How to Hold an Online Meeting

The ability to hold meetings across geographic areas and time zones has revolutionized the way people conduct business. An online meeting, or Web conference, saves time and money, and is only a mouse-click away - as long as you are all on the same (Web) page.

Things You'll Need

• Meeting Announcements
• Internet Access
• E-mail Accounts
• Computers
• Microsoft Outlook

Instructions

1. Decide if you will host the meeting. The person that hosts the meeting should be able to take control over the meeting when necessary, keep the participants on track, and have the free time necessary for planning the meeting.

2. Send notices of the meeting to the participants. Be sure to include the Web address or server where the meeting will be held, the phone number of the host if the audio will be handled by telephone, the name and e-mail address of the host, and the technical requirements for the meeting. This last information is vital, as every participant should be comfortable using the specific conferencing software - as well as the Internet itself.

3. Send out the meeting agenda, as well as any necessary written materials, to the participants a few days before the meeting. Encourage everyone to review the materials prior to the meeting.

4. Connect to the site of the meeting before it's scheduled to begin so that you can welcome participants and help them with any problems they might have.

5. Conduct the meeting as you would a live meeting. Don't let participants get sidetracked, and get ready to play peacemaker when differences of opinion arise.

Tips & Warnings

• The host of the meeting should be in the geographic area where most of the participants are and have a solid, working knowledge of the conferencing software being used.

• Consider the limitations of your conferencing software when inviting participants. Some programs will not work properly if the number of meeting participants exceeds the guidelines.

• Make sure all participants have installed the correct software. Encourage them to practice with the software prior to the conference, so that the meeting can be as productive as possible. All participants should also practice connecting to the meeting so that time is not wasted during the actual meeting waiting for everyone to connect.

• Remind participants to close all unnecessary programs to prevent the accidental sharing of private or irrelevant files.

• Use a secure site and require a password for entry to the meeting to prevent someone from accidentally entering your meeting.

• Just as in a live meeting, don't let one person dominate the entire meeting. Use your negotiating skills to give others the opportunity to speak.