The quality of your board meetings depends on the amount of work that members take on prior to each meeting. If participants make the effort to prepare their agendas, they will make online meetings more productive and effective. A well-prepared group is more likely to adhere to the agenda, and ensure that they don’t get sidetracked by any tangent.
It’s important to communicate clearly to board members from remote locations how they can participate in meetings. It is best, for instance to remind the participants to turn off their phones when speaking, and only speak when they are asked to. This will stop people from arguing or leaving the room without feeling heard. It’s also important for the convenor to ask participants if they require assistance in a tech issue prior to getting started.
It’s also beneficial to include the rules for meetings that are virtual in the materials for board member orientation so that everyone has a good understanding of what is expected of them prior to, during, and following the meeting. For instance, it’s essential to send the board agenda ahead of time and to follow up with attendees a day or early in the morning prior to the meeting to confirm all the details, then provide them with the link to the meeting or Zoom in a second time, and remind them of any other preferences at the meeting (such as requesting attendees to tune in from a quiet area to minimize distractions). It is also recommended to include a placeholder for https://protectednetwork.org/ executive sessions to each agenda item and include this at the start of the meeting to avoid confusion as to whether there is an executive session or not.
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