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Knowing how to run an online meeting is becoming more and more important in business. Top leaders are equally comfortable working online or face-to-face.

Online meetings can save you money on travel, boost communication between workers and clients, even increase sales. If you run them right. Follow these 8 tips and you’ll be ahead of the game.

1. Have an agenda distributed ahead of time. This is even more important online than in “normal” meetings. Having the agenda in front of all the attendees — preferably

2. Learn how to use your internet conferencing software. Invest a half hour in yourself and learn the application. If you’re worried about the cost, most of the vendors offer free trials - sign up for one and practice.

3. Make sure pre-work is done. If the participants need to prepare for the meeting, be sure they know it. One of the quirks of online meetings is that participants sometimes place them at a lower priority than face-to-face. As the meeting leader, take an extra few minutes to check in advance that the prep work is underway. A gentle “just checking in” reminder - preferably over the phone - works wonders.

4. Keep a confident smile on your face. You’ll find that your tone of voice follows your face. Since the attendees can’t see you, they’ll read more into your voice than they would otherwise.

5. Make sure the background noises are silenced. Don’t speak from a noisy room. If you’re working from home make sure there’s a door between you and the household noises (pets are a perennial challenge here). Turn off your cell phone ringer and ask that others do the same.

6. Don’t be the note-taker. Ask someone else to handle this responsibility. Managing a good online meeting requires your attention. Don’t distract yourself with the additional task of taking minutes.

7. Check for understanding. After each key topic, make a point of pausing and asking a question or two to gauge their understanding. It can be as simple as “Does this approach to the budget make sense?” Use this feedback as a replacement for seeing their facial expressions.

8. Manage the participants. Some online meetings tend to mushroom - people pull coworkers into the conference to listen in “just in case” and suddenly you have a lot of unexpected inputs. At the very least, you should know who’s participating. Start the meeting with a request to quickly list who’s in each location - your participants will appreciate knowing who’s hearing their input.

These guidelines should help you understand how to run a meeting online. If you’re still feeling undertain, I suggest you sign up for a free trial with a internet conference vendor (see resource box for helpful links). Take a few test runs with the software — hold a practice meeting with a friend and get comfortable. You’ll do fine.