Video calls are ubiquitous in today’s business world as they provide a way for people to connect without being in the same space. Improvements in the technology and security have been a boon to global companies, allowing teams to have “face time” from anywhere, lowering travel costs and carbon footprints while maintaining a greater sense of personal connection.

Even with the power of those connections, routine calls can become, well, routine. Weekly, monthly, quarterly calls can easily slip into the “same old, same old” pattern of updates, reports, and next steps. Whether it’s your sales team getting together for a global update, groups of investors or financial analysts meeting or a company town hall, “regularly scheduled programming” calls can become monotonous, leading to participants multitasking or tuning out completely while attending.

Is it possible to leverage the convenience and efficiency of virtual meetings and events while providing an engaging experience? How can you elevate these routine calls and, therefore, increase the impact of your message?

Know What You’re After

“The first thing I would like to understand is the format of their calls,” says Camas Hunter, senior account manager for institutional business at OpenExchange. “Does the audience consist of internal attendees or clients? What level of interactivity do you want to have on your calls? What does success mean to you? Is it the number of participants, the number of questions asked, or something else entirely?” Knowing this information shapes the strategy for making any meeting more interactive and interesting.

Know What Your Audience and Hosts Want to See

Hunter explains that there’s a spectrum of interactivity, from no questions at all (many “traditional” webinars), to questions through email or chat only, audio-only live questions or even live questions with the speaker seen onscreen. Some meeting platforms allow attendees to pose questions as they register. “The possibility of getting their questions answered directly boosts the likelihood of attendance and attention. They have a vested interest in attending,” Hunter says. That approach tailors content better to the audience and the more you can do that, the more participation you’ll see, which translates into better, more engaged attendance for future events.

“Overall, the more live, in-the-moment activity you can generate, the more engaging the meeting becomes,” she explains. “Letting the audience ask questions directly is the number one thing you can do to make a call more interesting because speakers have to respond authentically instead of speaking from a script. It also gives the audience the very real feeling that their voices are being heard.”

Of course, an impromptu, live Q&A approach doesn’t work for every audience, going back to Hunter’s point about identifying the audience as critical for engagement.

Gib Smith, Chief Relationship Officer at OpenExchange, reiterates the importance of knowing what the audience – and presenters – want from any meeting, no matter the venue. “What will resonate with the audience? A passive group of investors may be more likely to submit questions via a Q&A app to protect their investment leanings. Conversely, some investors will want to test a thesis and engage with a management team or research analyst in a series of discussion-based questions. Research Analysts may prefer video to audio for personal branding. Eliciting this kind of information makes us much more effective at advising clients on the right technology platform and best meeting set up,” Smith explains.

If the audience is more passive, the hosting organization should consider creating anticipated questions to keep a dialog going and boost interest. If the host wants to feel like they’re in front of an in-person crowd, maybe there’s an opportunity to put some of the virtual audience on-screen so they don’t feel like they’re just talking to a piece of hardware. That can help create interactivity and a feeling of connection.

It’s important to note that the size of a group matters more than the specific industry or vertical in terms of meeting strategy: what works in a group of 12 might not be appropriate for a group of more than 50, Hunter says. You can have a “raise hands” approach in smaller groups like a monthly team meeting versus a webinar-like approach for larger groups.

Know What Tools Are Available

In addition to Q&A and seeing people onscreen, Hunter suggests using other interactive elements to boost engagement in routine calls. “If your organization isn’t comfortable with live Q&A, you can offer polls and surveys, either during the event or on the registration page, and use those results to drive real-time authentic content and meaningful discussion,” she says. The right meeting platform will offer those tools and more to help any organization meet strategic goals and make even the most routine meetings more successful.

Smith agrees. “The more an organization can leverage functionality like whiteboarding and other tools that make us feel like we’re in the same conference room, the more engaging meetings will be.”

Break-out rooms can also be a valuable tool for driving virtual connection and conversation. Groups can see different speakers rotate through the rooms, share findings, and have more time with individual speakers. If the event is global, those breakouts could be regional and focus on issues most important to each. That localized approach will boost engagement by making the sessions more relevant to attendees where they are.

“OE Passport™ can simply facilitate registration for attendees, or it can be a microsite that allows for recurring meetings, including storing replays for past meetings,” Hunter says. It can share recordings, poll results, speaker bios, a content library and anything that an organization wants to share in advance, such as a short video from the speaker. All of these elements help boost engagement and attendance for any event. The same site can host highlights after the event, a great way to get attendees to look forward to the next one, and can, ultimately, be a gateway to any information the organization wants to promote.

Know You Have the Right Support Before the Event

“Dry runs are critical to the success of high-profile events. We undertake as much rehearsal as needed for the client to be comfortable,” says Smith. “Near-perfect execution is our ‘price of entry.’ We de-risk events by making sure that everything is as perfect as it can be.” That includes levels of security for who can attend, ensuring that internal stakeholders have an exceptional experience, making recommendations to help speakers look and sound their best, and making sure the risk of failure – from technology or any other reason – is very low on the day of the event.

Greater Engagement is Attainable

Smith is realistic about the state of virtual meetings today. “Many people think virtual is boring. ‘Don’t we all want to be in person?’ No. Not everyone does, nor do they need to be! The truth is that if you have a good partner with a high-quality platform, like OpenExchange, you can get the best of both worlds, in an economically viable way. Virtual can be much more interactive than most people expect, with more great tools coming into play all the time. Virtual can be very effective when done the right way.”

Smith recalls a recent event that OpenExchange hosted. “A newly launched hedge fund had a ‘coming out party’ to present themselves to the market and to brokers. We built a microsite with profiles of each of the principals and facilitated a dry run for the presentations to make sure that the roles flowed nicely. We included a Q&A post-presentation, too. As a new fund, this was the first time they’d done this, and it needed to go really well. They came to OpenExchange for the white glove treatment we provide in ways no one else does.”

As video conferencing technologies have become more ubiquitous and widely used, the concern of ‘video fatigue’ has become real. By following a few straightforward steps and selecting the right partner, you can ensure engaging virtual meetings and events. To learn more about how your organization can do just that, contact OpenExchange today.