How to Use a Meeting Room for Virtual Meeting Hosting
Meeting rooms are an ideal place to host your virtual calls with clients and team members who are elsewhere.
Why Host Virtual Meetings from a Meeting Room?
These rooms aren’t just for in-person meetings and work perfectly for virtual calls too. Meeting rooms are also designed to support virtual sessions by having the appropriate amenities like video conferencing technology and fast Wi-Fi. They also limit distractions, so it’s unlikely that you’ll get interrupted during your call.
Setting up the Meeting Room for Virtual Hosting
First of all, you have to decide where in the room you’re going to sit. Choosing somewhere with a plain wall and good lighting is a wise decision. You don’t want to show up too dark or too bright on camera. Some video conferencing platforms let you choose a greenscreen background which can be useful.
Once you’ve found a place to sit, you need to make sure that you’re positioned appropriately in the frame. If your camera is at eye level or slightly above, then the person you’re calling should be able to have a good view of you. Of course, make sure you’re not too far away from the camera. Many video conferencing platforms allow you to see what you’ll look like in the frame before you join.
What Tech is Needed for Virtual Meeting Hosting
Here are some things you might need:
- A device like a laptop or tablet
- Headphones with high-quality audio
- Stable internet connection
- A suitable camera. This might be your device’s camera or a separate one that’s connected to it
- Video conferencing software like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or Google Meet
If your office space has a screen, you might want to use this, especially if you’re doing a hybrid call. If you do this, you’ll have to make sure the monitor supports video conferencing
Before joining the video conference, test all your equipment to check that it works as it should. By doing this, you’re less likely to run into technical issues.
Creating a Professional and Engaging Virtual Environment
There are many things you can do to foster a productive session:
Encourage participation: Make sure attendees have the opportunity to get involved. You can do this in many ways, such as including open-ended questions on slides if you’re presenting. Giving people a chance to have their say can create productive discussions. You could also use virtual tools to encourage participation. For example, you may use an online whiteboard and screen sharing to have a brainstorming session.
Send around a meeting agenda: This shows people that you’re prepared and allows them to be organised as well. If they have any talking points or questions, they can make sure they have them ready for you.
In some instances, such as if you’re having a confidential call, you might want to set out rules beforehand. This shows professionalism and makes sure everyone is aware of how the session will work. For example, you may have a rule that people need to raise their hand if they want to ask a question.
How Meeting Rooms Support Hybrid Meetings
A hybrid meeting is when a number of people in a physical location meet virtually with others who are elsewhere. This is useful in many instances, such as if you’re working on a group project and someone in your team works remotely.
Because meeting rooms usually have a monitor, this can sometimes be used to call attendees who are elsewhere. If you’re planning to do this, make sure the monitor supports video conferencing. The screen should be set up in a way where everyone in the room can see it clearly from where they’re sitting. If not, and if people aren’t in the frame, consider moving the furniture around.
Discover Spacepool's Wide Range of Meeting Rooms
If you’re planning to host a virtual meeting, you can avoid distractions and have a productive session by hiring a meeting room. With Spacepool, finding the right office space for you is a straightforward process. We have a range of workspaces to discover across the UK with a range of layouts, facilities and amenities. If you need your office to have something specific, like 24-hour access or secure access, then you can find it by using our filtering tool. Find a meeting room for you and your team today!