Facilitate Proceedings » Virtual Meetings http://facilitate.com/blog Sat, 11 Jun 2011 00:56:16 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.5 Are meetings still relevant? http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2011/04/are-meetings-still-relevant/ http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2011/04/are-meetings-still-relevant/#comments Thu, 21 Apr 2011 21:06:20 +0000 Nancy Settle-Murphy http://facilitate.com/blog/?p=1798 In a webinar earlier this year sponsored by NewWOW (New Ways of Working), David Coleman posed a provocative question: “In the world of enterprise social collaboration, has the social construct of “meetings” become anachronistic? In other words, are meetings obsolete?" I’ve had a few weeks to ruminate his question. My initial reply: Of course! To have a real conversation, people really have to be talking together, at the same time, in pretty much the same way. Otherwise, we’re just pushing out (or pulling in) a bunch of potentially disconnected thoughts that often cross paths somewhere in the clouds. That’s not the stuff authentic conversations are made of, IMHO.]]> In a webinar earlier this year sponsored by NewWOW (New Ways of Working), David Coleman posed a provocative question: “In the world of enterprise social collaboration, has the social construct of “meetings” become anachronistic? In other words, are meetings obsolete?”

I’ve had a few weeks to ruminate his question. My initial reply: Of course! To have a real conversation, people really have to be talking together, at the same time, in pretty much the same way. Otherwise, we’re just pushing out (or pulling in) a bunch of potentially disconnected thoughts that often cross paths somewhere in the clouds. That’s not the stuff authentic conversations are made of, IMHO.

]]> http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2011/04/are-meetings-still-relevant/feed/ 1 Season’s Greetings – Last Webinar of the year in our Designing Interactive Webinars Series http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/12/last-webinar-for-the-year-in-our-designing-interactive-webinars-series/ http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/12/last-webinar-for-the-year-in-our-designing-interactive-webinars-series/#comments Wed, 15 Dec 2010 01:20:50 +0000 Editor http://facilitate.com/blog/?p=1724 Are your teams connected for productivity or wired for distraction? This free webinar takes a slightly different twist in the ongoing exploration of how to design highly interactive webinars and virtual meetings that keep people engaged. One of the biggest challenges facilitators and trainers face is the effect of participants multi-tasking on the productivity and creativity of the group. The first reaction is to think about how to STOP participants from multi-tasking so that they will focus on OUR agenda. But in this age of 24/7 information access and communication, wouldn’t it make more sense to design in productive multi-tasking, for example contributing ideas or responding to questions at the same time as we listen to a presentation? We call this Multi-tasking On Task. Register now for Friday December 17, our last webinar of the year. ]]> Are your teams connected for productivity or wired for distraction?

This free webinar takes a slightly different twist in the ongoing exploration of how to design highly interactive webinars and virtual meetings that keep people engaged. One of the biggest challenges facilitators and trainers face is the effect of participants multi-tasking on the productivity and creativity of the group. The first reaction is to think about how to STOP participants from multi-tasking so that they will focus on OUR agenda. But in this age of 24/7 information access and communication, wouldn’t it make more sense to design in productive multi-tasking, for example contributing ideas or responding to questions at the same time as we listen to a presentation? We call this Multi-tasking On Task. Register now for Friday December 17, our last webinar of the year.

]]> http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/12/last-webinar-for-the-year-in-our-designing-interactive-webinars-series/feed/ 1 Productivity in the Digital Age – Is your business wired for distraction? http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/12/productivity-in-the-digital-age-is-your-business-wired-for-distraction/ http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/12/productivity-in-the-digital-age-is-your-business-wired-for-distraction/#comments Thu, 02 Dec 2010 22:15:28 +0000 Julia Young http://facilitate.com/blog/?p=1698 Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction got me thinking about the impact in the business world of instant communication and the resulting tendency to multi-task. Here is my point counter-point on the subject.]]> A recent article in The NY Times about young people Growing up Digital, Wired for Distraction got me thinking about the impact in the business world of instant communication and the resulting tendency to multi-task. Here is my point counter-point on the subject.

]]> http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/12/productivity-in-the-digital-age-is-your-business-wired-for-distraction/feed/ 0 Select virtual meeting technology to support the group process, not the other way around http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/11/selecting-virtual-meeting-technology-for-interactive-meetings/ http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/11/selecting-virtual-meeting-technology-for-interactive-meetings/#comments Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:22:11 +0000 Julia Young http://facilitate.com/blog/?p=1645 Number One Challenge that facilitators and trainers have with virtual meetings and webinars is: How to keep participants engaged? I suggest that this is directly related to the Number One Trap that we fall into when moving from face-to-face to virtual events: starting with a piece of technology and then trying to make engagement happen. While technology can accelerate great communication, meeting effectiveness and virtual teamwork, it cannot create it. Rather we need to 1) start with our meeting or learning objectives, 2) understand the different types of interaction we are seeking to create during different parts of our agenda or process and then 3) select technology to support the desired interaction. In our workshops and webinars about leading virtual teams and getting great results from virtual meetings, we use the following schematic to discuss how to select virtual meeting technology to match the type of interaction we need. ]]> Remember that old piece of advice: Don’t put the cart before the horse? The Number One Challenge that facilitators and trainers have with virtual meetings and webinars is: How to keep participants engaged? I suggest that this is directly related to the Number One Trap that we fall into when moving from face-to-face to virtual events: starting with a piece of technology and then trying to make engagement happen. While technology can accelerate great communication, meeting effectiveness and virtual teamwork, it cannot create it. Rather we need to 1) start with our meeting or learning objectives, 2) understand the different types of interaction we are seeking to create during different parts of our agenda or process and then 3) select technology to support the desired interaction.

In our workshops and webinars about leading virtual teams and getting great results from virtual meetings, we use the following schematic to discuss how to select virtual meeting technology to match the type of interaction we need.

]]> http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/11/selecting-virtual-meeting-technology-for-interactive-meetings/feed/ 2 Good Meetings – Like Organizations – Are Guided by a Mission Statement http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/11/good-meetings-like-organizations-mission-statement/ http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/11/good-meetings-like-organizations-mission-statement/#comments Thu, 04 Nov 2010 23:45:00 +0000 Danuta McCall http://facilitate.com/blog/?p=1628 One way to know that you’ve arrived at the very essence of an issue or solution is when you can articulate it completely and accurately in very few words. That’s why good mission statements are short, some even crafted in a single phrase. One description I like is “short enough to remember, and strong enough to inspire”. And that’s why it sometimes takes a while to get it right.

]]> http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/11/good-meetings-like-organizations-mission-statement/feed/ 2 Discerning the Essential Skills for Leading Virtual Teams http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/10/skills-for-leading-virtual-meetings-and-virtual-teams/ http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/10/skills-for-leading-virtual-meetings-and-virtual-teams/#comments Fri, 15 Oct 2010 00:22:31 +0000 Nancy Settle-Murphy http://facilitate.com/blog/?p=1616 My friend and colleague Julia Young and I are collaborating closely –from 3,000 miles away–to create a blended (virtual, asynchronous and face to face) training program, Leading Virtual Teams, for a new client. As we interviewed a representative set of senior managers to better understand their challenges, we asked each one: Which is more critical for people to learn, how to plan and run more productive virtual meetings or how to lead successful virtual teams?

]]> http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/10/skills-for-leading-virtual-meetings-and-virtual-teams/feed/ 2 Engagement – Is It the Holy Grail of Virtual Meetings? http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/10/engagement-the-be-all-of-virtual-meetings/ http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/10/engagement-the-be-all-of-virtual-meetings/#comments Fri, 01 Oct 2010 20:18:01 +0000 Julia Young http://facilitate.com/blog/?p=1609 Is engagement, all the time, the goal? How, as facilitators, and participants, can we be totally comfortable with nil, or minimal engagement? If we had little engagement, then can a webinar still be successful (from the organizer's and the participant's point of view)? ]]> This is an open letter to my colleague Nigel, who participated recently in one of our “Designing Interactive Webinars” events. In the pre-work reflection, Nigel asked:

Is engagement, all the time, the goal? How, as facilitators, and participants, can we be totally comfortable with nil, or minimal engagement? If we had little engagement, then can a webinar still be successful (from the organizer’s and the participant’s point of view)?

]]> http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/10/engagement-the-be-all-of-virtual-meetings/feed/ 2 Unbeatable duo: New Orleans and the OD Network Conference http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/09/unbeatable-duo-new-orleans-and-the-od-network-conference/ http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/09/unbeatable-duo-new-orleans-and-the-od-network-conference/#comments Mon, 20 Sep 2010 21:15:52 +0000 Editor http://facilitate.com/blog/?p=1601 OD Network Conference video. An essential part of the event experience is interacting with the OD community that develops there. We want to help create that community by passing along this $100 discount. Use discount code DSGEN10 when you register on the Conference 2010 web site. ]]> This is just a quick reminder to all HR and OD professionals in our community. The OD Network Conference 2010 is taking place October 17-20 in New Orleans. Check out this quick video to get a taste of what’s in store: OD Network Conference video.

An essential part of the event experience is interacting with the OD community that develops there. We want to help create that community by passing along this $100 discount. Use discount code DSGEN10 when you register on the Conference 2010 web site.

]]> http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/09/unbeatable-duo-new-orleans-and-the-od-network-conference/feed/ 1 Make Virtual Meetings Worth Your Time – Join Us! http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/09/make-virtual-meetings-worth-your-time-join-us/ http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/09/make-virtual-meetings-worth-your-time-join-us/#comments Thu, 16 Sep 2010 22:13:08 +0000 Danuta McCall http://facilitate.com/blog/?p=1572 Over the past year we have been offering a free webinar series entitled “Designing Interactive Virtual Meetings and Webinars that Keep Participants Engaged”. Every webinar has been unique, as each group molds its session from the participants’ collective experience, creative thinking and interests. Two upcoming events cause us to reflect on how our thinking has evolved from running these dynamic, highly participatory open sessions. The first event is our next webinar, scheduled for next week on Thursday September 23 at 8 am PDT, 11am EDT, 3 PM UTC (register). This webinar is a warm-up for Julia Young’s interactive session “Getting Great Results from Virtual Meetings” at the upcoming OD Network Conference in New Orleans

We know that every successful meeting relies on a well-thought out objective, outcomes and agenda. And, good facilitation that engages participants in open, thoughtful thinking and learning But there are some especially gnarly challenges associated with meeting and collaborating remotely. We’ve created a conceptual structure to frame them for discussion called The Six Critical Success Factors.

Come join the evolving conversation! You will experience an interactive virtual event and help build solutions to one of the biggest challenges facing virtual teams today. Register here.

]]> Over the past year we have been offering a free webinar series entitled “Designing Interactive Virtual Meetings and Webinars that Keep Participants Engaged”. Every webinar has been unique, as each group molds its session from the participants’ collective experience, creative thinking and interests. Two upcoming events cause us to reflect on how our thinking has evolved from running these dynamic, highly participatory open sessions. The first event is our next webinar, scheduled for next week on Thursday September 23 at 8 am PDT, 11am EDT, 3 PM UTC (register). This webinar is a warm-up for Julia Young’s interactive session “Getting Great Results from Virtual Meetings” at the upcoming OD Network Conference in New Orleans

We know that every successful meeting relies on a well-thought out objective, outcomes and agenda. And, good facilitation that engages participants in open, thoughtful thinking and learning But there are some especially gnarly challenges associated with meeting and collaborating remotely. We’ve created a conceptual structure to frame them for discussion called The Six Critical Success Factors.

Come join the evolving conversation! You will experience an interactive virtual event and help build solutions to one of the biggest challenges facing virtual teams today. Register here.

]]> http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/09/make-virtual-meetings-worth-your-time-join-us/feed/ 1 The Art of Steering a Virtual Session http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/07/the-art-of-steering-a-virtual-session/ http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/07/the-art-of-steering-a-virtual-session/#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:50:36 +0000 Julia Young http://facilitate.com/blog/?p=1532 Recently I responded to a question from one of my LinkedIn professional groups. Someone asked: “During web conferences involving several locations, I often find myself sending SMS’s to my boss at the same time so as to steer or modify the meeting/discussion on the fly – does anybody else do this? Yes, indeed I do.

]]> http://facilitate.com/blog/index.php/2010/07/the-art-of-steering-a-virtual-session/feed/ 1