Organising a Remote Meetings

This document lists the various tasks for organising remote meetings. The tasks and responsibilities are listed in a chronological order and have been divided into “before”, “during” and “after” the meeting.

Before the meeting

  • Identify a most suitable slot that is time zone compatible for all the members using tools like Doodle or when2meet

    • If you are planning a meeting that includes Americas/Oceania (with over 12 hours difference), consider to have two sessions to avoid holding a meeting in very early or vary late in the day

    • Assign different chairs when holding calls in two different time zones

  • Use a standard time with a custom link like arewemeetingyet or timeanddate.com to different time zones when communicating

  • Set a protocol for your meeting participants (if there is not any available already), which should include basic etiquette explaining the following

    • Is keeping the webcam and microphone on recommended? Can they be turned off during the call?

    • Is there a password needed to join the call? Can attendees join before the host?

    • How can attendees ensure privacy of their family member? Provide instructions for blurring their background, or using a virtual background?

    • How will attendees be able to particiapte in an ongoing discussion? How can they raise their hands of ask the chair personally?

    • What kind of challenges attendees may face while joining the call/meeting and how can they troubleshoot them?

  • Identify a chair and note-taker for the meeting

    • Share guidelines and protocols for chairing and note-taking

  • Decide if there will be designated speakers with presentations

    • Share speaker’s guidelines and protocols with them

  • Establish a shared document that can be updated online for agenda and note-taking

    • Create a template for this meeting (that can also be used for future meetings)

  • Create a shared document to share the following:

    • Participation guideline

    • Code of Conduct and contact information of people who can help with any issues regarding the meeting

    • The exact date, time, location (if any!) and choice of tool that will be used for communication

    • Agenda of the meeting

    • A place to indicate their participation or absense

  • Share this document via an email to all the attendees and also add this to a calendar invite so that people have it handy when needed

  • The choice of tool should be preferably an open source tool to avoid inaccessibility

    • If using a tool that is available only upon subscription, make sure that all the members have the access information

    • Share a how-to guide to ensure that everyone knows how to use the tool

    • If possible, offer help with installation and testing of the tool in advance

  • Distribute the shared document a few days before the meeting

    • Ask everyone to add any agenda item that they would like to discuss at the meeting

    • Ask everyone to write their name indicating their participation in or absence from the meeting

  • Remind everyone to arrange microphone or headsets

    • If possible, provide any hardware that the organisation prefers to use

    • Ask people to check before the meeting that their system and headsets are working

  • Send a reminder with link to the document and other important resources to all the participants a day in advance

  • Create slides or presentation that might be needed from organiser’s side (welcome, wrap up)

    • Add contact details, date and location of resources and licence, to make your slides reusable

Designated venues to participate from

If there are physical office locations, or co-working spaces accessible for most members

  • Reserve conference room(s) (or similar venues) with high speed internet

  • Share details on how members can access this venue

  • When possible, use individual cameras to simulate remote participation so that those who are not attending in person don’t feel left out

  • If the reserved location has a webcam and microphone, check that they work properly

    • Plan the seating arrangement so that people are facing to the main screen/camera

    • Test the screen with different light intensities

    • Arrange all the required materials and equipment, like extension cords or power strips

    • Arrange for beverages/snacks for the breaks, and ensure that the catering service will label the food for contents/allergens

  • Make sure that the protocols are written to favour the remote participants

During the meeting

  • Re-share the links to the collaborative notes for the meeting in the chat system or email

  • Remind of the community participation guideline and the Code of Conduct

  • Introduce the chair and notetaker, and let the chair take over for the rest of the tasks

  • Introduce the format of the meeting and briefly describe the overall schedule, such as the timing of breaks

  • If possible, keep the video call separate from chat system to ensure that the speakers are not distracted and the conversations can be recorded on the chat system

  • Explain the basic protocols for participation

    • Muting microphone when not speaking

    • Using a chat system during the meeting - if there is one

  • Request everyone to keep their camera on whenever possible

  • If recording the call, make sure that all the participants are aware before you hit the record button

    • Allow people to turn their video off when recording

  • Remind the guidelines for participating in discussions

    • Raise hand - on chat, or virtually (like in Zoom) or physically

    • Other ways to involve others in the discussion equitably

  • Start the meeting with an icebreaker question that can be either written down or shared out verbally depending on how many people are on the call

    • Create opportunities for everyone to share something personal (about their hobby, or experiences) on the document or verbally

  • Facilitate questions and answer or discussion on the agenda points

  • Help answer procedural questions like “where is this button that I should click”

  • Direct technical questions to the organiser when needed

  • Use breakout rooms whenever possible to ensure that people can connect with each other while discussing questions or issues of mutual interest (more tips below)

  • For gathering opinion and response, use silent writing time rather than open discussion

    • Give clear instructions of what’s expected from the writing exercises and how long it should take

    • Give reminder in the last minute to wrap up

  • Ensure that the discussion is inclusive of everyone, aim to have a fair discussion, don’t fixate on one argument or speaker

  • Indicate if the speakers should speed up or slow down, or if there is a technical issue that the speakers should check

  • Notetakers should document important outcomes from every discussion

  • Encourage everyone to help the notetaker in documenting correct information

  • In the last part of the call, create action points and delegate them to different people while on the call

    • Ask people to volunteer to assign themselves to each task, but be inclusive and equitable in this process

  • End the meeting on time by thanking everyone and sharing the date for a next call, if any!

  • If possible, stay a few minutes extra on the call to make sure that people have a chance to clarify their questions after the meetinf

Breakout rooms

If using breakout rooms in Zoom (or similar tool), make sure that each breakout has an organiser to help

  • Create groups that are more diverse (they will have better discussions)

  • Remind everyone to give others a fair chance to speak

  • Ask them to write notes from their discussion in the shared document

  • Send message periodically reminding everyone of how much time for discussion is left

    • Reminding them to move on to next person if only one person has spoken so far in their group

  • When people come back from their breakout rooms, ask them to share main arguments from their discussion

After the meeting

  • Create a debrief document to capture what went well and what could be improved

    • This can also be requested from the participants by circulating a feedback form

  • Request any additional document or information mentioned by others/speakers during the meeting

  • If the meeting call was recorded, process and share the recorded video with everyone

  • Send thank you email with the link to the complete notes and other relevant information