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Remote meetings don’t always work out as planned, mostly because of the ebbs and flows of team engagement. Harvard Business Review notes in an article on running a great virtual meeting that productivity is likely to dip due to lack of focus and preparation on the part of the organizer, attempts at multitasking among team members, and one or two attendees dominating the meeting. These, in turn, can cause engagement to wane. Given these potential scenarios, it’s imperative that you make your remote meetings as engaging as possible to ensure maximum productivity. The following tips will help you do that.

Whether you’ve started remote work by choice, or you’ve been forced to start because of COVID-19, it takes some getting used to. While working from home does have perks, you also have to deal with new distractions and challenges. When you make the switch, you’ll want to set up a workspace and establish a schedule for yourself so you can stay on task. These resources can help you get started.

The creative process mystifies us. It draws on the subconscious, experience, connections, imagination. We believe it's a profoundly individual experience.

We've been living with information overload from our computers and smartphones for long enough that studies are beginning to draw conclusions that are a bit worrisome.

Up until a few years ago, those of us who are professional facilitators were considered to be a breed apart.

We own our experiences. It has to do with creating authentic interaction by taking responsibility for your own feelings and not blaming others. And making goals that represent your values. And being good stewards of your time.

We've all been in meetings where some people hold forth with gusto and others listen carefully, but say nothing. We suspect that the quiet ones have a lot to contribute, and we wish that the enthusiastic meeting orators would give them some space to speak up.

If solving problems or generating high quality ideas are among your primary meeting goals, which of the many meeting modes available in today’s technological world should you choose to achieve optimal success? Face to face?

Most workers today lead, manage, or collaborate with people they do not see on a regular basis. There are many good business reasons for the everincreasing geographic distribution of organizations: the desire to be close to customers and emerging markets, outsourcing/off-shoring, mergers and acquisitions, business continuity/disaster recovery, the need to access top talent from around the world, and more.

Can webconferences, videoconferences and other virtual meetings really take the place of face-to-face contact? With travel budgets slashed in the wake of recessionary belt-tightening, companies are increasingly turning to technology as a substitute for in-person contact.