How can you encourage active participation from team members in virtual meetings?

Virtual meetings can be as productive as physical meetings provided it is approached in the right way. In my experience top 5 initiative that can make virtual meetings very productive are 1. Sharing the agenda of the meeting well in advance so that everyone knows their role. 2. There should be a camera on policy for virtual meetings. It helps in creating a sense of belongingness and active participation from attendees. 3. Organizer must remind attendees to stick to their allotted times. 4. The organizer must create a friendly environment and light-hearted jokes/comments here & there will help in making the virtual meeting engaging. 5. As far as its possible, try to ask direct questions and seek feedback from the attendees.

Incentivar a participação ativa em reuniões virtuais começa com a criação de um ambiente acolhedor, onde todos sintam que suas opiniões são valorizadas. Isso pode ser feito ao abrir espaço para perguntas, incentivar debates e garantir que todos tenham a chance de falar. Fazer rodadas rápidas para ouvir o que cada pessoa tem a dizer sobre determinado assunto ajuda a envolver o time. Além disso, usar recursos interativos, como enquetes e chats, pode tornar o encontro mais dinâmico e menos formal. No fim das contas, é sobre criar conexões, mesmo à distância, e mostrar que cada voz faz a diferença.

In my experience, if there's something that makes you relevant or something that you find relevant, it is inevitable that you will pay attention and allocate your active time for it. However, in virtual meetings, it can be challenging for people to experience the impact of someone's presence compared to physical meetings. To encourage active participation from team members in virtual meetings, you can make their presence felt by engaging the attendees. This can be done by using different call-to-action techniques during the meeting, such as asking for input, encouraging questions, and assigning specific tasks or responsibilities to individuals.

That one guy who’s typing instead of chiming in may be loading a valuable idea into the chat window. Leaving room for your introverted teammates to think deeply and add detailed suggestions later can help.