9 Steps to Leading a Successful Online Meeting

9 Steps to Leading a Successful Online Meeting Today, companies all around the world are embracing remote working environments. Distributed teams are having to consider how to build good working relationships with remote colleagues and how to collaborate effectively, including via online meetings.   Fortunately, distributed working doesn’t need to lead to disorganized meetings. With some preparation and a game plan, your team can have online meetings that are just as productive and collaborative as getting everyone in the same room. Here are a few tips for preparing, participating and following up on online meetings, so that communication is crystal clear and important details and tasks won’t fall through the cracks. Preparing for Online Meetings As the saying goes, “to be prepared is half the victory.” If you go into an online meeting with a gameplan, you’ll see better results during and after you meet. 1. Create an agenda One key part of meeting preparation is creating an agenda, which will help everyone come to the meeting on the same page and keep participants focused on priorities. A good agenda is less about your ability to lead an online meeting and more about fostering understanding for participants, especially people who aren’t in the same room, says Daniel Mittleman, associate professor at the DePaul University School of Computer Science, Telecommunications and Information Systems. They have no access to your nonverbal cues,” Mittleman writes. If there’s no agenda, they’re more likely to “lose place, lose focus and lose attention to the meeting. When putting together an agenda, make sure to: ask for input from those attending the meeting note any time a decision needs to be made if necessary, identify who will lead the discussion for each agenda item or topic leave room in the agenda for last-minute additions or questions. Your browser is not able to display frames. Please visit Weekly Strategy Meeting on MindMeister. 2. Use mind maps Mind maps can be a great way to record who’s attending and offer space for comments or ideas beforehand with branches that can link to relevant documents, action items or notes so everyone comes prepared. This can be a useful structure for online meetings that are a little more formal and require an exact record, which you can refer to later on. Shared mind maps can also be useful if you want your team or participants to brainstorm ideas in preparation for an online meeting, or in real-time during the meeting itself. 3. Prepare your space In March, you probably read about Robert Kelly, the South Korea expert whose kids crashed his BBC interview while he was live on air. Anyone who’s worked remotely before likely felt for him. Whether it’s a cat walking in front of your camera or a garbage truck coming down your street, distractions happen. You can’t prevent every mishap, but preparing your space beforehand can go a long way. Before the meeting, find a quiet environment where you can limit distractions. Use headphones to minimize background noise and prevent audio feedback. If you’re working with new conferencing software, do a test run before the online meeting begins.   Participating Like a Pro You’re all prepared and it’s meeting time. Here are a few tips to make sure your online meeting goes smoothly. 4. Slow and steady Keep the pace of your online meeting a bit slower than in-person meetings, suggests Susan Colaric, assistant vice president for Instructional Technology at Saint Leo University in Saint Leo, Florida.     “Video-conference meetings should actually move at a slightly slower pace than a typical meeting due to a two to three-second delay for most systems to communicate,” Colaric told Inc. “If youre leading the meeting, make sure there are sufficient pauses after asking a question. If you are a participant, bring attention to yourself before addressing the group by signaling with your hand or saying question or comment and then waiting a couple seconds before continuing. 5. Use your words. If you’re not sharing your screen and need to describe something remote participants can’t see, try to be extra descriptive. This will help you communicate clearly and effectively. “We describe all of our visual designs using words,” according to 18F, the digital service agency for the U.S. government. “This might seem intuitive, but when your coworkers can’t see your computer screen, it’s particularly important to make sure you’re describing what you see. (For example, we encourage folks to use titles of page components and other descriptors to help collaborators more easily locate what a person is talking about (the blue “Get Started” button with the white text, below and to the right of the hero image, etc.))” Efficient meetings with mind maps Sign-up for MindMeister Sign-up for MindMeister 6. Take great notes. Good note-taking is something all meetings can benefit from, and there are lots of ways to take useful notes. If you want to take shared notes during an in-person meeting, you may well turn to a whiteboard. For online meetings, you can get a similar effect with online mind maps, which allow everyone to see and add to the notes as new ideas come up, in real-time. It’s a great way to keep everyone engaged, create more clarity and get input from all team members involved. After the Meeting You did it! Meeting adjournedalmost. Here are a few things you can do at the end of an online meeting (and beyond) to maintain clear communication from everyone involved. 7. Recap before you’re done. When the meeting’s about to end, have everyone recap the action items that they’re responsible for. This is a way to make sure everyone understands who’s tackling what and  ensure accountability. That extra clarity is especially helpful when you can’t see facial expressions or body language. 8. Save your debrief for later. Especially if you just finished a high-stakes meeting, often our first reaction is to immediately debrief with colleagues. Hold off until you’re out of the room, though. You’d never want remote attendees to overhear something you didn’t mean to share because they hadn’t left the video conference yet. As a general rule, wait until you’re out of the room to discuss anything that occurred. 9. Share notes. Remember those great notes you took? Make sure everyone involved has access to them. This can be another great way to create a shared understanding of what was decided, who’s responsible for what action items and what to follow up on in the future. If youre using a mind map to take meeting notes, with MindMeister you can invite attendees to collaborate via a shared link or email invitation, so you can edit, comment and feedback, all in real-time. The goals for online meetings are no different than in-person meetings: communicate clearly so you can make decisions that move your organization forward. When your meeting is remote, you just need to make a few adjustments to achieve that goal. By preparing properly, participating fully and following up, your online meetings can be just as successful as sitting in a room together. If you have any comments, questions or meeting tips, it would be great to hear them in the comment section below! Meeting management with mind maps Discover MindMeister Discover MindMeister

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What Are the Benefits of Strategy Planning - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 767 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/09/21 Category Business Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? What Are the Benefits of Strategy Planning? The benefits of strategic planning can include: †¢Identification of breakthrough strategies, products and operational improvements †¢A clear road map is that is understood and passionately supported †¢Resources that are allocated as appropriate on top priorities †¢Goals that are developed based on solid research and a common understanding †¢Goals that are aligned throughout the organization †¢Employees who are focused, engaged,, empowered and inspired †¢Improvement and investment initiatives that are focused on top priorities †¢Risks and threats that are systematically identified and addressed If strategic planning is conducted poorly it may be nothing more than a game of politics. Some managers try to look smart, do what they can to get promoted and/or protect their silos. This type of an exercise should be called political positioning as opposed to strategic planning. Instead of bringing people together towards a compelling vision and a smart strategy, it creates discord and points the organization in the direction of failure. What is Strategic Planning? Lets start by separating strategy from planning. Simply put, strategy is about making decisions. It is about trade-offs. Strategy is deciding how to focus, how to be the best, how to be different, and how to best pursue opportunities. Planning is the process of deciding what actions are needed to achieve the vision. Five-Year Study Jim Collins led a five-year study in which he and his team scoured a list of 1,435 established companies to find every extraordinary case that made a leap from average results to great results. To qualify, a company had o generate cumulative stock returns that exceeded the general stock market by at least three times over 15 years. The 11 good-to-great companies that we found averaged returns 6. 9 times greater than the markets. There was no miracle moment. Instead, a down-to-earth, pragmatic, committed-to-excellence process a framework kept each company, its leaders, and its people on track for the long haul. In each case, it was victory of steadfast discipline over the quick fix. When people begin to feel the magic of momentum when they begin to see tangible results and can feel the flywheel start to build speed thats when they line up, throw their shoulders to the wheel, and push. And thats how change really happens. Some of the keys to success were: †¢Getting disciplined people †¢Focusing on disciplined thought †¢Confronting brutal facts †¢Being clear about passions, capacities, and opportunities †¢Establishing a culture of discipline †¢Building a culture of greatness to last Jim states, After five years of research, Im absolutely convinced that if we just focus our attention on the right things and stop doing the senseless things that consume so much time and energy we can create a powerful Flywheel Effect without in creasing the number of hours we work. Does this point to the substantive benefits of strategic planning? Apple It is intriguing to learn about Steve Jobs and what has made him so successful. The response is, there are many, but it starts with (a) focus and a near-religious faith in his strategy. The benefits of strategic planning within Apple are obvious. Managers Dont Focus on Strategy A Harvard Business Review article in February 2002, Beware the Busy Manager summarizes a ten-year management study. The findings were that fully 90% of managers squander their time in all sorts of ineffective activities. In other words, a mere 10% of managers spend their time in a committed, purposeful, and reflective manner. A Franklin Covey study evaluated the characteristics of 52,000 managers across hundreds of organizations. More than 400,000 of the managers associates were asked to rank the managers. The areas where managers scored the lowest included: †¢Prioritizing work so time is sp ent on most important strategic issues †¢Providing clear expectations with employees that align to the strategy †¢Providing feedback on how to improve †¢Building teamwork by maximizing the talents of the workgroup An Inordinate Amount of Time Wasted Because of Poor Strategic Planning Franklin Covey conducted a study that focused on 850 workers from many different companies and found that these workers typically spend 40% of their time on tasks related to the organizations mission-critical objectives. Employees Want Strategy Gallup conducted a study of more than 80,000 managers in 400 companies to determine the most successful managerial behaviors. From that study, they drilled in on 12 key focus areas or traits that best correlate with business success. These include: †¢Aligning each employee with the mission †¢Letting employees know what is expected †¢Tapping into the talents of employee †¢Talking with the employee about their progress For fre e articles and resources on strategy development, strategic planning strategic management visit https://strategic-planning-resources. com Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "What Are the Benefits of Strategy Planning?" essay for you Create order

An Arguement Against Peter Singer’s Famine, Aflunity, and Influence Free Essays

In his paper â€Å"Famine, Affluence, and Morality† Peter Singer argues that a lack of benevolence from affluent countries to people suffering from poverty in other countries is unjustified and is comparable to doing nothing if one sees a baby drowning in water a few feet away. In the following paper I will discuss how residing in an affluent country does not put individuals under obligation to donate, and the efforts that are already made by individuals and governments in affluent countries are sufficient enough to be considered benevolent. I will present the following arguments to provide reasoning for this. We will write a custom essay sample on An Arguement Against Peter Singer’s Famine, Aflunity, and Influence or any similar topic only for you Order Now First I will explain how singers drowning baby analogy fails to make a proper comparison to donating. Second, I will show how the assumed responsibility that affluent country should give to the needy is flawed. Third will discuss how donating may actually be counterproductive in the long term. Lastly I will give a comparison towards donating to poverty is no better or more beneficial to donating to crime prevention. The main concern addressed in this essay is the analogy Singer makes when he compares the ease of saving a drowning baby to the ease of making a donation to a country in poverty (Singer, par. 6). Singer’s analogy is only correct on the basis that the baby and people living in poverty are both in circumstances out of their control. The difference though, is that the baby he describes is moments away from death, while people living in poverty are mostly not on the brink of death. I believe the vast majority of people would save the baby, yet only a small percentage of people will take the time to donate. Furthermore, I rule out Singer’s argument for proximity (par. 8). Walking around a city like Toronto, one may walk right past homeless people in very dire circumstances, and many people still do not bother to give any assistance. Thus, since being in a very close proximity will usually not yield a donation, in most likelihood, witnessing someone very close to death is probably the best way to evoke enough emotion for an individual to make a donation. Another flaw in Singers paper is that he makes the argument in his thesis that affluent countries should be responsible for countries that are in poverty (par. 3). By being in a â€Å"global village† as singer puts it, then a logical thing to do is donate to country that has the most poverty. Looked at another way we already donate through the government. Foreign aid comes from our tax dollars. So, in essence we are donating, but the government takes care of all the work. I call this the apathetic donor. In contrast though, Canada is considered a very affluent country yet still has small but significant part of its population below the poverty line. An argument could easily be made that a priority should be placed towards the homeless and people living below the poverty line within Canada first. Once dealt with properly, giving the remains out to the rest of the needy world will follow. If Canada cannot take care of the suffering within its own borders, then its priorities should be reviewed. Lastly, if I was forced into a situation to give to a Canadian living in poverty or someone in a foreign country I would place a priority on someone within Canada. A consequence of giving to countries in poverty may actually cause more poverty. Singer claims that the morally right thing to do is to avoid suffering (par. 6). Yet, by donating to a country in need of food that has a significantly fast population growth rate will lead to future famine. The world simply cannot sustain continued population growth. For example Pakistan has a significant part of its population living in poverty and has a high birth rate. At the same time Pakistan has a space program in place. As a result it appears that Pakistan finds space technology is more important than feeding its poor. Additionally, many nations in Africa have been getting foreign aid for decades yet most of these countries remain poor. If donations must be made, the most good that can come from it would be to see my money go towards helping a government get itself prioritized, and certain that the money goes to where it is intended, not the corrupt politicians or leaders that have no care for the suffering. A fair extension of Singer’s argument would be to donate money to stopping violent crime or terrorism around the world. Crime results in the death of good and innocent people just like famine. Also, many people are born into crime countries or situations out of their control much like poverty. Dealing with organized crime in a poor country would certainly save lives, just as dealing with poverty. Also, an individual would be more motivated to take action to donate through fear than sympathy. As noted previously, seeing my money go towards a controllable situation such as crime within my own country of Canada would be a more worthwhile and pragmatic investment. Donating to crime prevention in Canada would naturally have a much more beneficial effect for me than giving my money to a foreign nation. Essentially various forms of any crime left unabated in Canada are more likely to spread out affect me at home than a person in poverty in a foreign country. In conclusion, I believe the reasons given refuting Peter Singer’s paper show that donating to people in poverty, and the need to change our moral conceptual scheme is unnecessary in our affluent society. His attempt to evoke an emotional and sympathetic response in the reader by describing the mental image of a drowning baby only hurts his attempt to convince a rational person to donate. Also, if I do choose to donate, does this make me less charitable to donate to someone within my own country, while there may someone needier in another country? Is donating at all even justifiable? especially when some countries only seem to be getting worse off with runaway birthrates, and with corrupt leaders not doing what’s best for their nation. If I was forced into a situation to choose between putting aside money for myself, my family’s future, or giving it to someone whom I’ve never met in a situation less desirable than mine, the choice is easy and clear. How to cite An Arguement Against Peter Singer’s Famine, Aflunity, and Influence, Essay examples

Adapting A Style Writing For A General Audience free essay sample

Technical subjects make use of jargons which the average individual may not be aware of. The technical terms used in these subjects need to be rewritten or described in simpler ways so that people with no background on these subjects will be able to understand their meaning with minimal difficulty. If the aim is to make a technical piece of writing available for general audience reading, it is therefore important to avoid using heavy words and to keep away from writing lengthy sentences that only further increases the difficulty level of the reading material. Apparently, toning down the complexity of specialized writings does not mean doing so at the expense of the quality of the content. The trick is to write in layman’s terms without sacrificing the message in the medium. First, the technical terms should be substituted with terms that are more commonly used in everyday conversation. Synonyms can be used to achieve that end. We will write a custom essay sample on Adapting A Style: Writing For A General Audience or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In cases when synonyms do not apply, technical terms can be described using key concepts that the average individual can relate to with ease. While lexical definitions can also be technical in nature to a certain extent, they can also provide easy recognition on the part of the intended audience. Comparing technical terms with widely used descriptive phrases can also be a way to transform jargons into terms that the general audience can easily understand. The idea is to lessen the complexity of the terms involved through several linguistic devices so that technical barriers, so to speak, can be minimized or removed. Second, the length of sentences should be short but concise so that it will not bore the reader and it will still maintain the essence of the message. In writing for a general audience, compound-complex sentences should be avoided as much as possible so that readers will not lose sight of the flow of the discussion. It is important to break down complex sentences into simpler ones so that general readers are able to keep track of the written ideas. Basic sentence structure will suffice in creating succinct sentences that are not only reader-friendly but also direct to the point. For instance, a simple sentence composed of not more than ten or twenty words is sufficient enough to maintain the focus of the reader. Third, paragraphs should be relatively shorter than those found in special interest publications. A paragraph of four to six sentences—a topic sentence at the beginning, two to four supporting sentences in the middle, and a concluding or summary sentence at the end—will do. It is important to devote one key idea to one paragraph so that readers will not get confused about the separate points being addressed. Incorporating several key ideas into a single paragraph can only lengthen the entire paragraph and, therefore, baffle the reader as to what exactly the paragraph is meant to convey. Keeping paragraphs shorter is one way to prevent alienating the reader from the reading material tackling a purely technical subject. Lastly, the article should make use of an interesting introduction that will capture the reader’s attention. The introduction can be in the form of an anecdote or an intriguing story that is related to the subject of the article. The technical topic of the article should not be immediately exposed, so to speak, in the first few sentences of the introduction so that the readers will not hesitate to continue reading the rest of the article. The introductory anecdote or story can be reiterated in the concluding or closing paragraphs so that the readers will be encouraged to treat the subject as a light issue that any person can understand and not as a form of mental torture that only elite people can comprehend.

John Quincy Adams Essays (876 words) - Adams Family,

John Quincy Adams Hello, I'm John Quincy Adams. I grew up in Braintree, Massachusetts, and when I became an adult I traveled with my father on his diplomatic missions until I became interested in political journalism at Harvard and eventually became he sixth president of the United States. During my lifetime, from 1767 to 1848, the United States was desperately trying to make allies, as the country was in it's infancy. I followed my father's footsteps, as I was working in foreign relations before I became President. I have experienced many great events, such as when I was appointed as minister to the Netherlands, a mere three days later I witnessed the French invade the country and overthrow the Dutch Republic. This was thought of by many as an attempt for the French to show the United States how strong it was, without exerting any force on them at all. On a different occasion, when I was appointed minister to Russia, I was the leading negotiator for the Treaty of Ghent with the British, which ended t he War of 1812. These negotiations gained respect for the United States and me as a diplomat. I am a likable person wherever I go. When I was a kid, our family was very closely knit, as we all helped manage the farm, except for my dad, who was usually away in foreign countries. This didn't affect me very much since I joined up with him when I was 11 on his operations after my persistent asking. As President, I worked scrupulously to work out problems and provide leadership for the country. This was acknowledged by my fellow officials in office and by the country, as I'm thought of as a person with integrity and honesty. Louisa Catherine Adams, my wife, holds a special place in my heart. She has always been trustworthy and nice. As a child she had to deal with ill health frequently, (which often recurs), and as First Lady she held brilliant parties for my Cabinet and friends. Louisa and I had four children, but sadly they all died before they could have children of their own, all for various reasons. My only real enemy to speak of is Andrew Jackson. Before my administration, Jackson and his followers accused me of promising Henry Clay a cabinet post in return for his support. After I was elected, and I appointed Clay Secretary of State, Jackson's strong followers in Congress called it a 'corrupt bargain'. This dispute forever split the Democratic-Republican Party, and mine is now known as the National Republicans. Throughout my life in politics, I was just concerned with providing the country with leadership to the best of my ability. I realized all my actions would influence everyone after me, so it wasn't just my administration I was providing for. I'm very fortunate to have a father like I did. I didn't have very many obstacles to overcome on my way into the White House, since my father really led me into position, right up to his support for me as President, which influenced even more people to vote for me. I consider the split of the parties an obstacle to overcome since if it weren't for the intense campaigning afterward, I probably wouldn't have been elected since I lost much support from that event. Nothing is really funny in my life since I am often saddened by my wife's frequent illnesses and charges from Jackson. Throughout my life in politics, it has usually just been being a different minister for a different country before settling in the White House. I have often been misunderstood, due to the fact of my philosophy to change things for the better, which the people of this country aren't always ready for. For instance, at my inaugural speech in front of Congress, I proposed a plan for national improvements, such as highways, universities, and weather stations. They didn't buy into it, but I have a feeling they will realize one day that it needs to be done, but it's a shame not I don't think they will in my lifetime. If I had my life to do over again, I would probably not have appointed Henry

Free Essays on Sidney Sheldons Books

in his book which in fact the cause of why other reader’s don’t like its book. But if you base the book by literature, you’ll find out its really a good and an entertaining story to read METHODOLOGY: Our group created a survey of how Sheldon’s books for readers of different ages by letting them answer in YES or NO. YES if they like the book and NO if not.... Free Essays on Sidney Sheldon's Books Free Essays on Sidney Sheldon's Books †SIDNEY SHELDON’S BOOKS† SIGNIFICANCE: Sidney Sheldon’s books are one of the famous and best sellers. Sidney uses fine words of literature for better use of English for the readers. It is also written in a simple in a way that the readers of his book can easily understand the story. It also increases the reader’s vocabulary for there is words you don’t usually encounter. Some readers are only reading Sheldon’s books because of its eroticism; however, some are reading it for past time or for learning better English. OBJECTIVES: a. Broaden your knowledge, and skill in speaking English. b. Sharpens your memory. c. To help others develop interests in literature d. Give young readers an idea about the world they are going to face. PROBLEM: â€Å"Why do others like Sheldon’s books and others don’t?† HYPOTHESIS: Other readers do not like the way Sheldon explains his story while for others like it because they say they read it for fun. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE: Sheldon books are both fictional and romantic. Other reader’s especially older readers do not like it because of how the author explains his story in the book, while some younger reader’s like it. Sheldon expresses erotic words in his book which in fact the cause of why other reader’s don’t like its book. But if you base the book by literature, you’ll find out its really a good and an entertaining story to read METHODOLOGY: Our group created a survey of how Sheldon’s books for readers of different ages by letting them answer in YES or NO. YES if they like the book and NO if not....