Managing Meetings Online

1. Greeting and Opening:

“Good [morning/afternoon/evening], everyone.”
“Hello, and welcome to today’s meeting.”
“Thank you all for joining.”

2. Setting the Agenda:

“Today, we will cover the following topics:”
“Our agenda for today includes:”
“Let’s start with the first item on the agenda.”

3. Introducing Participants:

“Let’s go around and introduce ourselves.”
“Could each of you briefly introduce yourself?”
“In case anyone is new, please tell us a bit about your role.”

4. Encouraging Participation:

“Feel free to unmute and jump in at any time.”
“We value your input, so please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts.”
“Let’s keep this meeting interactive.”

5. Summarizing and Clarifying:

“To recap, we’ve discussed [key points].”
“Just to make sure we’re on the same page, we’re planning to [restate action items].”
“Are there any questions or concerns?”

6. Time Management:

“Let’s stay on track to ensure we finish on time.”
“Each agenda item has a specific time allocation, so let’s be mindful of that.”
“We’ll need to move on to the next topic in a few minutes.”

7. Action Items and Follow-Up:

“Before we finish, let’s list the action items.”
“Who’s responsible for [task]?”
“We’ll circulate the meeting minutes and action items after the meeting.”

8. Handling Technical Issues:

“If you’re experiencing technical difficulties, please let us know.”
“Check your internet connection and make sure you’re not on mute.”
“We’ll give you a moment to resolve the issue.”

9. Encouraging Feedback:

“We appreciate your feedback to improve our future meetings.”
“Is there anything we can do differently to make these meetings more effective?”
“Feel free to share your thoughts via email if you think of something later.”

10. Closing the Meeting:

“Thank you all for your contributions and participation.”
“This concludes our meeting today.”
“Until our next meeting, take care.”

11. Politeness and Acknowledgment:

“Thank you for your input, [Name].”
“I appreciate your time and effort in preparing for this, [Name].”
“Good job, team. We accomplished a lot today.”

12. Using Visual Aids:

“Let me share my screen to illustrate this point.”
“I’ve prepared a slide that summarizes our progress.”
“Here’s a graph that demonstrates the data.”

13. Dealing with Disruptions:

“I’d like to kindly ask everyone to mute their microphones when not speaking.”
“If side conversations occur, please use the chat for discussions unrelated to the main topic.”
“We’ll address off-topic issues after the meeting.”

14. Encouraging Inclusivity:

“Let’s make sure everyone has had a chance to speak before we move on.”
“If you haven’t shared your thoughts yet, please do so.”
“Don’t hesitate to offer a different perspective.”

15. Using Non-Verbal Cues:

“Raise your hand or use the ‘raise hand’ feature to indicate you want to speak.”
“Use reactions, like the ‘thumbs up,’ to express agreement.”
“Feel free to use the chat to pose questions or make comments.”

Remember to adapt your language to the nature of the meeting and the participants involved. Effective communication, active listening, and a well-structured agenda are essential for successful online meetings.