By now, we have all mastered the art of the zoom virtual meeting. We know breakout rooms and polling questions. Some of us even got fancy and figured out emoji reactions, virtual backgrounds, and video filters. But what about doing a ‘hybrid’ meeting where...
-Some folks are in the room
-Some join virtually
Read below for some ‘pro tips’ gathered from Committees and staff around the mission on the benefit of embracing a hybrid meeting and doing it well! It requires more than a laptop sitting on a conference table but less than a $1,000 investment from your local area budget!
A few principles that apply to any good meeting regardless of the platform:
Did you value people’s time?
Did you get something done?
How did people feel when they left?
It seems easy to pull these things off in person, but harder to do in a virtual setting and even more difficult if you’re doing anything hybrid. With the busyness of the current culture and the significant challenge of getting everyone in the same room at the same time, there are some obvious benefits to having a hybrid option.
Flexibility: accessibility allows more of your team to attend in the midst of busy schedules/travel
Invite List: Hybrid opens the door to invite other guests and more diverse voices to your meeting.
Save Time & Money: Although in-person is better, the hybrid option provides a saving of time and money. Win-Win!
To move from hosting a ho-hum video conference call where some join remotely and are relegated to a 1 inch square on your phone or iPad, there are a few investments you can make listed below that will increase participation and engagement.
First, a few reminders:
Sound quality is key: making sure that folks joining virtually can hear everyone when they speak makes people feel like they are a part of the meeting.
Good video: Plan on setting up a large TV or screen so that the participants joining via zoom/video are able to be seen by the participants in the physical room.
Interaction: The host of the meeting needs to remember to engage in-person and virtual participants.
BELOW ARE LINKS TO ALL THE ITEMS YOU NEED FOR HOSTING ANY HYBRID MEETING:
Large monitor, flat screen or Portable projector $68
OTHER ACCESSORIES IF NEEDED-
Luke Feather, lfeather@grandvalley.younglife.org, Area Director, Grand Junction, Colorado