AS WE GO BACK TO WORK, DON'T DO BLENDED MEETINGS

A blended or meeting is whenever you have the hybrid approach of some people meeting in a room together and others dialing in with web-conferencing software or over the phone.

Blended meetings are also a really bad idea.

A good meeting is inclusive. People can participate evenly and equitably. All voices are heard.

In a blended meeting. on the other hand, participation is unequal. An online participant simply can’t contribute the same way as people in the room together. They can’t read the body language or see expressions with the clarity of those in the room. Lag or the mechanical task of going off mute increases the likelihood that they’ll interrupt others, discouraging them from trying to speak. And how often have you seen two people in the room together during a webmeeting lean in and whisper to each other so they can’t be overheard? What message does a whispered sidebar send? Without seeing the same nonverbal cues that are present in the room, online participants can easily feel excluded.

For all these reasons, blended meetings erode trust and harm psychological safety. The format disables and segregates participants. Blended meetings are exclusive.

Fortunately, there’s an easy solution to the problem of mixed meetings: don’t have them. There really is no good reason to do have a blended meeting. Either everyone is in the room together, or everyone participates online from their own individual computer. This way, participation will be equal and inclusive.