A few weeks back, I had a meeting with a firm. Oh, wait, we had a meeting between my client, myself, three folks in the conference room and two more appearing on a video screen.
And, as has been true for many a Zoom meeting, it was ok, but not the best of meetings. It’s difficult to pay attention to folks sitting across from you at a conference table and then turn to the right to listen to folks on the monitor.
That sort of scenario is exactly why Microsoft had been studying hybrid meetings. They were seeking ways to render these meetings more effective. (Of course, Microsoft does offer a product called “Teams”- and making that product more effective for corporate use is a financial issue.)
Not surprisingly, the situation I described was one that Microsoft found was total dysfunctional. Having folks sit around a rectangular table, speaking among themselves with the camera sharing other members simply doesn’t work well.
Instead, they found two different approaches much more satisfactory. The choice of a triangular table or a half oval table with the monitor showing remote attendees. This approach worked out much better.
The triangular table let all the live participants see and participation the discussions, with the camera fully capturing the views for the remote attendees- and letting them participate, as well. The room monitor was at eye level so everyone seemed to be “on the level”.
The half-oval table choice also worked. This setup precluded the live attendees from clustering together- and, the remote attendees appeared on the monitor at eye level, which is critical. Again, everyone felt as if they were among the same meeting, despite the hybrid situation.
The size of the meeting also makes a difference. The triangular table (or even a trapezoid that tapers narrow away from the attendees) works best for the larger meetings. But the semi-circle (half-oval) is best when there are three or so live attendees.
There were a few tricks added to make the meetings more effective. Like ensuring that the cameras focused on the attendee faces (and not their bodies), avoiding empty chairs and the conference table itself. In addition, Microsoft recommends having a chat session- also visible on the top of the monitors, which lets folks augment their participation. Finally, no virtual backgrounds are allowed- those simply serve as distractions.
Oh, and smart boards are a vital addition. We’ll talk about them tomorrow.
That’s good to know. These hybrid meetings are not going away! I haven’t utilized one because I would be the person on the screen. I don’t plan to do any in-person meetings again LOL
I am looking forward to the smart board discussion.
It’s coming, Dominique- I promise.
Here in the Philippines, the Department of Education introduced these hybrid classes. Some schools had already adapted to the new setup. My son’s school is planning to do it, too. My son thinks that the idea was not well-thought and he thinks it would be difficult both for the student and the teacher.
So, there is a difference between a meeting and a seminar or an educational forum, Bing. In those latter cases, the interactions among participants is not the key factor- it’s the transmission of information. And, that means those leading those fora must learn voice modulation, how to tranmit information in an interesting fashion, etc.
There has to be a better way. I dislike (OK, hate) virtual meetings I’ve been subjected (and that’s the right word for me) to them on three different platforms, although Teams isn’t one of them. Right now, my entire department (less one person) is still at home full time, but we will have two or three hybrid people in the near future. So we have to find “that better way”. (Incidentally, we are permitted virtual backgrounds, and we even have the occasional dog or baby present). Meanwhile (not for work) I will have my first in person (outdoors) meeting since February of 2020 later this week. Woo-hoo!
That is exactly why folks like Microsoft are examining ways to make these interactions more palatable and functional, Alana. I’m with you.
What a cool idea with the triangle table! It makes it look like the attendees on the monitor are right at the meeting with everyone.
That’s the whole point, Martha. It should make those small, hybrid meetings more effective.