Online Meeting Survival Guide

Can we Skype? The name of the service has become ubiquitously synonymous as the action verb for video chats. Skype’s ability to connect people around the world made history in the video communication space. Since its 2003 release, Skype’s brought millions of friends and families together in a simple, straightforward interface. Microsoft, always on the lookout for innovative solutions, acquired Skype in 2011 and quickly integrated it into Microsoft Office, later known as Microsoft Office 365.

Four years after the acquisition, Microsoft launched “Skype for Business,”which improved on its existing “Lync” business communication software by expanding integration capabilities. With Skype for Business, users experienced Outlook and other Office software directly with Skype for Business IM, voice, and video features by clicking directly on a contact (recipient) to initiate conversations or schedule meetings. Simply put, Skype for Business made Lync more useful.

Skype for Business targeted professional users at a cost, while Skype (for personal use) remained free. By comparison, while Skype permitted conferencing with up to 25 users, Skype for Business managed up to 250. Skype for Business also offered dedicated video conferencing rooms. These “Room Systems” offered video collaboration experiences which included voice, video, and content collaboration via one Skype login.

Lync, Skype for Business, and eventually Microsoft Teams

In a nutshell, Lync was Microsoft's original business video communication solution. It morphed into Skype for Business similar to the way Google rebranded Hangouts into its Meet product. In the most recent iteration, Microsoft integrated Skype for Business into Office 365, its cloud-based productivity solution, Skype remains the most popular option for personal use as Microsoft Teams combines Skype’s exceptional video communications features with Office 365. Teams also includes collaboration features similar to platforms such as “Slack” (released in 2013) and others. We’ll look more closely at Teams and solutions like Slack in a bit. Let’s circle back and take a deeper dive into Skype.

A Closer Look at Skype

With Skype, users can connect up to 50 meeting participants in High Definition (HD) video quality. Skype video calls include intuitive screen sharing and messaging features that compliment the meeting experience. The Skype messaging feature allows users to chat, share pictures, and use “@” mentions to get other users attention. Skype's messaging platform can be used independently from its video conferencing mode. While it's often used as a chat solution, users can transition to a video call whenever necessary.

Today, video communication has become an integral part of how we work. Indeed for some, it is the only way to work. Even with so many video communication platforms available today, Google Hangouts (now Google Meet) is one of the most popular choices, almost by default. Google Meet is a powerful part of a larger set of tools. Meet is incredibly easy to use because it's integrated directly into Gmail and the G Suite. For many people, Google is a gateway to their online experience and its G Suite has become their workspace for online collaboration.

In 2016, Google announced that Gmail had passed one billion active users. Today that number is beyond 1.5 billion. Each user has free access to Google Chat for messaging and Google Meet for video conferencing. In addition to Gmail, Google offers video conferencing, messaging, and collaboration tools that are extremely helpful for boosting business productivity from directly within the G Suite platform.

The G Suite is a complete online workspace with popular applications such as Google Drive (file storage), Google Docs (documents), Google Slides (presentations), and Google Sheets (spreadsheets). Google’s G Suite starts at just $6 per user, per month which offers any size business access to its set of online collaboration tools without prohibitive costs. With so many people actively using Google services, it’s no wonder Google Meet has become one of the most popular video conferencing tools. Below is a look at services G Suite customers can access for low monthly fees.

Business needs are constantly evolving and at the center of many organizations productivity and communications solutions is Windows. Microsoft has been the global leader in operating systems (OS) development since the 1980’s. Microsoft has the unique capability to offer ground-up business solutions that literally start at the OS found on every computer. Globally, the Windows operating system is used on nearly 75-85% of computers. This gives Microsoft a competitive advantage as they innovate cloud-based communications and workspace solutions.

Over the past decade, Microsoft has leveraged their foothold in the global OS market to launch their cloud-based, workplace solution Microsoft 365. In 2011, Microsoft launched their popular Office products to the cloud; including Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Visio and Outlook. Just like Google’s G Suite, Office 365’s fully cloud based solution is helping to modernize how people work. Teams can now work on shared documents in real-time as they collaborate in organized channels of communications. As a result, organizations are becoming more productive and better connected.

Microsoft Teams is the glue that binds the Office 365 tools together in a collaborative workplace. Teams was designed for online communications with integrations across all the most important aspects of the Office 365 environment. Teams is available on most devices to easily connect users from anywhere in the world whether they’re in the office, working from home, or on the go.

Teams flag-ship feature is a threaded conversation functionality similar to the collaboration suite offered by Slack and Atlassian’s HipChat. The Team's chat tool has become a necessary asset for many businesses with global offices and remote employees. Moreover, Teams ability to switch between its multiple modes of communications make it one of the most popular applications on Office 365.

Zoom is one of the leading providers of video conferencing software. Just seven years after the company's 2013 launch, Zoom has become the fastest growing online communications company in the world. With so many features, including a chat interface with cross-platform messaging and best in-class video conferencing, many are turning to Zoom as their first choice to handle their changing technical needs.

Zoom’s popularity comes with good reason first, they back their feature-rich platform with a team of friendly customer service representatives. Eric Yuan the CEO of Zoom, has become an industry thought leader with a mission to “deliver happiness to users.” With all of that in mind, Zoom’s well-rounded platform has repeatedly been ranked number one in customer reviews on G2Crowd, TrustRadius, and Gartner Peer Insights, among other platforms.

The platform definitely has a lot going for it, it’s easy to use and super reliable. Another standout feature is its interface which shows people in little “brady bunch” squares, neatly fitting up to 49 people on the same screen. The application is what technical investors call “sticky” meaning users get so attached to using it, they’d never think of switching to another. In this chapter, you will get an in-depth look into everything you need to know to be successful with Zoom.

You could argue Facebook is the single largest network used for online communications. The network that was originally started for groups of college level students has morphed into an all inclusive online communications network. Facebook now offers three main solutions relevant to online communications which are the social media platform itself, the Facebook Workplace, and Facebook messenger.

Facebook's social media platform has become a phenomenon that has shaped the way our world understands online communications. This platform has over 2.5 monthly active users who stay connected with friends, family members and business contacts around the world. Facebook's social platform supports the sharing of digital content in almost every way spanning video, image, emoji, text, live streaming and more. Facebook's platform is monetized through their advanced advertising solutions that reported revenue of $16.6 billion in 2019.

Facebook's messenger service has been naturally integrated into the social media platform allowing users to quickly instant message other users they are friends with. Group conversations can be used for small teams to communicate and video calling is available as well. In April of 2020, Facebook announced a new feature for Messenger called rooms. Rooms is a feature that provides video conferencing experiences for groups up to 50 callers. Facebook's video conferencing solutions also provide simple screen sharing, audio/video controls, and meeting layout formats.

Until April of 2020, Facebook's main focus in the video communications space has been one-way live streaming. After a 2016 launch, Facebook’s dominance in the live content delivery market has been rivaled only by Google’s YouTube and Amazon’s Twitch platform. Facebook developed a number of innovative features for live and on-demand video such as watch parties and interactive live audience polling. In 2017, the company's founder Mark Zuckerburg called video a “mega-trend” which would be on par with the move to mobile. Zuckerburg has also said Facebook would become a “video first” company in many subsequent interviews.

For a period of time in between 2016 and 2020, Facebook was viewed as a walled garden when it came to video content in comparison to top competitor YouTube. While YouTube’s has become the best search engine for video content, Facebook has become the best social media system for video. YouTube is actually the world’s second largest search engine. In April of 2020, Facebook announced people would not have to be logged into the platform in order to watch live and on-demand videos hosted on the platform. This move brings Facebook's video content to viewers without a barrier to entry similar to YouTube. Facebook also announced that it would allow creators to charge viewers for access to exclusive live streams.

Facebook’s dominance in the social media space has allowed the company to spread into other areas of online communication easily because the service acts like a central for online activity. Facebook is the world’s fourth largest website and in 2019 the average users spent almost one hour everyday on the platform. The lines between consumer and business use on Facebook are also becoming less important. A user may use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family one moment, and then use the same service to connect with business partners over an instant message or video call. Facebook’s massive user base makes the tools more effective for communications because so many people are already connected. Facebook also benefits from a familiarity users have with the platform, allowing users to experiment with new services easily (Metev, 2019).

While Facebook remains a very attractive solution for many, the company faced unprecedented negative public attention throughout 2017 to 2019 due to privacy concerns. The company ended up paying a record $5 billion in fees to settle privacy concerns with the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). The allegations cited that Facebook had improperly obtained private information from over 87 million users. Because some of this data was used by advertisers during the 2016 United States Presidential election, the negative press has been estimated to cost Facebook $37 billion (Fortune, Kelleher).

Test your online communications knowledge.

Not all collaboration is productive. In today's business environment, effective communication and collaboration are valued as key drivers of innovation. On average, in a five-day work week, employees spend between 1 to 2 ½ days attending meetings. According to a recent study, employees spend almost 31 hours each month in unproductive meetings (HubSpot, 2014). Given these assumptions, most meetings have a 40 percent chance of being unproductive. It’s worth noting that an unproductive meeting doesn’t mean that the meeting was a complete failure. It just means that most meeting attendees could have been doing something more productive with their time.

The first strategy for hosting productive online meetings is simply preparation. Being prepared for meetings is perhaps the most powerful strategy for hosting productive meetings. Preparation enables you to come to the meeting confident in your ability to communicate with the online meeting tools available. As a meeting host, you can show all meeting attendees that you’re present and paying attention simply by turning on your video camera. The concept of “presence” is used throughout online communications to bring remote teams together. Many people feel uncomfortable on camera, yet overcoming this fear as a leader allows you to lead by example.

Why is the use of video so important to hosting productive online meetings? Ninety three percent of communication is non-verbal, so naturally promoting the use of video cameras during your meetings will increase your communication effectiveness and participant engagement. As an effective meeting host, you need to be mindful of participants’ concerns about online meeting technology.

While video conferencing makes remote communication more realistic, tried and true communication practices can help you get the most out of any online communication effort. One strategy for team communication is called “Equity of Voice,” in which each member of a meeting is encouraged to have an equal amount of time to speak. Barry Moline, the author of Connect, says the secret to powerful connections comes down to four basic communications strategies.

#1: Share personal stories

Sharing personal stories helps individual team members better understand their peers. Personal stories foster the relationship-building process which is foundational to team communication. Spend a few minutes at the beginning of each meeting to help team members build relationships by sharing personal stories. In addition, weave personal stories and anecdotes into key points in the meeting where helpful; they can often help reinforce key messages and build retention.

#2: Equity of voice

Achieving equity of voice requires a conscious effort to give each meeting member an equal opportunity to speak during the meeting. For example, in a five-person meeting each member of the team would speak one-fifth of the time and listen four-fifths of the time. The listening side of equity of voice is what makes it effective.

#3: Assume positive intent

To help ensure productive meetings, learn how to assume positive intent from others. This assumption helps set the meeting up for success by focusing on what you truly have control over -- yourself. Too often, the “not invented here” barrier and the “transfer barrier” prevent meeting attendees from productive collaboration. Avoid these barriers by encouraging the assumption of positive intent which builds a bridge for communication that might not come naturally.

#4: Value persistence

Anything worthwhile takes time, dedication, and persistence. Once managers identify collaboration projects with significant value to the organization, they need to keep a close eye on team progress and follow-through. Some team members may lose focus, skip important meetings, or come to meetings unprepared. Managers can help by identifying people who can serve as collaboration project leaders. In an upcoming chapter, managers will learn how to use social facilitation to increase productivity and accountability to help employees effectively collaborate on projects.

Equilibrium of Voice

Meeting leaders may embrace a new idea I call “Equilibrium of Voice” to push collaboration projects in a positive direction. Equilibrium of voice is a communication strategy that attempts to maximize meeting performance based on goals set in a meeting agenda. A meeting with perfect equilibrium of voice optimizes the most relevant speakers of a group based on the established agenda and the participants' roles in the overall group. It’s almost impossible for meetings to achieve equilibrium of voice without a clear agenda.

Equity of voice can be ideal for team collaboration where an agenda is in the process of being created and individual roles have yet to be defined. During the early stages of collaboration projects it’s important for everyone to be heard especially during crucial team-building exercises. But once a team has established an agenda, subsequent meetings will benefit from an equilibrium of voice that offers subject matter experts additional focus based on the agreed upon agenda.

There’s a process in psychology called “priming” that’s helpful in meeting scheduling. Priming is a powerful tool for meeting hosts because it helps to influence the way meeting participants will associate their role in association with the proposed meeting. Research shows that priming can influence someone to walk more slowly by having them read words such as “patient,” “polite,” or “respectful.” In this way, you can prime meeting participants to be excited for an upcoming meeting by using words such as “impressive” or “tremendous.” Depending on the type of presentation you’re planning, consider priming your meeting attendees with a catchy title or an associated image attached to the meeting invitation.

All businesses are dynamic and in a constant state of change. In The Grid, author Matt Watkinson, explains why the traditional way of studying a business as a static system is ineffective. Traditionally Watkinson says that businesses like to “break things down into small pieces, and then study them in isolation.” While your organization may see strong results from hosting many small meetings with dedicated teams, it’s often difficult for these small groups to see the bigger picture. In reality, all businesses are interconnected systems where one decision affects other areas of the system. Managers need to remain tapped into the collaboration efforts of their team members and look for overarching cause-and-effect scenarios that can result from small team decisions. This is why large “all hands” update meetings are so important for connecting departments under a common vision.

At some point in your online communications journey, someone in your organization will want to host a webinar. Webinars are online meetings that feature one or more panelists who make a presentation to a large group. Before you get talked into hosting or joining a webinar ask yourself if a regular meeting format will suffice. Webinars require much less meeting attendee participation than a regular meeting. Therefore, more focused attention on presentation quality is required for webinar hosts. Webinars are often advertised to large audiences and they promise value to the audience in the form of information.

Webinars generally feature a standard hour-long format that easily fits into the schedules of interested parties. It is important to keep in mind that people are busy and will leave a webinar that does not engage their interests within a few minutes. Almost all webinars are recorded and made available for those who registered but didn’t make it.

Our team at the StreamGeeks have hosted thousands of webinars over the years. In that time we have generated powerful educational and entertaining videos that sculpt our online presence. Our team used the power of social media to distribute our webinars and increase viewership by 10 times. Like most companies, we started our journey into video by hosting webinars with a simple platform called GoToMeeting. We then moved over to Zoom, which is our platform of choice for video communications.

Video communications and content delivery technologies have gone through an amazing period of innovation and change over the past decade. Video conferencing technology has moved to the cloud allowing anyone, almost anywhere, to connect and communicate with ease. Live video streaming has made its way into social media putting a “go live” button into the hands of billions of users. This democratization of technology has led to all kinds of new use cases. Throughout this process companies such as Twitch, Facebook, Zoom Video Conferencing, Google, Microsoft, Slack, and Discord have all experienced explosive growth by listening to customers and scaling their offerings to match growing market requirements.

At a high level, it’s interesting to look at online communication from a cultural perspective. Human civilization has grown to support massive surging populations. As a result business and economies have flourished, but traffic and over-population in major cities have become a very real consequence to global growth. For innovative individuals and businesses who want to increase productivity at work but also quality of life through reduced travel, online communications have become a tool necessary for growth.

The amount of global travel the world supports is astounding. Just take a quick look at a flight radar to see plane routes on top of plane routes, zipping throughout the world 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The coronavirus pandemic has put a temporary hold on global travel and given the world a rare chance to gain perspective. The literal roar of the daily hustle and bustle of modern life, has been reduced to a murmur which has allowed scientists to hear the earth better. Scientists have noted up to 30 percent decrease in global noise using advanced seismometer machines. Is there something we can learn from the silence?

Ray Oldenburg is a social scientist who can help us understand the importance of public gathering spaces. Oldenburg’s work defines an important concept he calls the “Third Place,” a social space separated from home and the workplace. Third places are churches, cafes, public parks, and restaurants. The Third Place idea helps us to better understand the importance of social environments and their impact on our culture. Oldenburg’s book, The Great Good Place, argues that these third places have the potential to promote a civil society, democracy, and civic engagement. But what happens to a society when our third places are taken away?

Shelter in place orders have forced a virtual third place explosion through pure necessity. Necessity is the mother of invention, and through a vast adoption of technology and internet access, social media, video gaming, and online communications have become the third place. One example of this was the world’s largest live concert with over 12 million concurrent viewers that took place in April 2020 inside of a video game. Fornite, which is one of the world’s most popular video games, held a virtual concert with over 10 million viewers in 2019. There’s no live concert stadium in the world that could hold even one-tenth of the audience members these concerts are hosting.

The move to esports has also become a global phenomenon for more than just kids playing video games. With sporting events cancelled around the world, bike races have continued with network connected exercise bikes. Major league sports are hosting nationally televised video game versions of scheduled matches. Zoom video conferencing was used during the NFL draft.

Without a doubt, Zoom video conferencing became the social media platform of the pandemic. Over 20 million people each day have downloaded the Zoom app, astounding Google, Microsoft, and Facebook which offer similar solutions but aren’t seeing the same growth. When the world demanded a space to replace their in-person connections, Zoom became the solution that spread like wildfire.

As of April 2020, Facebook had announced a slew of new features to better accommodate the new virtual third place demand. Facebook said it would upgrade its existing group messaging service to include unlimited free video calling for groups of up to 50 people. Facebook also upgraded the live streaming solution which connects millions together everyday directly through the social media platform. New features for video communication and live one-way broadcasting will continue to increase online communication in new and innovative ways.

Whether you would like to become more productive at work, spend more time doing the things you love, or you have a passion to reduce your carbon footprint, online communications can help you achieve these goals. While the world was headed in this direction slowly, the speed at which online communications are being adopted will help us achieve many great things in a short amount of time. Here's to innovation and human ingenuity. It is my hope these online communications tools will change your habits and make you a more productive and passionate member of an increasingly connected global community.