The quality of your board’s meetings depends on how much work members complete prior to each meeting. When participants take the time to prepare, they can make online meetings more efficient and productive. A well-prepared group is more likely to stick to the agenda, and ensure that they don’t get distracted by an unrelated tangent.

It’s crucial to communicate clearly to remote board members how they should be participating in meetings. For instance, it’s important to remind participants to mute themselves and only speak when requested to speak. This will prevent people from talking over one another or leaving the meeting without feeling heard. Before a meeting starts data room insights for M&A intelligence the convenor should inquire of participants if they have technological issues they require assistance with.

Include the rules of virtual meetings in the orientation for board members document to ensure that everyone understands what to expect before, during and after the meeting. For instance it’s important to send the board agenda in advance and to follow up with the participants a day or in the morning prior to the meeting to confirm all the details, send them the link to the meeting or Zoom again, and remind participants of any other preferences for meetings (such as requesting attendees to listen to the meeting from a quiet area to minimize distractions). It is also recommended to add a placeholder for an executive session to each agenda item, and to include this at the start of the meeting to avoid confusion as to whether there will be an executive session or not.