Virtual meeting vs Physical meeting

A virtual meeting is a significant event that happens over the Internet, intending to connect with remote individuals at a time. With 2020 witnessing vital changes in different sectors of the world, the event industry was no exception. The development of different virtual event platforms is evidence of the successful pivot that the event industry made. Having said this, there are several online events that are being hosted successfully. It includes online meetings, virtual conferences, virtual expos, virtual trade shows, virtual fairs, and many more.

What is a Virtual Meeting?

Virtual meetings help you connect with your employees or team members remotely from the choice of your favoured location. The selection of an excellent meeting tool enables the attendees to share data, insights, experiences, and information in real-time, even when they are not present together physically.

The practice of connecting with global employees remotely is an excellent opportunity for companies to embrace the latest approaches and tools that can enhance their event experience.

How are Virtual Meetings Better Than Physical Meetings?

With the adoption of the virtual stage, we have witnessed that online events can be a highly lucrative affair if organized carefully. When we talk about hosting online meetings or conferences, there is an availability of multiple virtual meeting software that can deliver memorable event experiences.

But the question is, why should you choose the online format of meetings? To understand this, let us walk you through the pros of virtual meetings over face-to-face meetings;

Convenience

Hosting or attending virtual meetings are way more convenient as compared to their physical counterparts. It just requires the selection of an ideal virtual meeting platform that employs the latest tools and features to recreate the experiences of an in-person meeting. With compatible devices and a reliable Internet connection, you can choose to conduct online meetings for a large group of global attendees right from the comfort of your desired location.

Cost-effective

Physical meetings require in-person interactions. It means the event planners need to invest in excellent accommodation, travelling, catering, hotels, beverages, parking, venue, etc. But, with virtual meetings, all of these expenses are immediately eliminated. Organizations can save ample amount of time, money, and resources through these online townhalls or meetings. They can further spend the saved funds in promoting the event or include more features to make the event super engaging and interactive.

Inclusivity

Inclusivity is one of the notable benefits of conducting virtual or hybrid meetings. Best virtual meeting platforms allow people to join the meeting from the comfort of the fancied location. Inclusive because with physical meetings, there would have been several individuals who would be reluctant in attending them due to the huge global pandemic and its phases. So, planning online meetings let you include each aspect of its face-to-face counterpart to cater to the event’s objective.

Lesser environmental impact

Attending meetings or conferences virtually implies that people do not need to travel. It leads to lesser emission of carbon dioxide gases that would have been emitted by cars or other vehicles if people had to attend on-site meetings. A reduction in the carbon footprint helps you contribute towards a cleaner and greener world. Also, on-site events include wastage of paper, disposals, printed material like brochures or marketing manuals. These means directly donate towards causing damage to the environment.

How To Run a Successful Virtual Meeting?

1. Start with an icebreaking activity:

Since the meeting is happening online, does not mean that you have to be all format. You can begin with an interesting activity to keep your attendees involved right from the beginning. It could be a casual conversation between the employees or just among the team members. If you are hosting the meeting for a larger group of people, you can also consider appointing an incredible speaker who holds the art of having excellent 2-way interactions.

2. Keep a simple joining process:

With attendees joining the meeting through a compatible device like a laptop, smartphone, or tablet, make sure to keep the procedure super manageable. Event organizers should avoid the requirement of unnecessary downloads or set-ups. Try keeping a simple meeting link that is clickable and take the attendees directly to the virtual meeting.

3. Set some ground rules:

With remote meetings, it is vital to create some mandatory rules to be followed by each attendee. It is an effective strategy to maintain the correctness of the meeting. These rules include;

• Attendees should use a raised hand feature if they have a question or need to speak something
• If a speaker is presenting, the other attendees need to mute their mic
• Participants should ensure to avoid background noise that can lead to distractions

4. Encourage 2-way interactions:

Make sure to keep the event super interacting and engaging. Attendees will stay involved if they are allowed to speak and ask questions during the event. For this, you need to choose a virtual event solution that can integrate your event objectives. Consider including features like live chat feature, virtual networking tables, screen sharing applications, AI matchmaking tools, incredible audio & video tools that can facilitate 2-way communications seamlessly.

5. Keep it simple:

While planning and strategizing the aspects of the online meeting, make sure to keep the attendee viewpoint as a significant priority. The presentations, documents, videos, slides, or PDFs should be easily accessible and downloadable. Also, the language of these documents and PDFs should be easy and understandable. Avoid using too vibrant images or eye-straining slides that may not be comfortable for the attendees.

6. Back it with 24/7 customer support:

The online format of events needs to strengthen its technical aspect to ensure the successful execution of the event. Therefore, it is advisable to look for a virtual venue that is supported by an incredible customer support team.

Final Word

Virtual meeting solutions are excellent means to discuss relevant updates, share data and insights, or review a company’s progress online. Due to its added convenience and benefit, the online format of events is being adopted on a large scale. All you require is an all-in-one virtual event platform that can seamlessly integrate features and tools to meet your business and event requirements.

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