3 Best Practices for Hybrid Meetings

by Karen Cortell Reisman | Aug 31, 2021

“Hybrid is not just a car anymore,” says Linda Swindling, J.D., CSP, a professional speaker and negotiation expert.

Welcome to the new and permanent world of hybrid meetings.

A recent McKinsey survey suggests that 90% of organizations will adopt some combination of remote and on-site work as they emerge from Covid restrictions.*

According to Harvard Business Review (HBR) – “Hybrid meetings are vastly more complex than meeting in-person or virtually. They are easy to do poorly and hard to do well.”

You will preside or attend these hybrid meetings. Here are three ways to up your game.

Hybrid Meeting Best Practice #1 – Make sure your audio rocks

You spend time making sure your video shows the best you and best background and best lighting. All well intentioned & important. BUT audio is king! If we can’t hear you and your attendees your meeting will fail. Invest in some good mics. We suggest the Blue Yeti mic (around $100).

Hybrid Meeting Best Practice #2 – Have a “Virtual Concierge”

Assign the responsibilities for all things technical to a virtual concierge. Sarah Michel, CSP writes in July/Aug 2021 Speaker Magazine, “Meet with this person to go over how you want to engage with your remote audience.” Have this person facilitate the chat room as well.

Hybrid Meeting Best Practice #3 – Do a tech check

Q: Why does everything work during your rehearsal and then sometimes NOT work in real time?

A: It happens. HOWEVER, without getting to the hybrid venue early and doing your tech checklist, you have a much higher chance for insanity. Note: “hybrid venue” may be your office or a hotel/We-Work suite/conference room, etc. Even in your own office we suggest a tech run-through.

Stay tuned for three more best practices on hybrid meetings to maximize your return.

*Source: https://hbr.org/2021/06/what-it-takes-to-run-a-great-hybrid-meeting