Like it or not, hybrid meetings (some people in a room together and others logging in virtually) seem to be here to stay. We’ve all gone from “I’d better learn to use Zoom” to clicking on Join Meeting in our sleep. However, mastery of the software doesn’t mean mastery of the process of planning and...
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One lasting effect of the pandemic has been an upheaval in people’s expectations of where and how they work. Job-seekers are targeting remote-only positions that give them the freedom to search for employment across the country or even globally and to work from wherever they are. Long-term employees are negotiating with their companies to stay...
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In other blog posts, we’ve been talking about hybrid meetings: how to lead them successfully, how to practice good participation behaviors, and even how to dress and set up your space to look professional on Zoom. This led us to think about what an organization’s leaders can do to ensure an efficient, effective, and equitable...
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In our first post on hybrid meetings, we talked about best practices for managing focus when leading meetings with some people in the room and others participating remotely. But even if you’re not in the leadership role, you contribute to the efficiency and effectiveness of the hybrid meetings you attend. If you don’t make these...
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One of the many interesting observations from the pandemic is the evolution of people’s Zoom backgrounds. Initially, everyone was excited to play with the virtual backgrounds available online. I saw people log in from virtual versions of a dive bar, Versailles, and the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. Eventually, talking to colleagues who were literally...
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One thing the pandemic has shown is that people can work efficiently from home. A lot of major corporations, including Salesforce, Google, and Amazon, are working on a “hybrid” model that combines working in the office with working at home—either on a fixed schedule or as determined by the workload and need for in-person collaboration. The number of challenges...
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We spend a lot of time helping people succeed as trainers, meeting facilitators, and presenters. That work focuses on helping people initiate and manage the conversation that takes place in each of these settings. What we rarely focus on is the role of the people receiving the training, participating in the meeting, or listening to...
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Recently we delivered a workshop for a group of staff members at a Big Ten university. The group was made up of leaders from various parts of the university’s expansive library. They were a fascinating group with truly interesting jobs. These individuals had been asked to meet with small groups of university donors in hopes...
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A wise learner once said, “Sometimes you just have to shift gears.” This advice came from a leader participating in a presentation skills workshop with members of his team. The client was in the financial services industry. Their presentations to clients included a LOT of highly complex, technical information. They faced two challenges. First,...
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We learn a lot from the people we work with. Recently, on the last day of a workshop, one of our learners said that the most important thing he took from the class was that “Anyone can be more effective with time.” When he made this comment, he was talking about pausing long enough to...
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