After a great conversation surrounding all the points they brought forward, below are nine recommendations that are brilliant to keep in mind as you’re planning the opening scene to your next virtual event or meeting:

• Plan, plan and plan some more! Make sure that all facilitators are ready in advance, and that your content is well prepared and understood. Know your goal and be ready for everything that can come in-between. Do you have all your supplies needed ready and accessible?
• Prepare your waiting room. Think about that buffer period while you are waiting for people to join the room and what you can do to engage them immediately. Have a ‘housekeeping’ slide/info-sheet on display or distributed to participants to help with setup and getting participants adjusted before the event/meeting starts.
• Consider different learning styles. Assume that not all participants will come with the same expectations or preparation. Have a plan to deal with different challenges that participants who may not be prepared could bring forward.
• Know your content. Have your design ready, and ensure the agenda is communicated to your participants before the event/meeting. Remember your introduction and have pocket questions ready to use throughout as necessary!
• Set a fixed timeline with deadlines and expectations. Use timekeeping tricks such as a real time clock or agenda and be sure to allow for plenty of breathing time throughout the event to deal with questions/issues that may arise.
• Expect issues with technology. If you have backup plans to deal with tech issues in advance, it will help you handle them in real time without too much distraction to the event/meeting. Create a checklist for things like hardware check, links prepared, videos loaded, breakout rooms created, etc.
• Care for yourself! Have lots of water, tea, coffee, or cough drops ready. Consider the space around you: Are you comfortable? Are any potential distractions set aside? What’s in your background? Is the lighting good?
• Keep the process under control. Assume that participants may not follow instructions or have difficulties with certain aspects of the session. Consider if it’d be worth while to have a support person to tackle issues while you continue facilitating, or to track in the moment tasks such as sharing documents/resources, hitting record, monitoring conversations, etc.
• Remember to engage! Accommodate participants as necessary and remind them to enjoy themselves throughout the event/meeting! Make sure they know what the expectations are and guide them towards the session goals.

Anything stand out that you hadn’t considered? Perhaps you have some ideas to defeat that awkward start of your next session? Tag us on social media if you’re feeling enlightened and confident about opening the stage for your next virtual event or meeting!

Special thanks to the team at Clean Foundation for the great discussion and helping us come up with all these outstanding tips!

The Barefoot Facilitation Team