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There is No One-Size-Fits-All Meeting Platform
Most problems with
meetings are people
problems; lack of
preparation, poor meeting
skills, boring presentations,
bad habits,... the list goes on.
But not all of them. To hold a successful, productive meeting, you also need the right equipment.
Example of poor preparation
3 Ways to Select Meeting Software
Option 1: Don’t really choose.
This “good enough, let’s wing it” approach frankly works pretty well for independent teams or small companies.
3 Ways to Select Meeting Software
Option 2: IT Picks.
This is the most common choice, reflecting the long-standing IT-centric rather than business-centric approach to buying software that dominates corporate software purchasing.
3 Ways to Select Meeting Software
Option 3: Match one or more meeting platforms to business needs.
This "best tool for the job" approach allows more mature companies to better support and optimize for the unique needs of different types of meetings.
Common Feature Sets
All meeting platforms share some common features and assumptions.
• Audio conferencing
• Web conferencing
• Meeting productivity
• Webinars & Webcasting
• Decision support
• Board portals
We'll briefly cover six of the most common feature sets:
Technical Communication Features
Audio Conferencing
Example products: Skype, UberConference, TurboBridge, Intercall
• If you have remote participants, you’ll need some form of audio conferencing.
• Many systems integrate with several options.
• You can (and often should) pick audio services separately from the rest of your system.
• Keep in mind: you can have more than one audio service.
Technical Communication Features
Generic Web Conferencing
Example products: join.me, AnyMeeting, GoToMeeting, WebEx
• Desktop sharing, application sharing, document presentation and chat allow people in different locations to look at the same thing at the same time.
• This feature set represents the electronic equivalent of a conference room, a pen and a notepad.
• You should assume that your team will need these features, at least some of the time.
Features for Specific Meetings
Meeting Productivity Features
Example products: MeetingHero, MeetingKing, Less Meeting, Lucid Meetings
• Features can include schedule coordination, agenda management, task tracking, note taking, and meeting records.
• Productivity features help groups organize, run, and document their meetings.
• Most features it easy for multiple people to add notes, comments, and other contributions directly to the online meeting record.
Features for Specific Meetings
Webinar and Webcasting Systems
Example products: MeetingBurner, ON24, GoToWebinar, Adobe Connect for Webinars
• Common features: online registrations, “presenter-mode” audio, Q&A panels, branded splash screens, session recording and attendance reports.
• Webinars or webcasts aren't intended to be collaborative experiences - they are one-way communication in real-time.
• Meant to increase awareness and sales, the reporting and follow-up features are critical to the event’s goal.
Features for Specific Meetings
Decision Support
Example products: MeetingSphere, Powernoodle, 1000minds, Conteneo
• Common features: online brainstorming, idea grouping, priority ranking and voting.
• When strategic planning and other high-stakes meetings get bad results, teams and companies fail.
• Decision support tools provide the infrastructure required to guide groups through highly structured, complex engagements.
Features for Specific Meetings
Board Portals
Example products: Boardvantage, Diligent Board Books, Directorpoint, BoardEffect
• Board portals provide organization, guidance, and security features so the board can focus on their goals while also adhering to the rules.
• To avoid legal trouble, meetings must be documented in a very specific way.
• Board portals are used in remote or in-person meetings, and are the least likely to include integrated web or audio conferencing features.
Matching Features to the Meeting Type
Two factors determine the minimal technology you need to be successful:
• Meeting purpose
• Attendee list
People often underestimate the importance of picking the right system for
their meeting’s audience.
Matching Features to the Meeting Type
Next we’ll match features to these meeting types:
• One-on-ones
• Ad-hoc group calls
• Status meetings
• Planning / decision-making meetings
• Sales calls / client reviews
• Committee and Board Meetings
• Webinars
• Video Conferences
One-on-One Meetings
Audio-only or other simple systems work well for one-on-one meetings.
Ad-hoc Group Call
When people work remotely, you need a way to quickly get everyone on a call, but not much more.
Example: Hey - can we quickly check in? Fred’s got a question!”
Groups of 3 to 5 people:
Groups of 5 or more:
+
As the group grows, it’s harder to be understood on a conference line. Make sure you have a way to chat and quickly share your screen.
Status Meetings
Status Meetings need to be focused and quick.
Features: +
Meeting productivity tools are ideal for status meetings, making it possible for people to provide information in advance.
Audio-only does not work for status meetings. If there’s no way for people to participate, then they aren’t paying attention.
Planning / Decision-Making Meetings
These meetings are special: they generate the best results.
Features: +
These meetings require an agenda and clear definition of the desired result.
Participants record the resulting plan or decision in the meeting record and then distribute it using the productivity tools.
+
Groups of fewer than 10 people:
Planning / Decision-Making Meetings
Features: +
The meeting leader will need audio and web conferencing to provide instructions during the process.
Many decision support tools encourage anonymous contributions, and provide a guided way to efficiently gather input from a lot of people at once.
+
Large groups & complicated decisions:
Sales Calls and Client Reviews
Sales calls require high-polish, and they fail when your client can’t join your meeting.
Select a system that will work on any computer and doesn’t require your customer to install or download something or register with an email address.
+
Always be prepared to show your prospect your screen or a document if needed.
Features for groups of 5 or fewer:
Sales Calls and Client Reviews
Features: +
Sales professionals who want to impress clients
should use a meeting productivity system to capture
prospect questions and follow up with an email that
clearly lists next steps.
+
Groups of 5 or more & important conversations:
Committee and Board Meetings
Committee and board meetings are collaborative working meetings with lots of extra rules. They need agendas, record keeping, attendance tracking, and more.
+
The meeting leader needs a way to organize the meeting and
run the group through the meeting content, and the designated
note taker records the minutes directly in the system.
For regular meetings: ( OR )
Committee and Board Meetings
+
Committee working sessions typically result in an
updated document – a business plan, a new specification
draft, etc.
The most efficient way to run this is to assign one person
to share their screen while they update the document
while others contribute content.
+For working sessions:
Webinars
+
Most webinars are to increase market awareness, marketing
leads, and ultimately new sales - they hope to attract and impress
a wide audience.
The best systems support a highly polished and controlled
presentation in addition to reporting for sales and marketing
teams to reach out afterwards.
Features:
If you’re doing webinars, you should use a webinar system.
What About Video Conferencing?
Video Conferencing
Example products: Google Hangouts, Fuze, Vidyo, iMeet
• Video conferencing enhances online meetings by making it possible to see as well as hear the other participants.
• With video, you can communicate emotion and nuance in a way that other modes cannot.
• When video fails, it distracts and disrupts the conversation, often irreparably.
• Bad video is more than a technical glitch – it's a meeting killer.
Take-Aways
1. Online meetings systems are designed to support a range of meeting types, but no product supports ALL meetings well.
2. Meetings are not nails, so you should stop trying to use a single online meeting platform hammer.
3. Groups have more productive and engaging meetings when they use tools designed for the type of meetings they run.
4. For best results, companies and organizations may need to invest in more than one meeting platform.
When you're in the market for new meeting software, knowing what type of meetings you need to support is the first step.
Once you've identified the feature set (or feature sets) you need, take a look at the other criteria on the Top 10 Things to Consider When Purchasing Meeting Software checklist.
Download the spreadsheet and use it to compare different options.
Next Steps
About Lucid Meetings
• Keep all stakeholders informed
• Meet when it's convenient for everyone
• Prepare your meeting agendas online
• Give clients the best meeting experience
• Write it down to get agreements that stick
• Encourage team accountability
• Send meeting notes instantly
Lucid Meetings provides all the tools you need in one cohesive online meeting platform.
Thank youTo learn more, visit: blog.lucidmeetings.com
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