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Online board meetings offer better scheduling options. They help reduce the time and cost of travel, and remove the time constraints associated with flights and hotels. They also boost the diversity of board members and aid in preventing groupthink. The virtual world comes with its own set of challenges and can result in less than effective meetings.

Changing from in-person to virtual meetings requires a change in the manner boards communicate and operate. Many of the elements that aid in the communication that occurs during in-person meetings like a physical board book and digital presentations, as well sharing documents, need to be recreated for an online board session. It can be challenging for board members to navigate technology. The use of a simple board software package helps streamline the process, however additional training on the tool may be needed to ensure the success of board members.

Maintaining a high level of engagement and productivity is another problem when conducting an online board meeting. Sidetracked by new topics of discussion can take up time and distract you from the most important agenda items. This can be minimized by preparing an agenda with 20 percent less items, and dividing the discussion into 15-minute segments. In addition, offering an informal discussion forum for new topics may be helpful.

It is also important that distant participants can be able to see faces of the attendees inside the room. This can be accomplished by removing backgrounds or removing participants from light sources that can glare onto the screen and obscure images for other board members. In addition, avoiding distractions such cell phones and other devices can help the participants to focus on the content being discussed.