Hybrid meetings can be awkward, but they don’t have to be! Below, we’ve shared some tips for eliminating awkward camera angles, fostering maximum collaboration, and creating an equitable meeting experience for all.
Before getting started…
Before you schedule a meeting, you should ask yourself this: Am I trying to have an intimate conversation or a hybrid meeting? Zoom is awesome, as it allows us to bring together people from distant locations, but Zoom Rooms don’t perfectly mimic real-life settings – I mean, how could they?
If the goal of your meeting is to develop a personal connection between participants, having your meeting in a face-to-face setting is probably best. However, if a Zoom meeting seems appropriate, the tips that we’ve shared below can help you to ensure its success.
Set the expectation.
When you send out your meeting invite, be sure to set the expectation for the gathering. Let your invitees know the structure of the meeting and be clear about how remote and in-office attendees will be expected to participate.
Keep things small.
Your hybrid meeting should be held in a small room with a limited number of participants. Small rooms with multiple cameras and the correct furniture setup allow every face in the room to be captured and seen by at-home attendees.
Additionally, your meeting’s remote participants should be equal to or greater than those in-person, and your in-person group shouldn’t be larger than four.
Semi-circle tables are your friend.
A conference room with a semi-circle table can be a gamechanger. They enable you to make eye contact with everyone around you, as well as with those on the conference room screen.
Another perk: these tables help to eliminate unwanted side conversations.
Bring your own laptop.
Bring your own laptop to a meeting and put yourself on mute. Doing this enables those participants that aren’t physically present at the office to see your face, read your expressions, and better understand the meeting’s nuances.
Get creative with your cameras.
What types of meetings do you have? Are you a big whiteboard user? Do you brainstorm on butcher paper? Your cameras should match your meeting style. Multiple cameras will be great for most, and ceiling cameras that provide a birds-eye view can be useful for others.
Looking to learn more about hybrid work? Check out our past blog posts: