The quality of your board meeting is contingent on the amount of work that members do prior to every meeting. When participants are able to plan their meetings, they can make online meetings more productive and effective. A group that is well-prepared is more likely to adhere to the agenda and avoid getting sidetracked.
It’s important to communicate clearly to remote board members what they are expected to do in meetings. It’s best, for example to remind the participants to turn off their phones when speaking and only speak when called upon. This will stop people from talking over each other or leaving a meeting without feeling heard. It’s also crucial for the convener to ask participants if they require assistance in a tech issue prior to beginning.
It’s also helpful to include the rules for virtual meetings in the board member’s orientation materials to ensure that everyone has thorough understanding of what’s expected of them prior to the meeting, during, and after the meeting. It is important, for instance to distribute the agenda prior to the meeting and then to follow up each day or early in the morning to confirm the details. You can also provide the Zoom or meeting link to participants once more and remind them of any other preferences that you may have (such as asking them to tune in to the meeting from a quiet space to minimize distractions). It is also recommended to add an executive session placeholder to each agenda item, and to include it at the beginning of the meeting to avoid confusion about whether there will be an executive session.