Jay-Allen Morris

In this talk we look to neuroscience to unpack unique challenges present in remote meeting interactions. Together we will look at a few research studies that can help explain what is happening in our brains when we interact with people in a digital space. With this deeper understanding, we will also share some practical ideas you, as a meeting organiser or facilitator, can use to shift your meetings in healthier directions.

For many people, remote meetings feel very different to in person interactions. You might have experienced in remote meetings that people seem distracted or tense, there’s less engagement and the tone maybe feels a little colder. These conditions impact the quality of thinking within the session and as a result, the outcomes that are achieved. Why are remote meetings so difficult? And what can we do about it? In this workshop we will cover theory and share some practical ideas to overcome potential challenges which might be faced. No prior experience is needed for this talk. We will use some of our own stories to make remote working accessible to those who do not have deep experience in this area. We will explain neuroscientific concepts in a relatable way with many examples to help people navigate. This session is for anyone who cares about creating conditions for quality thinking in distributed teams.

Other people: Kirsten Clacey

Have you ever been in a remote meeting and felt uncomfortable with the silence or maybe just one person was speaking with blank faces staring back? Have you ever facilitated a remote session where it seemed that people were too hesitant to speak up? Join us in this workshop to develop practical skills to enable healthy and effective remote collaboration.

Remote work is no longer a new or novel approach for companies. Both fully and partially distributed companies are reporting numerous benefits (including access to global talent and increased productivity). However, with this rising trend, there is increased pressure for people and teams to find new ways of collaborating while spread across the globe. Online meetings remain one of the most common pain points of remote work. Some managers remain concerned that teams cannot be as effective working remotely as those in collocated spaces. We will explore remote meeting challenges, deep dive into 2 cornerstone principles that enable remote collaboration and share some practical methods to build off these principles. Instead of focusing on tools, we will share tool agnostic approaches that can be adapted to whatever you have available. We want to change the thinking that remote team collaboration in meetings is challenging. Together we will develop your practical remote facilitation skills that will enable more effective remote collaboration, regardless of the role you play in your team.

Other people: Kirsten Clacey