Hello everyone, my name is Emily Rangel, and I am a student at California State University Monterey Bay CSUMB. I am currently going into my senior year and working as an NPC intern through my field training program in Collaborative Human and Health Services.
This Weeks blog will cover how to continue to hold meetings virtually and how we can effectively improve interaction with one another. In Nonprofit AF, Vu Le published his blog piece “12 New Rules for Virtual Meetings Since We’re Still In a Pandemic”. This blog discusses 12 creative rules to continue virtual meet professionally. While mask mandates have recently been lifted and more employers have begun in-person meetings, many organizations have found ease and accessibility in virtual meetings, not to mention the recent rise in gas prices, making commuting much less appealing and cost accessible.
I encourage you all to read Vu’s full blog HERE since I will be touching on some main points. The first rule addressed is the normalization of eating on camera or during a meeting. While before the pandemic, snacks and waters were something found in meeting rooms, transitioning to meeting from home means access to a full pantry. I agree with Vu that eating during a meeting should be normalized. Many of us are humans who now have increased workloads and are jumping into back-to-back meetings; as long as we are not speaking with our mouths full and have our microphones muted, it should not affect others. Another rule created by Vu includes reducing meeting times and ending meetings early. Since transitions to virtual meetings, I have personally noticed that many of us feel guilty about ending a session early. However, as long as the meeting covers the discussion agenda, meetings can and should be ended early.
Adding on the rules already shared, let’s discuss behaviors in virtual meetings. For many before the pandemic, commuting to work and arriving late to meetings was considered unprofessional but at times justified with traffic or accidents that may have occurred on the road. However, with modern virtual meetings, timing and coordination have been more manageable. Vu suggests waiting 90 seconds from the start time of the meeting to begin; after that, those who enter the meeting late can do so quietly as not to interrupt. Furthermore, Vu asks those engaging in virtual meetings not to judge the backgrounds of meeting areas. Personally, as a student, I struggle with this since I do not have the luxury of having a home office or even room for a desk in my bedroom. For virtual meetings, I find myself testing new backgrounds or trying to find a blank wall in my home. Overall we are continuing to adapt and improve our virtual meetings. What are some rules in your virtual meeting rooms? What rule do you feel should be implicated? Furthermore, how many of you take breaks in-between meetings?