As companies of all sizes grapple with how and when to return to a physical office, it’s clear that virtual meetings are here to stay, with all the challenges and pet peeves that come with them. As more people return to in-person encounters, the hybrid meeting will follow suit.
Stop Talking Over Each Other in Virtual Meetings
As every organization returns to the office at different times, we will have both virtual and hybrid meetings for the foreseeable future. The author offers three tips to speaking up in a virtual meeting, and three warnings for when to hold back. One piece of advice: If you must interrupt, compliment the person speaking (“Thanks for that great point, Jeff, I’d like to build on that”) and then take the point in whichever direction you’d like. It maintains the current speaker’s credibility while giving you the space to jump in. If you think you might be interrupting someone but want to speak up anyway, own it: “I’m going to take the risk of interrupting Jeff here but I want to build on his point by saying…” This is particularly effective for hybrid meetings when you’re virtual and you can’t read others’ body language.