Tips for better hybrid meetings

Clear agenda

With a clear agenda, there are conditions for a more efficient meeting. It is valuable if the agenda is sent out in advance so that all participants in the meeting have the same starting point and prerequisites for preparation, whether the participation is physical or digital. Meetings longer than 45-50 minutes may need a planned break.

Chair the meeting

Hybrid meetings can place higher demands than normal on you as chair of the meeting. In larger meeting contexts, it can be good to have two meeting hosts in the physical space, one who is responsible for what happens in the physical space, and one who focuses on the participants in the digital space.

Include

As a participant in a hybrid meeting, small talk at the beginning of the meeting, during breaks and after the meeting can be experienced differently depending on how you participate. If there are discussions that come up during breaks, it is good that the are summarized during the meeting so that everyone receives the same information. One way that gives everyone the opportunity to participate in small talk can be that you connect five minutes before the meeting starts and end the meeting five minutes earlier so there is room for after-talk. Also think about adapting the meeting's layout to everyone. If, for example, documents are to be reviewed during the meeting, these need to be available in both physical and digital form. For a meeting to be inclusive, it is a prerequisite that participants see each other. This may mean that the furnishing in the physical premises need to be re-arranged and adapted and that the technology is in place.

Common rules

As a participant, it should be just as easy to request the word regardless of physical or digital participation. In the same way that you raise your hand in a digital meeting room, you should also raise your hand in the physical meeting room. Set common rules about, for example, in which forums question sessions, discussions and decisions are made with the aim that everyone is present and can participate in the meeting on the same terms.