You can’t escape virtual meetings these days. All too often, though — especially when they’re back-to-back and devoid of interactivity — they increase your anxiety while draining your energy.
But it doesn’t have to be that way thanks to a newish crop of tech tools that can make your sessions more enjoyable. Going beyond mere breakout rooms, shared documents and whiteboards, they add an element of gamified fun that will keep you awake and engaged.
Here are some to check out:
Jamboard
Part of Google’s G-suite, Jamboard is best deployed on a 55-inch high-res digital whiteboard that allows users to collaborate in up to 50 simultaneous sessions. Also available for desktop and mobile, Jamboard sports functions like Google Meet video call presentation, image recognition technology, Google search for inserting images and webpage links, the ability to drag and resize images and more.
Kahoot
Created to gamify presentations, meetings and training, Kahoot is an interactive learning tool that can be used with a variety of popular video platforms, including Hangouts, Zoom and Teams. Participation features give everyone a chance to chime in, and original assessment questions assure that participants come away not just entertained but informed.
LoQuiz
A resource for onboarding, feedback and team building, LoQuiz orientates new employees using a series of engaging images as well as audio and video snippets. It also provides a variety of interactive games for short meeting breaks or long team building events. And employees can give feedback by answering survey questions or submitting photos/videos.
MeetingPulse
Appropriate for a wide range of events, from small meetings to large conferences, MeetingPulse offers interactive live streaming (complete with performance analytics) for real-time Q&As, a “live sentiment analysis” tool for audience polling, the ability to conduct raffles and quizzes and easy integrations with an array of popular platforms like Teams, Webex and YouTube.
Mentimeter
With functions that include dynamic word clouds, live and instant polling, quizzes and audience Q&As, Mentimeter lets you solicit, collect and present data in a way that streamlines information gathering and makes users feel more involved. There’s also a well-stocked slide library that’s designed to visually enhance presentation content and make survey questions more engaging.
Mural
Built to facilitate workflow, Mural supports synchronous and asynchronous collaboration for everything from engineering and design to product and innovation. Software integrations include all the top collaboration tools (Teams, Asana, DropBox and Google Docs to name just a handful), and use cases run the gamut from brainstorming and ideation to team building, strategy and planning.
Poll Everywhere
With numerous audience engagement options, Poll Everywhere’s capabilities include Q&As, surveys, online polling and more. It also gives users the ability to visualize employee feedback in real time, follow up on that feedback and measure engagement. Download Poll Everywhere’s app to add polls to your existing presentations in PowerPoint, Keynote and Google Slides.
Slido
Another option for live polls, real-time Q&As and live quizzes, Slido aims to enhance brainstorming and increase productivity while also providing valuable audience interaction data from all kinds of events. Features include the ability to share event access with colleagues for collaboration purposes, different privacy levels to control attendance, question moderation (so you see every query before it goes live), multiple rooms and more.
