We’ve all been there: You’re on a virtual call and want feedback from the group. You ask them to post in chat or respond verbally… and you’re met with *crickets*. You panic: Did they hear me? Are they ever going to chime in?
The truth is, online meeting interaction sometimes takes a second… or ten. Your audience needs time to type a response or unmute their audio line—all while lacking the natural “cues” of an in-person meeting, like knowing when another person is about to talk. But here’s the real issue: not only does that ten seconds of silence feel like eons to everyone on the call, but it can actually kill the energy on a virtual meeting and cause engagement to dwindle.
What do TPC’s virtual veterans do while their meeting participants take a moment to weigh in? They fill the silence with helpful, conversational commentary. Check out this video to learn simple language prompts you can use to fill those awkward gaps during a virtual meeting, presentation or training.
Want more tips for conducting engaging virtual meetings, presentations or trainings? Check out our Successful Online Presentations workshop!