Hosting Successful Hybrid Meetings
Know the Tech in Your Meeting Room
Understanding the technology available in a meeting room is the first step in determining how to set up your meeting. There is always a way to have a successful hybrid meeting! This page will give you a brief explaination of tips; for more details please vist the Administrative Resource Center.
| Meeting Room Capabilities | Best Option(s) |
|---|---|
| Fully equipped for video conferencing | Zoom, Teams |
| Poly Trio/Visual+ devices only | Skype audio and/or video |
| No advanced tech, just wifi | Participants log in on their devices from the meeting room |
Select the Best Hybrid Meeting Tool
Zoom, Teams, and Skype for Business are all available but there are unique features which may make one better than another for a particular meeting. You can compare features of Zoom, Teams, and Skype for Business to make the choice that’s right for your meeting.
Meeting Invitation
Make sure participants have all the information they need in the meeting invitation:
- Include a link to join the meeting, a link to the cloud-based agenda, and related documents for easy reference.
- Establish if cameras are expected to be on and if everyone should bring their laptop to join the meeting through Zoom/Teams.
Before the Meeting
Arriving a few minutes early and testing connections can ensure that you are able to start your meeting on time.
- Some meeting rooms have a room PC that you will need to log into to use the room technology. Please allow extra time to log in if you are doing so for the first time in a meeting room.
- Regardless of the room, it is a good idea to test audio, video and screen sharing before you begin.
- Review resources to make the most of your online meeting:
During the Meeting
Some simple changes can simplify hybrid meetings for all participants.
- At the start of the meeting:
- Add a link to the meeting notes document in the chat.
- Assign meeting roles such as facilitator, note taker and chat moderator.
- Verbalize any ground rules and who is in meeting roles.
- Remind people to mute when they are not speaking.
- During the meeting:
- Ask participants to limit chat to questions and keep side conversations to a minimum.
- Remember to review and address questions from the chat.
- In breakouts, consider having in person and remote people work together.
- Consider using a shared digital whiteboard in Zoom or a digital whiteboard in Teams.
- As the host, make sure you pause to see if there is any input from your virtual sites.
- Wrap up:
- Record action items within the notes and verbalize with the group so everyone is on the same page.
- Address remaining questions from the chat.
- Recurring meetings:
- Consider having one cloud-based document with running meeting agenda/notes.
- Consider online community-building activities.
Need help?
If you need tech help on an OCIO-supported meeting room, call 614-688-4357.
If a meeting room does not have the equipment needed for hybrid or virtual meetings, OCIO can help you upgrade! For more details, contact the OCIO TEMS team at ITServiceDesk@osu.edu.