Energizing virtual team meetings

Megan Agaisse, Training and Support Specialist at Tulane University, added Poll Everywhere activities to her virtual team meetings after seeing it in action at a virtual event. “I was looking for a way to engage people that are quieter in meetings and make sure that everyone had a voice.”

Sparking conversations

Megan works in Advancement at Tulane, which includes donor relations, alumni relations, and events. She also leads professional development for her immediate team, which is a tight-knit group of about thirty. “Now that we're working from home, we meet weekly for professional development and team building.”

When looking for ways to create a more interactive experience, Megan thought back to her first time participating in Poll Everywhere activities and decided to create an account.

Adding friendly competition

Megan has tried most activity types in Poll Everywhere and found ones that work best for her goals. “At the beginning of every meeting, we use the mood scale on a clickable image activity so as people are joining, they can share how they’re feeling that day. We also frequently use Competitions because people like to gain points, compete against each other, and see the leaderboard. One of the most popular ones so far has been ‘Name the Lyric.”

Megan’s goal when using live activities is to break the ice and start conversations. “I’ll start with some Poll Everywhere activities to get everyone engaged. Then, when we’ve gone through the professional development topics, I might add a pop quiz with Poll Everywhere to get everyone’s attention and then round out the meeting with another light question. For example, ‘What’s for dinner?’ or ‘What are you watching or streaming?’ Those usually get a lot of responses.”

As she’s working on her PowerPoint deck, Megan uses the Poll Everywhere app to embed activities along the way. After presenting regularly, she’s developed a basic outline she can use for most meetings. “I start with the mood scale, then add one or two icebreaker activities followed by the main skills training. After that, I’ll finish with some open-ended questions and my conclusion.”

Because her activities are topical and fun, Megan usually sees 100% participation. “Someone might skip a specific question, but typically I’ll get everyone to contribute.”