When you think of virtual meetings, do you imagine a group of people circled around a small monitor as an executive gives a presentation? For years, virtual meetings were exactly that. Luckily, as technology has advanced, these virtual meetings have become more intimate and personalized than ever before. Additionally, virtual meetings can take your firm to the next level by involving remote team members, reducing travel costs, and eliminating unnecessary infrastructure.
Here are some unexpected ways virtual meetings could benefit you:
Agenda Guidance
Virtual meetings allow you to set forth an agenda and to keep everyone on topic. For example, you might write up an outline in a document shared via the cloud. When your participants have the lay of the land, they’ll understand where asking their questions will be most appropriate during the meeting. Furthermore, this shared agenda can also be used as a record-keeping document where participants can add their own notes. This functions as great reference material for future meetings. For these reasons, virtual meetings tend to be more focused, consuming less time than in-person gatherings.
Team Building
Virtual meetings can facilitate real-life connections. Many law firms and large corporations maintain locations across the country, and sometimes even internationally. With many people traveling and team members working remotely, virtual meetings can humanize people you may not see on a daily basis. For example, if you frequently exchange emails with someone in another time zone, virtual meetings can build an understanding that leads to better teamwork.
Asset Integration
Many meetings utilize presentations, videos or photos to communicate a message. Virtual meetings allow for the seamless integration of these materials. All participants can view content simultaneously and raise questions in real-time. This approach is particularly useful when you need to share time-sensitive content among a group of people. Lastly, virtual meetings can easily include graphs and status reports that might otherwise go unseen.
