It is important to establish an order that keeps the discussion in order and productive during a remote board meeting. It’s easier to keep the discussion on track when the participants have a clear agenda. It’s also helpful to provide the agenda as well as any associated documents to the attendees in advance via a secure online board portal, so that they can take notes and add items to the agenda and review them prior to when the meeting starts.
Another way to ensure an effective remote board meeting is to limit distractions as much as is possible. Ideally, participants should join the call in a quiet home or office location that doesn’t have a lot of distracting noises. This decreases the chances that they’ll be distracted and miss important points that are being discussed during the call.
It’s also recommended to ask the participants to muffle their microphones when not speaking, in order to reduce distracting background noise. The person who is designated to take minutes must keep a record of every motion verbatim together with the person who made the move and who supported the motion. This is vital to maintain a clear record of the meeting, which can be used for future reference or for legal purposes down the road.
It is also essential to adhere to the time limit you have set for each item on the agenda to prevent the meeting becoming a drag. You can promote an efficient gathering by encouraging attendees to leave ad-hoc topics in a parking lot so that they don’t interrupt the main discussion.