Virtual meetings have become the norm for many of us these days and even when things get back to normal, it’s likely that more people will be working remotely.

Many businesses have come to realize that they can save a lot of money by employing more remote workers and employees tend to be more productive when they can be flexible and work to their own schedules.

This means that virtual meetings will be a lot more common and you will have to deal with the challenges that brings. However, you can improve your virtual meetings in a big way if you invest in the right tech. These are some of the best tools to use for conducting virtual meetings. 

A Good Webcam 

Most people work at home using laptops and the majority of laptops have a built-in webcam. But the quality on those cameras is usually pretty poor, which means that you don’t get a clear image and you can’t recreate the same atmosphere that you get in a face to face meeting.

It also slows things down if people spend the first 10 minutes of the meeting trying to get their camera to work. That’s why it’s a good idea to invest in a better quality webcam that gives a clear image and is easy to set up. 

Speakerphone Systems 

Speakerphone systems are ideal for situations where some members of the team are joining remotely while others are all in the same room. A good speakerphone system will also improve the clarity of the audio, which is a big bonus because the built-in microphones on webcams and laptops aren’t brilliant.

By investing in a good USB speakerphone system, you can eliminate all of the problems with sound quality and avoid any wasted time. They are also portable, so you can easily host meetings from wherever you like, whether you are working at home, in a meeting room in a coworking space or in your own office. 

File Sharing Software 

File sharing software is essential in virtual meetings because everybody needs access to resources. Emailing things back and forth during meetings slows things right down but you can make life easier for yourself and avoid meeting madness if you use software like Dropbox or Google Docs.

Everybody has easy access to any relevant documents and you can all view and edit them together in real time. There are free versions of both available, but you can also upgrade Dropbox if you need more storage space. 

Live Streaming Apps 

Being able to live stream videos and presentations to your team during a virtual meeting is very useful. Video conferencing apps like Zoom do allow you to screen share but the feature doesn’t always work seamlessly, so it’s best to invest in separate apps, like Periscope.

You will also be able to record the meeting, which means that anybody that couldn’t attend can easily be filled in on all of the details later. 

We’ve all experienced virtual meetings that completely fall apart and you might think that they’re never going to be as efficient as a face to face meeting. However, if you invest in these tools, you can host successful virtual meetings every time.