Online board meetings can be an ideal option for nonprofit boards who are unable or not willing to meet in person due to geographic limitations, travel costs or a busy schedule. They can be challenging to run in a productive way, and make sure everyone is engaged and included. Implementing some of the best practices can make these virtual meetings more efficient and effective.
Clearly communicate meeting materials to board members in advance to allow them to read and answer questions prior to the conference call. This allows the meeting to accelerate, stay focused and generate better insights. Mentimeter is a powerful presentation tool that enables you to gather important information from the participants through interactive http://boardmgmt.net/ways-of-increasing-productivity-and-decreasing-administrative-burden-for-a-manager visuals. The information will be included in the minutes of the meeting, providing an archive that can be referred to years down the road.
Encourage participants to use the camera features of their device to ensure that they can see each other. This helps keep everyone interested. Also, establish guidelines that allow everyone to take part in the meeting equally, for example, the chair asking for a raise hand to recognize the speaker or asking for people to use their mute buttons when they are not speaking. It is also a good idea to limit meetings to 90 minutes and avoid scheduling meetings around meal times to stop people from eating food in front of cameras.
Develop specific discussion topics that include time limits for each item, which will give directors a sense of urgency to address items that are on the agenda. This will also boost productivity. In addition, focusing on specific topic areas will reduce distractions that can happen during in-person meetings like chatting with other directors or checking emails.
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