Suddenly Virtual

CHAPTER 7Making Every Virtual Meeting a Video Meeting: The Converged Perspective

As a meeting scientist, when Joe takes part in organizational meetings, he occupies an unusual position. While his primary role might be that of a participant, he can't help but make observations that set his scientific mind in motion. Allow him to share a few recent experiences from his perspective as a virtual meeting attendee:

A Story from Joe's Perspective

• Observation #1: “The other day, I was in a virtual meeting. One of about a dozen that day. Although the meeting was going fine, there were several folks with and several without their video on. Some had called in, while others simply had it off. Well, on this occasion, one of the participants who was not on video made a rather harsh and pointed comment. The participant was well‐thought‐of, a leader of the group, and a step above most of the folks on the call as it pertains to hierarchy in the organization. I could see that the attendees with video on were visibly taken aback, some more than others. Many in the group began backpedaling on their ideas in response. Ultimately, we decided to move forward, but the participant who made the harshly pointed and challenging comment said very little as everyone worked to revise the plan and set appropriate objectives for the project. The meeting adjourned. About an hour later, I received an email from the critical participant who caused the stir on the call. It simply said, ‘Did people not realize ...