9. Hosting a meeting

The person who has organised the meeting is usually the host of the meeting. 

The first step  in hosting a meeting is preparation:

    • make sure you have a practice in a meeting room and know how to use the controls.
    • set an agenda and share it with participants (you may have to set timeline)
    • online meetings should only last about an hour, any longer and participants lose concentration
    • if the meeting is with a guest speaker, have a practice run with them and make sure they are comfortable with the platform. If they have presentation it might be a good idea for you to have this on your desktop and be ready to share it when they indicate to you they are ready
    • if possible ask another participant who is comfortable with the site to moderate ie answer any questions that come up in the Chat so you can concentrate on hosting. Also help any attendees who may have any issues with managing their microphone. 

When entering the room:

    • Check your technology before you enter the room i.e. mic and video. Make sure they are working. If possible, use a headset (really improves the audio). You can use the set that comes with your phone if you don’t have a headset with a mic. 
    • Don’t be late! Arrive early and make sure you are ready to go when the meeting starts.
    • The first 5 minutes should be used for members to greet each other and ensure the technology is working. It is a good idea to show everyone’s video for the first few minutes (if there is about 25 people in the meeting). It makes the meeting feel more personal. Sometimes this can be an issue with bandwidth. 
    • Then mute everyone's mic except the presenter. Instruct participants to only turn it back on when they want to speak
    • After introductions, switch the webcam to show only the person who is speaking if you have not already done so.
    • Decide if you are going to record the session- useful if you have a guest speaker

Now you are ready to go! Good luck, if you are prepared it will work well