Some of America’s biggest retailers are entering metaverse spaces and trying to create a new form of reality for internet users. These experimental spaces aren’t mainstream yet or finished products, but they showcase how much the metaverse stays on corporate minds.
One place where the metaverse is truly becoming a reality is in office spaces. Virtual meetings in the metaverse are now a real thing. If your office already adopts this new technology, here are a few ways to make virtual meetings successful.
Tips for Creating Successful Virtual Meetings in the Metaverse
While the rest of humanity tries to define the metaverse, offices have already found that it fits readily in business spaces. Like the internet, it’s a sort of “place” where people can go to interact with one another and create experiences.
For offices, this often means remote virtual meetings where everyone collaborates on work projects. So how do you make these meetings effective and productive?
1. Build the Office Space Your Employees Want
Not all digital office spaces look alike. Owners and managers can collaborate to create an office space that looks like it was born to host the next great meeting. The more comfortable the virtual space, the more comfortable meeting attendees are with visiting it.
2. Leverage the Unique Features and Capabilities of the Virtual Space
You could incorporate immersive visuals, interactive elements, and gamification techniques to increase engagement and promote collaboration among team members.
Additionally, you could experiment with different formats, such as hosting a virtual roundtable discussion or conducting a guided virtual tour, to keep meetings interesting and engaging.
By leveraging the unique capabilities of the metaverse, you can create a more dynamic and memorable virtual meeting experience for everyone involved.
3. Encourage Good Order and Respect
Like a real meeting, the virtual office space should have a clear set of rules. There should also be clear indications of who should be speaking and who should be listening.
If it’s a more liberal environment where people are working together on something, encourage basic rules of respect for the meeting.
4. Announce the Meeting and Set Goals Clearly
You can give your meeting members digital materials to study before the meeting or let them know your goals for the virtual get-together. When you prepare everyone properly for the meeting, they can enter the virtual space ready to move forward on those goals.
Define the purpose of the meeting, outline the agenda, and identify the roles and responsibilities of each participant. Clear objectives and expectations can help ensure everyone is on the same page.
It can help keep the meeting focused and productive. It is also important to clearly communicate these objectives and expectations to all participants before the meeting to allow them to prepare accordingly.
5. Don’t Forget That Others Can See You
In a remote work setting, it’s often easy to forget that people are watching you. The 3D nature of the metaverse means that people will follow your voice and your positioning, too. A good practice is using the camera to your advantage.
Treat a virtual meeting just like a real one; communicate and use body language to your advantage.
What to Avoid During a Virtual Meeting
Some academics have their own manifesto for the metaverse, and it’s a good idea to have a manifesto for your next virtual meeting, too. Left out of that manifesto might be something equally important: what you don’t want to be a part of your virtual meeting.
- Don’t deviate from the agenda of the meeting
- Don’t interrupt
- Don’t disconnect
- Don’t leave for a snack
Like any other setting, the metaverse meeting is a place for serious things. It’s not an opportunity to grab a light snack and leave your fellow attendees wondering where you wandered.
Be mentally present as well; pay as much attention during this kind of meeting as you would at a physical office space. It’s sometimes easy to get disconnected during virtual events, so keeping yourself mindful is important.
The Future of Virtual Metaverse Meetings
Metaverse meetings differ from virtual meetings because they usually require a physical headset. This headset is something that some people appreciate, and others aren’t quite used to yet.
Because the headset blocks your view of the real physical world, it can take some getting used to, but once you’re used to it, it helps with mindfulness and remaining invested in the meeting.
As the metaverse becomes more popular and picks up a greater population, these meetings will become a bigger part of office life.
You won’t have to drive to meet with your co-workers. Instead, you’ll head to your headset and prepare for another virtual meeting. This is a great convenience for employees who must travel long distances to work.
Any new technology takes time to adjust to. For workers, the virtual metaverse meeting takes time to adapt to and get the most out of. For most people, though, the metaverse offers vast opportunities to create more effective meetings and get things done in the workplace (even if you’re not there).
Everyone adopting this new technology early is already a pioneer in showcasing what the metaverse is capable of in the workplace. With the right people leading the virtual way, this technology can revolutionize communication in a workspace.
