Build a cohesive and high-performing virtual team with this fantastic resource full of actionable advice and practical tips Engaging Virtual Meetings: Openers, Games, and Activities for Communication, Morale, and Trust offers concrete strategies and practical tips for bringing teams together across the digital divide. While many struggle to build teams in a virtual environment, accomplished author John Chen has found ways to create team cohesion, promote engagement, and increase virtual participation. In Engaging Virtual Meetings, he shares these methods with you, and also: Describes virtual tools for promoting effective teamwork, like the Participant Map Teaches you to optimize your teleconference setup for ideal audio and video Illustrates ways to apply these methods in any virtual environment, including Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and more Explores how to debrief your participants to improve your methods over time Perfect for anyone working in or with the increasingly prevalent virtual environment, Engaging Virtual Meetings is a great addition to the bookshelves of anyone interested in how to create and build engagement in team settings of all kinds.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments xi Introduction: Virtual Meetings Don’t Have to Suck xv By Ed Cohen Part 1 Principles and Preparation for Engaging Virtual Meetings 1 Chapter 1 The ENGAGE Method for Leading Great Meetings 3 A Brief Overview of the ENGAGE Method 3 The ENGAGE Method in Depth 5 Check-in 5 Chapter 2 Preparing for Virtual Meetings 15 Good Looks—The Virtual Presence Primer 15 The Engaging Virtual Meeting Speaker Checklist 19 Chapter 3 Psychological Safety: How to Get the Quiet Attendees (and everyone else) to Engage 25 Chapter 4 Managing Participants 31 Mute and Unmute Audio and Video 31 Make Host 34 Make Co-Host 35 Rename 36 Mute All 36 Unmute All 37 Mute/Unmute Participants on Entry 38 Disallow/Allow Participants to Unmute Themselves 39 Remove 41 Raise Hand 42 Yes/No 43 Go Slower/Go Faster 44 Dislike/Like 45 Clap 46 Need a Break 47 Away 48 Clear All 49 Chapter 5 Virtual Engagement Tools 51 Chat 52 Private Chat 53 Breakouts 55 Reactions 62 Record 64 Share Video 64 Share Whiteboard 67 Share iPhone/iPad 69 Polling 74 Company-Wide Chat (only available in Microsoft Teams) 81 Channels (only available in Microsoft Teams) 82 Teams Apps (only available in Microsoft Teams) 83 Chapter 6 Security 85 Require Passwords 86 Turn Screen Sharing Off 88 Enable the Waiting Room 90 Require Registration 95 Lock Your Meeting 96 Control Your Meeting’s Chat 97 Secure File Transfer 97 Part 2 Openers, Games, and Activities for Communication, Morale, and Trust 101 Chapter 7 Openers 103 Why Use Openers? 103 Open with a Check-in Question 106 Check-in 107 Video Openers 110 Matching and Mirroring Openers 113 Virtual Meeting Nametag Openers 118 Chat Openers 121 Chapter 8 Activities for Communication, Morale, and Trust 125 “Yes, and . . .”—Accept Attendees’ Ideas and Improve Communication 126 Three-Headed Consultant—Communicating One Word at a Time 127 A to Z—Teaching Why Your Meeting Needs a System 128 Alpha Names—A Networking Activity to Learn Everyone’s Name 129 Last Team Texting—Sharing Valuable Information 131 PechaKucha (peh-chak-cha)—Present in Just 6 Minutes 40 Seconds 133 PowerPoint Karaoke—Improving Improvisation 134 Blind Tangrams—Do Not Assume in Your Communication 135 Broken Squares—Giving is Better Than Getting for Engaging Meetings 137 Trust Grid—Mapping and Improving Trust 139 The Johari Window—Discover Attendee Blind Spots 142 1 CACHE—Make Decisions Faster and Stick Longer 144 Chapter 9 Collab—Work Well with Others 149 Simultaneous Editing—Creating a Case Study 150 Towers of Hanoi—Build a Tower, Build a Team 152 Grid Unlock—How to Work Together to Solve Problems 153 Meeting Mine Field—Collaborating to Complete a Goal 155 Poll Survivor—Setting Meeting Priorities and Making Hard Decisions 157 Chapter 10 End Your Meeting on a High Note 161 Applause—Celebrating Together 162 Kudos—Acknowledging Attendees 162 I Commit . . .—Public Commitment to Change 163 Just Three Words—Powerful Closure Quickly 164 Call and Response—High Energy, Engaging All 165 The Last Word—The Final Statement of Your Meeting 166 Draw—A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words 167 Q&A—Questions and Answers 169 After Hours—The Party After the Party 169 One Thing Better—Improving 1% at a Time 170 Plus-Delta—What Did You Like? What Could Be Even Better? 173 WWW—What, So What, Now What? 174 Chapter 11 Fun and Games for High-Performing Teams 175 Happy Hour—Share a Beverage Together 177 Charades—Improving Your Nonverbal Communication 179 Reverse Charades—Improving Everybody’s Nonverbal Communication 179 Hat Day—Fun on Your Head 180 Pajama Day—Work in Your Jammies 182 Virtual Backgrounds—Your Setting Can Create Pure Laughs to Serious Business 183 Yoga—Stretch and Breathe 187 Dance Party—Freedom of Creativity 189 Karaoke—Sing a Song 192 Book Club—You Get a Book 195 Movie Night—Better Than the Drive-in 197 Talent Show—Your Meeting’s Got Talent 198 Dinner Party—Celebrate and Learn More About Each Other 198 Trivia Night—What Do You Know? 199 Where in the World—International Networking 200 Memory Match Breakouts—Learn Where to Look 202 Poker Tournament—I’m All In! 202 Chapter 12 Innovation 205 100 Uses—Use Something in Ways Not Intended 206 Post-its—Virtual Brainstorming 206 Add One Line—Adding Creativity 207 Move One Line—Creativity with More Than One Solution 210 License Plates—Innovative Communication with Few Characters 213 Office Move—Working Together to Switch Places 214 Part 3 Leading Large Virtual Meetings and Conferences 219 Chapter 13 Tips for Presenters, Trainers, and Sales 221 Engage and Interact with Every Attendee 221 Never Lead a Meeting Alone 222 Good Looks 224 Air Traffic Control 227 Get Productive with Virtual Tools 228 End Your Meeting on a High Note 232 An Example: Engaging Virtual Meetings Training 233 Chapter 14 Tips for Emceeing and Hosting 235 Engage and Interact with Every Attendee 235 Never Lead a Meeting Alone 236 Good Looks 236 Air Traffic Control 236 Get Productive with Virtual Tools 236 End Your Meeting on a High Note 236 Chapter 15 How to Run a Virtual Workshop or Conference 239 Tips for High-Stakes Meetings and Board Retreats 239 Hybrid Board Retreat Tips 240 The Challenge 240 The Solution 241 The Conference 249 The Result 250 Part 4 Advanced Engaging Virtual Meetings 253 Chapter 16 Advanced Tips 255 Annotate—Collaborate by Marking Up Your Shared Screen 255 Remote Control—Give Control to a More Technical Attendee 262 Branding Your Meeting Registration—Connect Registration to Your Company 266 Branding Your Waiting Room—Beautify Your Virtual Lobby 269 Customize Your Video Recording Waiver—Protect Your Company When You Record 272 Record Multiple Video Views—Get the Right Shot from Your Virtual Meeting 275 Microsoft Teams Share PowerPoint—Faster Attendee Review 280 More Advanced Tips 281 Chapter 17 The Future of Engaging Virtual Meetings 283 Suddenly Everyone is Interested 284 Virtual is Here Even If There is a Cure 284 The Hard Stuff is Easy, the Soft Stuff is Hard 285 Think Cinematically 286 Virtual is Going to Innovate Rapidly 287 The Theory of Bandwidth 289 Moving Closer to Reality 290 Endnotes 293 About Geoteaming 299