Music In Virtual Meetings Is The Way To Boost Engagement

It’s High Time You Played Music for More Engaging Virtual Meetings

Given the rise of virtual teams, it’s safe to say that virtual meetings are here to stay. Popularized during the lockdown, this form of meeting can be pretty effective with a growing number of remote workers, even though it certainly has some drawbacks. If online meetings are not going anywhere, maybe it’s time to start thinking about how to make them interactive and engaging by spicing them up a bit.

According to a study conducted by VPNoverview, employees deem virtual meetings emotionless, after which they feel kind of blue. Real life meetings naturally contain those subtle human emotions and energies that simply don’t come through the screen. One way to artificially re-introduce them is by using music in virtual meetings.

Although it could be a fantastic tool to fire up those virtual get-togethers, don’t overdo the magic with consistent background music. Remember, music is just a tool and not the main objective. It’s still a meeting with tasks to focus on, so save your DJ skills for another time.

While music can be great during face-to-face, fun activities like scavenger hunts and as ice breakers, during more focused, serious Zoom meetings, timing is important to make virtual meetings more engaging. Integrate the music into your meeting agenda when team members are talking, during breaks and screen shares, beginnings, endings and reflection periods, or even to break the ice.

Music In Virtual Meetings – What To Choose?

Music is a wonderful thing that can affect your emotions, something that has been known since the dawn of time. Even when you’re actively listening, a significant portion of music is only perceived by your sub-conscious, a fact known and exploited by many musicians. Even if you’re not actively listening, it still evokes feelings in you, and that’s exactly the thing you’re aiming for during remote meetings and among remote team members.

Fun fact, the late 19th century French composer Erik Satie invented a style called furniture music, which according to him was not meant to be listened to consciously. This is pretty similar to what you’re going to need when playing music in virtual meetings.

Firstly, you need to be clear about what mood you want your audience to get into. Is it calm and relaxed? Pumped up and energetic? Exploratory and curious? 

If your team is brainstorming, then you might want something experimental, something that helps new ideas pop out of your head more easily. If you already have a set of well-defined goals, and you’re basically revising them, something more energetic and motivating is the go-to choice. To answer the main question, metal could be one of these; however, it’s a pretty controversial genre, so be careful with it. Something more melodic could be the way to go.

Related: Agile QuickTip: A Minute of Fun

Pay Attention To The Details

Music in virtual meetings is definitely something to give a shot to if you want to bring teams some entertainment and get more engagement. There are many royalty free music options available online to use during online meetings. To ensure a smooth flow during the meeting, make sure to prepare your tracks beforehand, and also do a quick practice session with someone, to learn and test how to properly use computer audio without the music being played both from your computer and as an audio input from your mic simultaneously.