that everyone gets their face time. For example, some platforms allow you to display multiple screens at once; others let you record sessions so that they can be played back later (with or without audio). Alternatively, if your team members are spread across different locations and don’t have access to the same technology as each other (e.g., some people may use Apple computers while others use PCs), consider working together in person instead of relying solely on technology for communication–even if it’s only for one meeting every month!
Keep it Simple
When you’re using video conferencing, keep it simple. Compared to other types of communication (such as email or phone), video conferences take up more space on the screen and require more bandwidth. This means that your meeting will be less efficient if you try to cram too much into one session.
You’ll need more time to set up for a meeting with several participants from different locations than if everyone were in one place together–and even then, there are still some things that can go wrong! Video equipment may malfunction; sound quality may be poor due to poor acoustics or background noise; there could be delays in transmitting data packets over the Internet; etcetera ad infinitum.
If possible, test out your equipment before using it in an important presentation or meeting so that when something goes wrong during an actual presentation/meeting (as it inevitably will), then at least we know what went wrong and how best fix it before our next big event comes around again!
Use a Shared Agenda
An agenda is a simple document that lists the topics you want to cover in your meeting. It can be as short as a few bullet points, or it can be an elaborate spreadsheet, depending on how much detail you want to provide.
As mentioned earlier, it’s important to set clear expectations for what will happen during each video conference call so that everyone knows what they’re supposed to do and when they need to do it. The agenda helps keep people focused on those expectations by reminding them of their responsibilities during each step of the process (for example: “We’ll go over plans for next week’s meeting now.”).
Video Conferencing is an Important Tool for Project Management
Video conferencing is a great way to stay in touch with your team members. It allows you to see their faces, hear their voices, and even share documents or presentations with them in real time. Video conferencing can also be used as an alternative way of conducting meetings when traveling isn’t possible or cost-effective.
It’s important that everyone on your team understands how video conferencing works before you begin using it regularly, though; otherwise there will be confusion about who needs to attend the meeting and how they should participate in it (such as by phone or computer).
Video conferencing is especially useful when making decisions together because it helps ensure everyone has equal input into the decision-making process, no matter where they are located geographically within your organization’s hierarchy.
Conclusion
Video conferencing is a great way to collaborate with your team and keep them up-to-date on your project. It’s important to remember that video conferencing doesn’t replace face-to-face meetings or phone calls, but it can be used as an alternative when those aren’t possible or convenient. If you’re looking for ways to improve communication and collaboration within your organization, consider adding video calling capabilities into your workflow!
