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In Focus Consumer Credit


Maximise your virtual communications for meetings


Virtual meetings are now familiar territory. Despite this, many of us are unaware how to make them truly effective


Tony Hughes Chief executive, Huthwaite International


We are all inundated with video call after video call, whether that is for business meetings with colleagues or socialising with friends – it is become a daily occurrence for most. If you had six or seven face-to-face


meetings each day, you would quickly become overwhelmed, so consider this when planning virtual meetings too. Ensure each meeting has a purpose and make it clear to all involved from the start. For example, is the purpose of the


meeting to think creatively and generate new ideas or is your aim to get focused and make some important decisions in one or two major areas? Make sure people know what is expected from them in advance.


Also, take into consideration who is


attending each meeting. We are all aware that communicating via video can lead to problems when there are too many people trying to have their say – so do not overcomplicate it. On the other hand, you do not want to


create additional meetings to communicate the points already agreed so think carefully about who needs to be involved. Base your decisions on your meeting invitations around the meeting purpose.


Engage people in a way that achieves your meeting purpose and manage your communication airtime Our research into communication skills shows that there are three main classes of


Set a good, cooperative tone for a virtual meeting and encourage a balance of behaviours is to start discussions with a non-controversial issue where people are not committed to a particular solution so a straight forward agreement can be reached, before diving into the more contentious areas of the agenda


behaviour important to group interaction in task oriented situations, these are: l Initiating behaviours – putting forward ideas, concepts, suggestions or courses of action. l Reacting behaviours – putting forward an evaluation of other people’s contributions. l Clarifying behaviours – exchanging information, facts, opinions for the benefit of the whole meeting. Feedback on the proportions of these


behaviours used in meetings can help groups examine their own behaviour and to assess the need for behaviour change. In effective group communications, all


three main behaviour classes are present in a balanced way. A tip to help set a good, cooperative


tone for a virtual meeting and encourage a balance of behaviours is to start discussions with a


October 2020 www.CCRMagazine.com >> 23


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