5 tips for productive and efficient Google Meet online calls

In the modern world, having online video calls has become a standard and no one can imagine daily life without using Google Meet, Zoom or Microsoft Teams to conduct a meeting. The trend has accelerated during the pandemic, when stocks of every company connected to online tools like this have literally exploded.

However, it’s very easy to lose control over the time we spend on such meetings. It happens because of many factors. People are not prepared, technical issues, lack of an agenda. You name it. And because of that productivity and efficiency suffer, together with the company expanses. Just imagine the cost of the C-level or leadership level meeting of 5 people, extended by 25 minutes. That’s over 2 hours of the time of the highest paid employees in the company And we’re talking only about a single meeting. That’s why it’s so crucial to remain effective and well-organized so every meeting is compact and doesn’t take too much time.

1. Prepare descriptive agenda

Proper planning is critical. Most probably 80% of the meetings you attend don't even have an agenda or description in the calendar event. And that’s the first, initial reason the Google Meet call can extend in time. People are not prepared. But how can they, when there’s no schedule, agenda, timeframe, documentation, or even the goal set up for the meeting?

Make sure every meeting has at least a short description and give enough time for preparations. What is it all about, what is the goal (or outcome) of the meeting and why do you even have it? What problem are you trying to resolve? What is the context of the meeting? How detailed do you expect everyone to be prepared? What documents do they have to read first? Think about those points when you will be creating the next Google Meet call.

2. Invite only people you really need

Yes, it’s very easy to type yet another email in the search box, and click the “Invite” button. But you have to be careful. In many cases, we tend to invite people who are not relevant or don’t have enough context or expertise about the matter you would like to talk about. Do you invite them only for your own safety? Or do you really need their opinion? Maybe it would be better for them to spend this time differently and only read the recap?

Before you invite anyone, think twice. Think about their time and your time. Remember that it is not only about the Google Meet meeting, but also about spending some time on the preparations and recapping.

3. Use Chrome Extension to control meeting time

Controlling the time of the Google Meet meeting is yet another important task. It's very easy to lose control of the time during hectic discussions when many people share their opinions. You, as a host, should be responsible for it. Fortunately, there is one very useful Chrome Extension that can help you control time and better plan your schedule.

Meeting Timer - for Google Meet is a Chrome Extension that displays a Timer on Google Meet calls based on your Google Calendar events. The timer counts time down automatically, shows visually the meeting progress and warns you when the call is about to end. The Google Meet Timer will also inform you about the halftime and overtime points.

Meeting Timer - for Google Chrome. Examples of the Timer states during the Google Meet call.

It is very easy to set up. All you need to do is to add the extension to the Chrome browser and sign up to the Google Account where you've got Google Calendar connected. Then the Timer will be displayed automatically on every call that matches the calendar events. You can easily control the pace of the meeting, see the progress and be warned when it’s about to end. You can adjust how early you will be notified in settings, so you can adjust it to your needs. Use this time for the final summarization or/and to define action points.

➡️ You can find a Meeting Timer Chrome Extension in Chrome Web Store

4. Moderate meeting. Interrupt and keep the pace

Having a Chrome Extension to track the Time of the Google Meet meeting is not enough. As a host, you should also be responsible for moderating it and keeping it at a good pace. What does it mean? First, you should make sure that the agenda is respected and all the points are talked through. Don’t be afraid of interrupting (gently) whenever you talk too long about a single matter. Try to sum up what has been said, make sure everyone understands the outcome and then move on. If some topic is particularly difficult, or more complex than you initially thought, add it as an action point. In some cases, it’s better to investigate it after the meeting. Observe team participants. Require them to “raise a hand” and give them a chance to speak.

Be careful not to talk too much. In most cases, you should be interested in getting to know other opinions or getting inspired by them. A good idea is also to inform participants about the time left or to share a timer (the Chrome Extension mentioned before has an option to do it).

5. Recap the meeting

At the very end, it's a good idea to make both a verbal and a written summary of the meeting. It’s crucial to make sure everyone understands the goal and outcome of the meeting in the same way. It also forces you to stay more focused during the meeting.

You can even share your screen where participants would see your notes live so everyone can be on track with what has been said and correct you if needed. If you use Google Meet, you can also use the transcription feature and then use it to generate a summary by asking ChatGPT to do it. Remember to share the summary with all attendees after the meeting.

Summary

There are many options to keep Google Meet calls time effective and productive. In this article, we listed only some of them. It is very important to adjust those techniques to your environment, culture and types of meetings. In most cases, the tips we listed will help you to keep your calls more organized, more predictable and structured.