Though we continue to ride the waves of the pandemic, many are planning for an eventual return-to-work, and with it, hybrid communication. You may recall from a previous article that hybrid meetings are a meeting style that incorporate both in-person and virtual attendees. While there are many benefits to this style of event (increased reach, reduced carbon footprint, access to global talent), hybrid experiences also have unique challenges. For instance, hybrid meetings tend to favour in person attendees based solely on the shared energy within a physical meeting space, created by subtle facial expressions, eye contact and watercooler chit-chat that is less natural online.

Knowing the unavoidable transition to a hybrid work environment however, what can leaders do to create more inclusive and successful engagements for a variety of audiences? How can they ensure that all participants — in-person and remote — not only feel included and addressed — but can participate fully and add value to the discussion? Below we have summarized tips that apply to both large-scale hybrid events as well as day-to-day hybrid communication to ensure maximum engagement, participation and dialogue.

• Make direct eye contact: Convey the importance of virtual participants by beginning the presentation looking directly at the camera. Throughout the presentation, continue to switch between looking at individuals in the room and returning your focus back to the camera.
• Consider video from the remote point of view: As a facilitator, ensure movement toward the camera to make remote participants feel connected to what is happening in the room. When moving away from the lens, keep the camera frame in mind; you don’t want to move completely out of the shot. Also consider spotlighting – if someone in the room is speaking, lift the camera closer to the speaker, reminding the speaker that virtual participants are also part of the presentation.
• Make remote participants as large as possible: Another way to give remote participants equal status is to give them greater presence in the room. In addition to the main screen, set up additional large monitors showing “life-size” panes of the remote participants for the duration of the meeting.
• Foster hybrid collaboration: When facilitating breakouts, it is tempting to place in-person and remote people in separate groups, however this reinforces the notion that the two are separate entities. Instead, try mixing virtual and in-person participants in smaller working sessions
• Keep it short: Research shows the human attention span is less than that of a goldfish. Keep hybrid presentations as brief and efficient as possible. Try to time the meeting based on the energy levels of the remote participants
• Provide strong facilitation: One person — a staff member, an outsider or a meeting participant — should be assigned to guide the conversation and keep it on track. Despite the effort you may put into meeting design and logistics, it remains far too easy for in-person attendees to dominate the discussion. A facilitator should draw the remote participants in, keep them engaged and ensure their voices are heard, not interrupted or talked over.
• Up your audio game: To avoid a last-minute scramble caused by poor audio, make sure the room is equipped with enough high-quality microphones so remote participants can hear. If you’re in a hotel or other temporary meeting space and multiple microphones aren’t a viable option, consider supplementing your audio input by having in-person attendees pass around a hand-held microphone before speaking.
• Explore a technology boost: As providers invest heavily to better enable hybrid meetings, new features are being introduced to improve face-to-face communication among in-person and remote attendees. For example, Zoom’s Smart Gallery (targeted for completion this year) uses artificial intelligence to detect individual faces in a shared room and pull them into panes on the screen so remote participants can see them in the now-familiar gallery view.
• Test technology in advance: Prior to an important meeting, test the audio-visual set up — both in-room and for the remote attendees.

Treating the various audiences of a hybrid meeting as equals, or even putting an emphasis on the virtual participants, will help ensure participation from all parties. At Colloqui, we know the hybrid landscape can be difficult to navigate for many businesses. We’re here to help; contact us to learn how our team of interactivity experts can partner with your organization to plan, design, manage and execute your next hybrid event.