Yinghua Cai

Team Azeibaijan
0nit S Lesson Plan

1
!"##$% '( )*+,-./ 0"",*%1# 23 4$-+ .%5 67 8*%-,"#9
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This lesson is uesigneu to familiaiize stuuents with the featuies of
conuucting a viitual meeting. Stuuents will be engageu in authentic tasks, such as
conuucting a SW0T analysis, cieating a sales pitch anu making a pitch thiough
viitual meeting softwaie. Integiating listening, speaking, ieauing, anu wiiting, this
lesson also ieflects the level of thinking suggesteu by the ieviseu Bloom's
Taxonomy, encompassing "iemembeiing", "unueistanuing", "applying", "analyzing",
"evaluating", anu "cieating" in a piogiessive fashion.

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Stuuents will know the vocabulaiy ielateu to viitual meetings.
Stuuents will be able to summaiize key infoimation fiom selecteu ieauings
on viitual meetings.
Stuuents will be able to compaie anu contiast tiauitional meetings with
viitual meetings thiough a SW0T analysis.
Stuuents will be able to iuentify what makes a successful viitual meeting.
Stuuents will feel comfoitable making a sales pitch foi a web-confeiencing
tool thiough Elluminate.
Stuuents will be equippeu with the skills to ieseaich web-confeiencing tools
befoie conuucting business with anothei countiy.

0.,"+*./# @ AB-*C8"%,(
Computei anu piojectoi
Laptops
Inteinet access
White boaiu anu maikeis
Class blog (vocabulaiy logs)
YouTube viueo (!"#$%&'( $ *$+#, -&%./ 01" $ -"123.%)
Softwaie (Auobe Connect & Blackboaiu Collaboiate, website, tutoiials)
uoogle uoc piesentation
vocabulaiy quiz
iecoiuings of Elluminate pitch-making piesentations
Banuouts: }igsaw ieauing packet foi each stuuent (Appenuix A); Photocopies of
*456 7'$+8,&, foi each stuuent (Appenuix B); Photocopies of 91+2#' -"&'.&:+#, 01"
;3''&'( $ <&"%3$+ =##%&'( foi each stuuent (Appenuix C)

D*8" E4.#" E+$>"5-+"#FD".>4"+ @ G,-5"%, H"4.?*$+
S min. Waim-up:
vocabulaiy
ieview
Nateiials: vocabulaiy quiz (matching activity)

uive each gioup an envelope that incluues 8-1u woius oi
phases anu theii uefinitions baseu on Ss' vocabulaiy logs
posteu on the class blog. (Note: About 1S stuuents will
paiticipate in the class accoiuing to oui inteiview with
Yinghua Cai
Team Azeibaijan
0nit S Lesson Plan

2
Patiicia. Iueally, the class will be uiviueu into S gioups,
with S stuuents in each gioup.)
Ask Ss in tuin to match the woius anu phiases with
theii uefinitions in S minutes.
Show the solution keys on the white boaiu anu check
the answeis with Ss.
1S min. }igsaw
ieauing
shaiing anu
giaphic
oiganizei
completion
Nateiials: }igsaw ieauing packet foi each stuuent
(Appenuix A), photocopies of *456 7'$+8,&, foi each
stuuent (Appenuix B), photocopies of 91+2#' -"&'.&:+#, 01"
;3''&'( $ <&"%3$+ =##%&'( (Appenuix C)

Pass out the photocopies of *456 7'$+8,&, anu those of
91+2#' -"&'.&:+#, 01" ;3''&'( $ <&"%3$+ =##%&'( to each
stuuent.
Ask Ss to conuuct a SW0T analysis baseu on theii
ieauings in gioups anu piepaie a gioup veision.
Ask Ss to summaiize goluen piinciples foi iunning a
viitual meeting in gioups anu piepaie a gioup veision.
1u min. Whole-class
uiscussion
Nateiials: }igsaw ieauing packet foi each stuuent
(Appenuix A), photocopies of *456 7'$+8,&, foi each
stuuent (Appenuix B), photocopies of 91+2#' -"&'.&:+#, 01"
;3''&'( $ <&"%3$+ =##%&'( (Appenuix C), computei anu
piojectoi, Inteinet, class blog

Invite one iepiesentative fiom each gioup to type theii
gioup veision onto the class blog (using the teachei's
computei) anu anothei iepiesentative to oially
summaiize theii gioup answeis. The answeis aie
piojecteu onto the scieen.
Nake comments anu ask questions when necessaiy.
1S min. Sales pitch
making task
claiification
Nateiials: Computei anu piojectoi, Inteinet, YouTube
viueo

Show Ss the YouTube viueo !"#$%&'( $ *$+#, -&%./ 01" $
-"123.% anu ask Ss to explain the uiffeiences between
featuies anu benefits, the uiffeiences between the left
biaineu anu iight-biaineu taiget maikets, anu the S
steps (cuiiosity, unueistanuing, uecision) in making a
sales pitch.
Biiefly ieview concepts in business uiffeientiation
with Ss.
Biviue Ss into two pitch-making teams (one foi Auobe
Connect, one foi Blackboaiu Collaboiate; both tools
have fiee tiial access).
Yinghua Cai
Team Azeibaijan
0nit S Lesson Plan

S
Ask Ss to iuentify a taiget oiganization in Baku they
want to sell viitual meeting softwaie to. Two teams
neeu to cieate a sales pitch taigeteu at the same
oiganization by using uoogle uoc piesentation.
Ranuomly assign tasks to each team membei (ieseaich
the benefits of the softwaie, watch softwaie tutoiials
anu take notes, iegistei foi the softwaie anu tiy it out,
ieseaich the taiget maiket, uesign anu make the
uoogle uoc piesentation, keep the time, etc.).
2S min. Bieak anu
pitch-making
piepaiation
Nateiials: Laptops, Inteinet, softwaie (website, tutoiials),
uoogle uoc piesentation

Ask Ss to piepaie theii 1u-minute pitch-making
piesentation in teams.
Walk aiounu anu pioviue assistance when necessaiy.
2S min. Elluminate
piesentation
Nateiials: Laptops, Inteinet, Elluminate, uoogle uoc
piesentation

Ask each stuuent to log onto Elluminate (assume that
Ss have been tiaineu to use Elluminate thiough leainei
tiaining).
Act as the moueiatoi anu give each team 1u minutes to
make theii pitch thiough Elluminate anu iecoiu theii
peifoimance.
S min. Wiap-up:
blog post
assignment
Nateiials: Laptops, iecoiuings of Elluminate pitch-making
piesentations, class blog, Inteinet

Ask Ss to watch the iecoiuings of two teams' pitch-
making piesentations anu wiite a blog post on what
was goou about the two piesentations anu what coulu
be impioveu to make the pitch-making moie
peisuasive.

E$,"%,*./ .5.C,.,*$%(
uiven moie time anu a laigei stuuent population, we can uiviue stuuents into thiee
teams anu pioviue the following scenaiio foi iole-play.

Scenaiio: You'ie woiking foi one of the two stiategic planning teams in XXX. Two
teams have theii own piefeiences foi the tool that they think shoulu be useu to
conuuct viitual meetings. You neeu to convince the boaiu membeis to invest in a
paiticulai web confeiencing tool foi conuucting business meetings with futuie
paitneis in othei countiies.

Yinghua Cai
Team Azeibaijan
0nit S Lesson Plan

4
Role play: Two teams cieate tool piofiles foi two tools anu make a uoogle uoc
piesentation to showcase theii tools; Boaiu of Biiectois compaie anu contiast the
two tools' auvantages anu uisauvantages thiough online ieseaiching.

Each team has altogethei 1u minutes to showcase theii tool anu answei questions.
The Boaiu of Biiectois has altogethei 1u minutes to show theii finuings anu ask
questions.

Follow-up assignment: blog post on a tool you woulu like to invest in anu explain the
ieasons (eithei exploieu in class oi not).

0thei tools foi exploiation: viitual meeting smackuown! 1S top Web confeiencing
seivices compaieu
































Yinghua Cai
Team Azeibaijan
0nit S Lesson Plan

S
ICC"%5*J I
}igsaw Reauing Packet

K*+">,*$%#(
To piepaie foi oui next class, you aie iequiieu to select at least 2 aiticles to
ieau fiom the following packet. Nake suie that all aiticles aie coveieu in
each gioup.

1. Can viitual Neetings Replace Tiauitional Neetings
2. viitual Neetings will Eiase Face to Face
S. Five Ways to Bettei Run viitual Neetings
4. Bow to Conuuct a viitual Neeting

Each gioup neeus to cieate an online vocabulaiy log, which incluues
unfamiliai woius anu phiases (in the aiticles) with English uefinitions anu
exemplaiy sentences, anu post it on the class blog by 6 pm, Tuesuay.
Befoie class, stuuents neeu to ieau all the vocabulaiy logs (incluuing those
cieateu by othei gioups) anu memoiize the vocabulaiy.

1. Can V|rtua| Meet|ngs kep|ace 1rad|t|ona| Meet|ngs?
Aprll 30Lh, 2012 osLed ln AppolnLmenL SeLLlng

What are v|rtua| conferences?
vlrLual conferences and meeLlngs have long been used by buslness owners who are
ouLsourclng cerLaln operaLlons of Lhelr buslness. ro[ecL managers, ln parLlcular, are
fond of uslng vlrLual meeLlng appllcaLlons Lo dlscuss progress wlLh Leam members who
are ln remoLe locaLlons. 8us|ness to bus|ness appo|ntments can also be conducLed
onllne. 82b vlrLual meeLlngs allow Llme-pressed buslness owners Lo accompllsh more
Lasks wlLhouL needlng Lo Lravel Lo dlsLanL locaLlons. Large expenses can be avolded,
parLlcularly wlLh accommodaLlon and fares. Pavlng vlrLual meeLlngs ls exLremely helpful
for small and medlum slzed companles who wanL Lo expand globally, buL do noL yeL
have Lhe currenL resources Lo meeL wlLh poLenLlal b2b leads locaLed around Lhe world.
1here are varlous sofLware avallable LhaL allow for comprehenslve vlrLual meeLlngs.
1hese appllcaLlons lnclude sharlng of speclflc appllcaLlons relevanL Lo Lhe meeLlng,
recordlng meeLlngs for fuLure references, chaL, emall and deskLop sharlng funcLlons.
V|rtua| meet|ng et|quette
Pere are a few polnLers Lo remember when conducLlng vldeo meeLlngs:
- As wlLh a LradlLlonal meeLlng, make sure LhaL you have compleLe prlvacy before
sLarLlng your vlrLual meeLlng Lo avold unnecessary dlsLracLlons.
- Check LhaL all sofLware and hardware are worklng properly prlor Lo sLarLlng Lhe
Yinghua Cai
Team Azeibaijan
0nit S Lesson Plan

6
meeLlng. Audlo volume should be approprlaLe Lo ensure clarlLy of dlscusslon. Ask
your co-aLLendees Lo poslLlon Lhemselves ln Lhe besL llghL so LhaL Lhey can be
seen clearly on Lhe vldeo screen.
- uress approprlaLely for Lhe occaslon. ?ou may be hosLlng Lhe meeLlng ln Lhe comforLs
of your home offlce, buL LhaL doesn'L mean you can show up ln your home
cloLhes. ?our dress code durlng appolnLmenLs ls lmporLanL, as lL expresses how
serlous you are abouL earnlng Lhe buslness of poLenLlal b2b leads.
- 8ehave as you would ln a regular face Lo face meeLlng. MulLlLasklng (l.e. checklng
emalls, uslng your moblle phone, Lyplng unrelaLed maLLers on your keyboard,
checklng oLher programs on your compuLer) ls very dlsLracLlng for oLhers ln Lhe
meeLlng.

Shou|d |t rep|ace trad|t|ona| meet|ngs?
Whlle vlrLual conference sofLwares provlde a cheaper means of connecLlng wlLh your
buslness leads, ldeally, all lmporLanL meeLlngs should be done face Lo face. 1here ls no
subsLlLuLe for conducLlng b2b appo|ntments face Lo face. 1he amounL of lnslghLs you
can geL from acLually meeLlng wlLh your cllenLs ls lnvaluable. 8ody language, mlnuLe
Lone lnflecLlons, even Lhe Lype of beverage Lhey order can polnL Lo Lhelr propenslLy of
dolng buslness wlLh you. lf frequenL face Lo face meeLlngs are noL posslble wlLh your
currenL company budgeL, conslder havlng vlrLual meeLlngs only wlLh your already
exlsLlng cllenLs. new buslness leads should always be meL face Lo face. ?ou should show
your buslness leads LhaL you are wllllng Lo seL aslde Llme Lo meeL wlLh Lhem. ldeally,
wheLher you are ouLsourclng your buslness appolnLmenL seLLlng servlce or hosLlng lL
yourself, you should lnsLrucL your appolnLmenL seLLers Lo lnqulre lf buslness leads are
wllllng Lo conducL meeLlngs onllne, some buslness leads may be wanLlng Lo save on
expenses as well.

hLLp://www.callboxlnc.com/blog/appolnLmenL-seLLlng/can-vlrLual-meeLlngs-replace-
LradlLlonal-meeLlngs/

2. V|rtua| Meet|ngs W||| Lrase Iace to Iace
lorgeL haullng your brlefcase on a no-frllls alrllne fllghL Lo aLLend a sLuffy convenLlon.
Cnllne evenLs are Lhe besL, mosL cosL-effecLlve places Lo exchange lnformaLlon and
meeL and greeL. ro or con?
kC: 1nL SAML LVLN1 ICk LLSS
by 8renL Arslaner, unlsfalr lnc.
Conslder Lhese facLs: Clsco SysLems canceled lLs sales Lralnlng Lhls year. Apple ls pulllng
ouL of fuLure Macworlds. Among companles l work wlLh: A Clobal 300 hlgh-Lech ouLflL
known for lLs exLravaganL physlcal evenLs ls golng from holdlng elghL ln 2008 Lo one ln
2009. lnsLead of spendlng $1 mllllon for sales Lralnlng as lL dld ln 2008, a bllllon-dollar
Yinghua Cai
Team Azeibaijan
0nit S Lesson Plan

7
company wlll hold lLs !uly Lralnlng vlrLually. LasL november an evenL and meeLlng
deparLmenL for a bllllon-dollar 828 company wenL from a sLaff of flve Lo one.
ln Lhese Lough economlc Llmes, advanclng Lechnologles are maklng vlrLual evenLs noL
only a less expenslve replacemenL for physlcal meeLlngs buL also a superlor one. Why do
we have meeLlngs and evenLs? 1) Lo exchange lnformaLlon, and 2) Lo neLwork. vlrLual
meeLlng and evenL Lechnology can faclllLaLe Lhese Lwo ob[ecLlves easlly.
1he Lechnology allows Lhe vlrLual aLLendees Lo enLer" a bulldlng LhaL can look llke any
convenLlon cenLer or meeLlng place. WlLh a cllck of a buLLon Lhey can enLer Lhe
conference hall, wlLh a podlum and audlence, and choose whlch conference sesslons
Lhey wanL Lo see and parLlclpaLe ln. lrom Lhere Lhey can go Lo Lhe exhlblLlon floor and
enLer a booLh wlLh reps, slgnage, collaLeral demos, and glveaways and prlze drawlngs.
1here ls even a neLworklng lounge where aLLendees can meeL.
1hls means savlng 30 Lo 80 by wlplng ouL Lhe cosLs of venue renLal, hoLel rooms,
LransporLaLlon, and packlng and shlpplng dlsplays. CeneraLlng a lead could cosL [usL $20
vlrLually, whlle Lhe same lead from a physlcal evenL could mean an lnvesLmenL of $200
Lo $1,000.
1he convenlence, lncreased producLlvlLy, and cosL savlngs of hosLlng vlrLual evenLs make
Lhem an lnevlLable replacemenL for physlcal evenLs.
CCN: CAN'1 kLLACL IACL 1C IACL
by Spencer !arreLL, lnvlslon CommunlcaLlons
Asklng lf vlrLual meeLlngs wlll replace llve meeLlngs ls llke asklng lf slngles' chaL rooms
wlll replace real daLlng. Puman face-Lo-face lnLeracLlon ls, and wlll conLlnue Lo be, Lhe
mosL effecLlve form of communlcaLlon. lL's slmple. Llve meeLlngs dellver Lhe rlch, poLenL
experlences LhaL vlrLual meeLlngs can'L. 1hey dellver moLlvaLlon along wlLh messaglng,
and lnsplraLlon wlLh lnformaLlon.
1haL's why corporaLlons LhaL wanL Lo lnsplre a salesforce Lo perform or bulld confldence
wlLh cusLomers are conLlnulng Lo rely on Lhe punch LhaL llve evenLs dellver. My
company, lnvlslon CommunlcaLlons, produces 200 llve meeLlngs per year, many for
cllenLs who say LhaL audlences' deslre for llve face Llme wlLh execuLlves ls a ma[or drlver
of aLLendance. CorporaLe evenL aLLendees, llke concerLgoers, llke Lhelr experlences real,
noL pay-per-vlew."
SLlll, whlle vlrLual meeLlngs wlll never enLlrely replace llve ones, Lhe Lechnology has a
place wlLhln physlcal evenLs. 1he shorLfalls of Lhe LradlLlonal meeLlng model, wlLh an on-
sLage presenLer Lalklng Lo a passlve audlence, have become clear wlLh Lhe rlse of
lnLeracLlve and soclal neLworklng Lools. 1hese advances have drlven llve meeLlngs Lo
lncorporaLe beLLer peer-Lo-peer and audlence-Lo-presenLer lnLeracLlon. 1oday almosL all
Yinghua Cai
Team Azeibaijan
0nit S Lesson Plan

8
llve meeLlngs use slgnlflcanL on-slLe and Web-based Lechnologles. lor example, some
meeLlngs lnvlLe aLLendees Lo use Lhelr lapLops Lo parLlclpaLe ln llve blogglng and C&A
durlng presenLaLlons. CLhers glve parLlclpanLs proprleLary uA-slzed devlces Lo allow
Lhem Lo flnd peers wlLh slmllar lnLeresLs, and geL elecLronlc coples of presenLaLlons.
Lven cell phones have become lnLeracLlve Lools for sendlng LexL messages Lo presenLers
or Lo Lhe large screen.
1hese Lechnologles allow aLLendees Lo geL lnformaLlon wlLhouL paper, lnLeracL real-Llme
wlLh presenLers and one anoLher, and bulld a communlLy based on shared knowledge
and lnLeresLs-all whlle en[oylng acLual llve conLacL wlLh oLher human belngs.

hLLp://www.buslnessweek.com/debaLeroom/archlves/2009/01/vlrLual_meeLlng.hLml

3. I|ve Ways to kun 8etter V|rtua| Meet|ngs
3:39 M 1hursday May 3, 2012 by kelLh lerrazzl
Anyone who has saL ln enough Leleconferences has experlenced a speclal klnd of
meeLlng hell. 1he dlscusslon drlfLs and sags unLll, Lo Lry Lo geL Lhlngs back on Lrack, Lhe
faclllLaLor says, "!ohn, whaL do you Lhlnk abouL Lhe proposed lnlLlaLlve?" 1hen, afLer an
awkwardly long pause, !ohn responds wlLh: "Ch, sorry, whaL was Lhe quesLlon agaln?"
1eleconferences can be a huge wasLe of Llme. 8uL, when conducLed properly, Lhey can
be boLh efflclenL and effecLlve, even more so Lhan face-Lo-face meeLlngs. 1haL's rlghL:
vlrLual meeLlngs can be !"#$%&'% Lo LradlLlonal physlcal ones. 1he obvlous advanLage of
Leleconferences ls LhaL Lhey are a qulck, easy, and relaLlvely cheap means of geLLlng
people LogeLher, buL Lhere are also oLher unlque beneflLs LhaL aren'L so wldely known,
lncludlng Lhe followlng:
-1eleconferences easlly lend Lhemselves Lo belng recorded. Many appllcaLlons llke
WebLx have a "record" funcLlon LhaL wlll capLure noL [usL Lhe conversaLlon buL also
documenLs and oLher maLerlals belng presenLed. So when people mlss an lmporLanL
meeLlng, Lhey can easlly caLch up by playlng Lhe recordlng. Moreover, some advanced
Lools enable people Lo navlgaLe Lhrough Lhe recordlng so LhaL, lf Lhey're lnLeresLed ln
[usL a parLlcular secLlon - for example, a dlscusslon abouL Lhe annual budgeLlng process
- Lhey can sklp Lhe resL of Lhe meeLlng and replay [usL LhaL porLlon.
-eople can be paLched ln lnsLanLaneously Lo answer a quesLlon or offer Lhelr experLlse
on a parLlcular Loplc. 1hey don'L have Lo wasLe Lhelr Llme slLLlng Lhrough Lhe enLlre
meeLlng, Lhey can parLlclpaLe exacLly when Lhey're needed no maLLer where Lhey're
locaLed. All Lhls can be done elecLronlcally aL Lhe bllnk of an eye, whlch sure beaLs Lhe
old way of runnlng down Lhe hall Lo flnd someone whlle everyone else slLs and walLs.
-arLlclpanLs can easlly break off lnLo smaller groups for a qulck dlscusslon abouL a
Yinghua Cai
Team Azeibaijan
0nit S Lesson Plan

9
parLlcular Loplc. 1hls can also be done ln Lhe bllnk of an eye, Lhanks Lo Lhe maglc of
dlglLal communlcaLlons. no more wasLlng Llme as people wander off looklng for anoLher
locaLlon Lo chaL and Lhen slowly reconvene ln Lhe maln meeLlng room.
8uL make no mlsLake: vlrLual meeLlngs are Lrlcky Lo conducL. 1he prlmary challenge ls
keeplng everyone engaged. Clsco, whlch sells neLworklng and oLher equlpmenL LhaL
enable vlrLual communlcaLlons, has sLudled LhaL lssue exLenslvely. My Leam aL lerrazzl
CreenllghL helped Lhem come up wlLh Lhe followlng guldellnes:
Use v|deo: 1hls ls perhaps Lhe mosL lmporLanL rule. noL only does Lhe use of vldeo
enable people Lo read each oLher's reacLlons and moods, lL also encourages Lhem Lo pay
aLLenLlon and reslsL dolng Lhelr e-mall or oLherwlse mulLlLasklng. Cf course, many
people wlll reslsL vldeo and say, "We've always done our meeLlngs by phone and lL's
worked before. Why change?" 8uL now LhaL Lhe cosL of vldeoconferenclng ls mlnlmal
Lhanks Lo Lechnologles llke Skype, Lhere's no excuse. vldeo wlll resulL ln beLLer
Leleconferences, perlod.
Do a "1ake S": lor Lhe flrsL flve mlnuLes of a vlrLual meeLlng, everyone should Lake Lurns
and Lalk a llLLle abouL whaL's golng on ln Lhelr llves, elLher personally or professlonally.
1hls wlll help "break Lhe lce" and seL Lhe rlghL mood for people Lo llsLen and connecL
wlLh one anoLher.
Ass|gn d|fferent tasks: 1o help keep people engaged, dlfferenL lndlvlduals could be
asslgned varlous Lasks, such as whlLe board manager, mlnuLes recorder, C&A manager,
and so on. 1hese funcLlons could be roLaLed for every meeLlng.
Iorb|d the use of the "mute" funct|on: A sureflre way Lo klll Lhe mood of any vlrLual
meeLlng ls wlLh Lhe dead sllence LhaL follows a [oke because people have Lhelr audlo on
muLe. erhaps more lmporLanL, muLe dlscourages sponLaneous dlscusslon. Cf course, lf
someone ls ln a nolsy envlronmenL llke an alrporL Lermlnal, Lhe muLe funcLlon can help
prevenL dlsrupLlons Lo Lhe meeLlng, buL Lhose lnsLances should be more Lhe excepLlon
Lhan Lhe rule.
ena||ze mu|t|taskers: Many managers LoleraLe people who mulLlLask durlng meeLlngs.
AfLer all, aren'L Lhose lndlvlduals maklng Lhe mosL effecLlve use of Lhelr Llme? 8uL Lhe
slmple LruLh ls LhaL noLhlng dralns Lhe energy from a meeLlng llke mulLlLasklng. 1o
dlscourage lL, managers should lmplemenL a penalLy for offenders, buL ln dolng so Lhey
should remember LhaL a Louch of humor can go a long way ln seLLlng Lhe rlghL mood. AL
one company, a splnnlng wheel deLermlnes a person's punlshmenL, wlLh Lhe needle
endlng up on anyLhlng from small moneLary flnes Lo a chore llke cleanlng Lhe offlce
coffee poL for a week.
Yinghua Cai
Team Azeibaijan
0nit S Lesson Plan

1u
As companles become lncreaslngly global and workers LelecommuLe more and more,
Leleconferences have become a dally facL of corporaLe llfe. Clven LhaL, lL's mlnd-
boggllng LhaL many organlzaLlons do such a poor [ob of conducLlng vlrLual meeLlngs. !usL
a handful of slmple guldellnes can change Lhem from awkward and dull Lo effecLlve and
energlzlng.
hLLp://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/03/Lhe_rlghL_way_Lo_run_a_vlrLual.hLml

4. now to Conduct a V|rtua| Meet|ng
8:17 AM 1uesday March 1, 2011 by nlck Morgan
vlrLual meeLlngs are Lhe subopLlmal reallLy of mosL lnformaLlon workers' llves. 1hey
save on Lravel Llme and cosLs, buL Lhey deprlve meeLlng-goers of a hosL of non-verbal
slgnals LhaL help us undersLand each oLher. WlLhouL Lhe body language, Lhe lnformaLlon
sLream goes down from broadband Lo dlal-up, Lhe slgnal Lo nolse raLlo goes up, and Lhe
posslblllLy for mlscommunlcaLlon accordlngly rlses.
And lL's noL [usL Lhe vlsual cues LhaL are mlsslng. 1he quallLy of mosL phone llnes and
dlglLal volce llnes are qulLe poor, so a huge amounL of vocal Lone ls also losL, and Lhe
resulLlng loss of nuance makes vlrLual meeLlngs even less saLlsfylng and more dlfflculL.
So whaL's Lo be done? Pere are flve sLeps you can Lake Lo help puL some of Lhe rlchness
back lnLo a vlrLual meeLlng.
1. kecogn|ze that v|rtua| meet|ngs are subopt|ma| and p|an accord|ng|y. uo Lhe less
lmporLanL Lhlngs vla vlrLual meeLlngs whenever posslble. Save Lhe emoLlonal sLuff for
face-Lo-face meeLlngs, because lL's emoLlons and aLLlLudes LhaL are conveyed mosLly vla
body language. So lf you're klcklng off someLhlng lmporLanL, or celebraLlng a blg wln,
blLe Lhe meeLlng bulleL and brlng everyone LogeLher. ln Lhe vlrLual meeLlngs, do Lhe
rouLlne lnformaLlon-sharlng sLuff. 1rylng Lo solve dlsagreemenLs or rev people up vla a
dlglLal phone llne ls pure folly. Cur emoLlonal lnvesLmenL ln a phone call ls slmply less
Lhan ln a face-Lo-face meeLlng, and Lhe lack of vlsual and Lonal lnformaLlon makes lL
much harder Lo geL key messages across.
2. |an the v|rtua| meet|ng |n 10-m|nute segments. 8ecenL evldence suggesLs LhaL
aLLenLlon spans may be abouL 10 mlnuLes long ln Lhls compuLer-addled, lnformaLlon-
overloaded age. Cur aLLenLlon spans are cerLalnly no longer on a phone, so plan your
meeLlng ln shorL segmenLs and Lake breaks ln beLween. 1he breaks wlll allow people Lo
re-engage.
3. ause regu|ar|y for group |nput. Cne of Lhe flrsL casualLles of a vlrLual meeLlng ls
group parLlclpaLlon. 1he overwhelmlng Lendency ls Lo puL Lhe phone on muLe and Lake
care of oLher chores whlle half-llsLenlng. ?ou can keep Lhe group lnvolved by golng
around Lhe phones asklng for lnpuL. ln a face-Lo-face meeLlng, you're able Lo Lell how
Yinghua Cai
Team Azeibaijan
0nit S Lesson Plan

11
people are dolng by monlLorlng Lhelr body language. ln a vlrLual meeLlng, you need Lo
sLop regularly Lo Lake everyone's LemperaLure. And l do mean everyone. Co rlghL
around Lhe llsL, asklng each locale or person for lnpuL.
4. Labe| your emot|ons, and ask others to do the same. Lacklng vlsual cues, we have a
very hard Llme readlng oLher people's aLLlLudes, so make yours clear and Lraln oLher
people on Lhe call Lo do Lhe same. Say, "l'm exclLed abouL Lhls nexL blL of news, because
lL means LhaL.." Cr, "!lm, l'm really surprlsed Lo hear LhaL Lhlrd quarLers numbers aren'L
lmprovlng. Surprlsed and worrled, acLually. Pow are you feellng abouL Lhem?" ?ou've
goL Lo puL back ln whaL Lhe phone llnes are removlng.
S. Don't neg|ect the sma|| ta|k but use v|deo. lace-Lo-face meeLlngs keep a group
LlghL and coheslve Lhrough all Lhe non-verbal slgnals of solldarlLy and for Lhe ablllLy of
groups Lo share emoLlons. 1haL's much harder Lo do vla vlrLual meeLlng. So puL Lhe fun
and sharlng ln Lhrough small Lalk - buL make lL vldeo small Lalk. CeL Lhe group Lo send
each oLher 30-second or 1-mlnuLe cllps of whaL Lhey're up Lo or whaL Lhe weaLher's llke
where Lhey are. 1echnology makes Lhese cllps easy Lo do, and Lhey help remlnd people
of Lhe vlsual exlsLence of each oLher even when noL physlcally co-presenL. uL some of
LhaL money you're savlng on Lravel Lo good Lechnologlcal use.
vlrLual meeLlngs wlll never replace Lhe need for humans Lo exchange emoLlonal and
unconsclous non-verbal lnformaLlon Lhrough face-Lo-face exchanges, buL Lhey can be
made Lo do for all buL Lhe mosL lmporLanL purposes.
hLLp://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/03/how_Lo_conducL_a_vlrLual_meeLl.hLml



















Yinghua Cai
Team Azeibaijan
0nit S Lesson Plan

12
ICC"%5*J H
GL;D I%./M#*#

Traditional Meetings Virtual Meetings
Strength
Weakness
Opportunity
Threat
Yinghua Cai
Team Azeibaijan
0nit S Lesson Plan

1S

ICC"%5*J N

Golden Principles for Running a Virtual Meeting

Dos Donts