Good Etiquette for Virtual Board Meetings

Virtual Board Meetings are an effective and cost-efficient way for nonprofit directors to participate. However, the absence of physical signals means that participants need to be aware and able to communicate clearly. It is crucial to plan ahead and come up with an established set of rules that will assist you in communicating and keep your attendees from confusion.

These rules may include the requirement that everyone raises their hands to speak during the discussion, or using software’s features for conferencing to announce the speaker’s name. It is also beneficial to have a system that allows the chairperson to keep track of Read Full Article who is speaking, so that they can respond to the speaker and keep the discussion focused.

It is also advised that participants avoid distractions and stop all unnecessary applications before the call begins. This will improve the bandwidth and improve the quality of audio. Additionally, it’s good etiquette to shut off your microphone when you are not contributing to the conversation. This helps reduce background noise and decreases the chance that a fellow participant might accidentally hear your comments.

Another tip is to schedule as short meetings as possible. This will allow attendees to keep their focus and enthusiasm throughout the meeting, and decrease the risk of “zoom fatigue » — the fatigue that comes from being focused on tiny screens for an extended period of time. The shorter meetings also make it easier for attendees to fit the meeting times around their personal and professional commitments.