This helps us to understand the audience reactions, so we can adapt our pitch to the unspoken dynamics.Д¬ommunicating scientific facts on climate resilience is only half the battle. In non-virtual meetings, we usually do frequent quick scans of the room to get some clues about how participants are feeling: taking note of their facial expressions, posture and body language. Based on my observations from the event, here are some ideas for how we can improve: Find new ways to read the room. We are entering unknown waters when it comes to communicating science in virtual conferences. An even bigger test was doing so without a face-to-face meeting with the potential funders, and thus having a chance to read their non-verbal cues. In the conference, we already faced the challenge of communicating science to a mixed audience of experts and non-experts and convincing them of the value of prioritizing sustainable climate finance as we prepare for a post-pandemic world. The SCFвЂ™s goal is to foster regional cooperation and policy dialogue through capacity building and knowledge sharing. The conference was the first environmental event supported by the Strategic Collaborative Fund (SCF) to be conducted wholly online. SEI supported the conferenceвЂ™s climate finance track to promote knowledge sharing and learning about the tools needed for public and private investors to fund sustainability projects dealing with climate change. Modern intelligent speakers like the EXPAND Capture 5 can even automatically transcribe meetings for you, so that nobody has to take these meeting notes and can instead focus fully on the meeting.I recently joined the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network вЂ™s first virtual conference, which gathered various stakeholders from the social investment community in Asia. This helps cement the decisions agreed upon and brings any absentees up to speed. ItвЂ™s always a good idea to share the meeting minutes via e.g. This should outline the next steps, roles and responsibilities, and any potential future meetings. Once the virtual meeting wraps up, you should have a mutually agreed upon action plan. This helps to ensure theyвЂ™re following the agenda and makes them feel involved. To keep the level of engagement high, pause frequently to invite feedback and questions from the meeting attendees. This means putting your phone on silent mode, turning off notifications, closing down any irrelevant browser tabs, not checking your emails, and so on. As such, try to eliminate any distractions that may prevent you from focusing on the meeting itself. The participants deserve your undivided attention. Multitasking has its place, but itвЂ™s best avoided during virtual meetings. Must everyone have their video on at all times? Are participants allowed to use the вЂњchatвЂќ function during the meeting? Will you be answering questions in real time or at the end of the meeting? 3. If you want to enforce certain rules, communicate these clearly from the beginning. Try to involve everyone right from the start, whether itвЂ™s via a quick round of introductions or a rundown of speakers and their talking points. As mentioned, virtual meetings make it more difficult to keep everyoneвЂ™s attention.

Virtual meetings