If there is anything more difficult than maintaining participants’ interest in a meeting, it is doing it online.

Videoconferencing has revolutionised corporate communication by providing flexibility and reducing physical barriers. Participants can connect from anywhere, save on commuting and space rentals, and benefit from faster information flows (because hundreds of employees can connect at once).

But let us be honest. For many, most online meetings are a total bore. I have met a few people who like attending them. Generally, they will say, “Gosh! I have a conference call. Let’s see if I can use this opportunity to send some emails.”

In 2014, InterCall, one of the largest providers of videoconferencing solutions, surveyed its thousands of users. Most respondents (82 per cent) acknowledged that they performed other activities unrelated to the conference theme during the conference. The most common activities were sending emails, eating, texting, browsing social networks, exercising, shopping online, even going to the bathroom.

If you have to run an online meeting or training and want to keep your participants engaged, here are seven tips that should help:

Communicate the purpose of the meeting

Have you ever been called to a meeting without an agenda? It happens more often than you might think. It seems that when someone makes internal calls – that is, to colleagues in their own company – they ignore the most basic rules of meetings.

Also Read: Here’re 5 online learning platforms to skill up your quarantined self

When an attendee connects to a meeting without knowing what it is about, they will probably check out fast if they do not hear anything interesting.

On the other hand, if a participant has received an agenda or been informed of the subject to be discussed, they will have an opportunity to think about it and will be better able to make valuable contributions during the meeting.

What is in it for your participants?

From the beginning, try to answer this question: “What is in it for them?” In other words, you need to clearly communicate what benefits the attendees will obtain by participating in the meeting. Will they learn something that will make their work better or easier? Will they receive important information?

Attendees are more likely to stay focused if they know the content is relevant to them.

Remember that every time you request an online meeting, you’re asking someone to give you something very valuable: their time.

Be the first to arrive

As an attendee, nothing is more frustrating than organising your schedule to attend a meeting, dropping everything you were doing, and making an effort to connect on time, only to hear: “You are the first participant to connect. The organiser has not yet arrived. Please wait.”

Also Read: Compassionate leadership in a time of crisis

If you called the meeting, you are the captain of the ship. There are no excuses for not showing up. If you can’t make it to the meeting for any reason, find someone who can replace you. Ask that person to start the meeting until you can join, or to lead it if you can’t.

Make sure everything works

God helps those who get up early – and especially those who connect early. If you are the meeting organiser, connect at least 15 minutes before it starts to verify that everything works correctly.

If you start checking five minutes before the meeting starts, you may not have enough time to resolve any technical glitches. Murphy’s Law states that “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”. It is true.

And plenty of things can go wrong. Your computer might ask you to update a driver or install an extension. The microphone may not work. Or the audio or the video from the webcam will be terrible or absent. If you connect early, you will be in a better position to find a solution.

A good host always welcomes his guests

Imagine entering a room full of people and nobody greets you. Everyone remains silent and ignores you. How would you feel?

As attendees arrive at the meeting, activate your video camera to welcome them one by one and chat with them. Remember the power of using proper names to connect with participants.

A “hello everyone” is not the same as “How are you, David?”, “Hello, Laura?”, “Welcome, Jane! How was your day?”

Pay attention to time zones

The content of a meeting may be super-interesting, but if you have to get up at 4AM to connect, you will never have enough coffee to keep you awake and attentive.

Also Read: Tapping into online platforms, bridging network gaps, and bouncing back as a community

If you have to convene a meeting with participants in different time zones, try to figure out what time of day will work best for most attendees. If it is impossible for you to find an acceptable hour for everyone, consider arranging two different calls.

If the meeting requires participation and interaction from everyone, give advance notice so that attendees who must connect outside of their normal working hours can organise themselves. Do not forget to acknowledge their extra effort!

Introduce the attendees

In meetings with many participants, it is likely that some people will be strangers to others. If you can, take time to introduce the attendees who are online and indicate what functions they perform. This will foster a closer, more intimate, and collaborative environment.

When sending a request for an online meeting, allow the recipients to see the addresses of the other employees. This way they will be able to identify their colleagues and interact with one another.

This is especially useful in international meetings, where first and last names are sometimes difficult to understand on the phone.

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Register for our next webinar: Mindfulness meditation for entrepreneurs and working professionals

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

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The ground-segment-as-a-service (GSaaS) provider today, announced another US$3.5 million investment injection for its grand mission of becoming the “Airbnb of the satellite community.”

This new round was joined by existing investors Airbus Ventures and Sony Innovation Fund, and new investors Daiwa Energy Infrastructure, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, and Mitsubishi UFJ Lease and Finance bringing its net total raised to US$11.5 million.

The Tokyo-based startup has disclosed that it plans to use the latest funds to accelerate Infostellar’s business activities, which involves hiring and training and expansion into the European and Asian markets.

Infostellar shares unused antenna access with the global satellite community through a single API, similar to how the Airbnb community rent out their unused space to independent travellers.

Since its launch in 2016, Infostellar has developed StellarStation, a ground station platform that provides flexible and scalable satellite operations. It allows several satellite operators with an average of 500 passes per month through StellarStation.

Also Read: Balancing innovation and security: How Revolut implements regulatory compliance framework in their business

Additionally, the company also shares contracts with 13 ground station owners in several countries around the world, including government-owned ground stations.

“Infostellar has a unique and competitive business model in the space industry and has already developed or installed the antenna sharing platform for orbiting satellites that incorporates a superior GUI and API,” said Daiwa Energy and Infrastructure Co. Ltd, executive manager, Takuya Tanoue.

In an interview with Techcrunch, founder Naomi Kurahara told the interviewer that she aims to cover communication options outside of the Earth — for example aiding with trips to Mars or other planets.

“The space-age is coming, in that future, the infrastructure is also required, but unfortunately it doesn’t exist today,” the Infostellar CEO said.

“NASA and the US government haven’t built this kind of infrastructure by themselves, I think businesses should develop it,” she added.

In the last six years, space tech has emerged as a promising private industry in Asian countries, including Southeast Asia, as highlighted in this listicle by e27.

What was a long time ago a space race between the US and USSR state-owned agencies, is now joined by privately owned entities.

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Image Credit: Infostellar

 

 

 

 

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Silicon Valley-based browser developer Fulldive enters Indonesia through partnership with digital payment GoPay

Fulldive, a Silicon Valley-based developer of browser applications and VR technology, today announced the formation of a payment partnership with GoPay, Indonesia’s digital payment provider owned by gojek, to launch the Fulldive Browser in Indonesia.

Under the agreement, GoPay payment platform will be Fulldive’s first payment solution provider for the Indonesian version of the app. This partnership will enable Fulldive to serve Indonesian users by leveraging GoPay payment technology.

Fulldive is an innovative web browser application and virtual reality (VR) technology platform, with a vision to bring freedom and welfare to every web user. The Fulldive Browser incorporates the most popular elements of a browser app with a rewards programme, allowing users to earn Fulldive coins for their interactions and time spent on the app to be redeemed for gift cards, game points, cryptocurrency, and charity funds to support the fight against COVID-19.

Through this partnership with GoPay, Indonesian users can redeem the rewards on Fulldive Browser through GoPay and access products and services offered by GoPay, such as transportation, food, and even prepaid phone credits.

AI marketing technology platform EternityX makes an entrance to Singapore, opening Southeast Asia-focussed office

Chinese AI marketing platform EternityX has expanded to Singapore, naming Richard Andrew as Managing Director, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Andrew will be responsible for driving Southeast Asia and Australia’s strategy and business expansion, helping marketers to target the complex China digital market, as China begins its post-COVID-19 recovery.

Also Read: How a startup founder in China tackled the COVID-19 crisis –and what you can learn from him

It also appointed Armay Guo as Regional Business Development Head SEA, working alongside Andrew.

EternityX is headquartered in Hong Kong with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, New York, and now Singapore. In 2018, it grew out of Chinese marketing firm BiddingX to enable agencies and brands to effectively reach hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers in a cost- and time-effective manner using AI-powered performance-driven algorithm and connect global brands and agencies with Chinese consumers in real-time through targeted premium sites and apps.

Indonesian online food ingredients platform Stoqo ceases operations

Stoqo Teknologi Indonesia, Jakarta-based fresh ingredients supplier platform that facilitates food outlets, has closed down its operation due to COVID-19 pandemic that severely impacts the economy.

On its website, Stoqo releases a statement that it is forced to shut down operations after COVID-19 pandemic slashed its income, as reported by Bloomberg.

With Indonesian governments restricting social activities and movements has begun to impact the country’s economy and job security, Stoqo becomes the latest startup to come to a decision to close down operation completely as it can no longer survive.

Founded in 2017 by former McKinsey & Co. associate Aswin Andrison and former software developer at Amazon Angky William, Stoqo seeks to streamline food supply chains by sourcing and delivering ingredients to small restaurants. Just last year, it managed to serve tens of thousands of food outlets across Greater Jakarta, showcasing seven-fold growth in business.

Indonesia plans to support more than 53 millions small companies with interest payment subsidy

As part of the stimulus efforts to help support Southeast Asia’s economy, Indonesian finance minister Sri Mulyani said it will subsidise interest payments for more than 53 million small companies.

As reported by DealStreetAsia, the country counts on small companies as the backbone that sustains more than half of Indonesia‘s gross domestic product and provides many jobs in the country. The government said it commits to help pay a portion of the interest for loans of up to IDR10 billion (US$655,308) taken out by micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), provided by banks, the state pawnshop chain Pegadaian, or other financing companies.

Also Read: Report: Indonesia’s digital economy development occurs only in urban areas as disparity continues

Furthermore, a total of IDR271 trillion rupiah (US$17.76 billion) of loans may benefit from the programme. With the policy kicking off, lenders may have to restructure loans and delay principal payments by up to six months for debtors to get subsidised.

Besides the subsidised interest, other economic stimulus the government has already announced include a corporate tax cut and an import tax break.

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Image Credit: Edi Kurniawan on Unsplash

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I was the co-founder of Stickery, an educational games startup in San Francisco when I first suffered from stress-induced chest pains. Thanks to my doctor’s advice to learn meditation, I started to master the art of mindfulness.

In a subsequent role at Zendesk, my exposure to the high-pressure customer support industry made me realise that mindfulness is not just a personal one, but a business problem.

Today, I am the founder and CEO of MindFi, a mindfulness app and B2B wellbeing platform, and we have seen a surge in app downloads since the pandemic began.

I have been conducting a live meditation session and sharing my tricks and tips to become more mindful via the e27 webinars. And I would like to bust some of the meditation and mindfulness myths for entrepreneurs and working professionals. 

What are the benefits of mindfulness?

You can increase your focus and attention span and get more done in a busy, distracting day. 

Improve your sleep, too, by learning to manage your stresses in a calmer manner before rest time at night. Be a better leader by training your emotional intelligence and being kinder and understanding to team members. Get more creative by being open to new, unfamiliar experiences and not dismissing/ judging them prematurely. 

These few points only touch the surface of the benefits that mindfulness can provide to you.

Is there any science behind mindfulness?

Absolutely. Mindfulness research was first developed at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in the 1970s by Prof. Jon Kabat Zinn, an MIT alumnus in molecular biology.

He helped to bring the practice of mindfulness meditation into mainstream medicine and demonstrated that practicing mindfulness can bring improvements in both physical and psychological symptoms as well as positive changes in health, attitudes, and behaviors. Since then, more clinical research on mindfulness has been done at many top universities such as Harvard, Oxford and Stanford. 

How do I practise mindfulness?

Mindfulness is ultimately about training your mind not to time-travel. We spend most of our time worrying about the past or the future and rarely stay in the present. Mindfulness is about awareness of what’s happening around you or inside you — in a purposeful and non-judgmental manner.

There are two main methods to practise mindfulness — with closed eyes (formal) or with open eyes (informal). If you think you will fall asleep once your eyes are closed, try the informal method. Join the e27 meditation webinar for a practical session.

Also read: Sailing through COVID-19 crisis with mindfulness meditation

In the MindFi app, we have the formal methods that are usually longer at 10 minutes each while informal methods are three to five minutes (as long as your favourite song). We have over 1,000 minutes of audio-guided mindfulness tracks in the apps with categories based on different moods, activities such as walking, eating or even sky-watching! In other words – be creative and find your own style! 

Is there an optimum time-frame we should meditate for based on our current emotions?

Various studies recommend 20 minutes of mindfulness meditation daily to enhance brain functions and overall physical and mental health. However, everything is about balance.

You don’t want to force yourself into a 20-minute-long session if it feels unbearable at the five-minute mark because you are consciously aware of your looming deadlines, the source of your stress.

On the other hand, if you find that you are focussed and in the right mood, do not limit yourself to 20 minutes if you feel like you can benefit from a longer session.

Meditation sessions can provide you with a quick break to collect yourself and pull back from overwhelming emotions, or they can help you to understand yourself better.

Ultimately, the quality of the session is more important than the duration. It is all about what feels right for you, and the situation that you are in.

How to be calm during the ‘circuit-breaker’ with WFH?

In difficult and uncertain times like this, mindfulness can help you navigate through negative feelings in ways that help you stay calm and centred. One method I recommend is by taking a mindful pause during times when you have lots to do and feel overwhelmed.

It involves just taking 30 seconds to tune into your own body, and just breathe. Open up your attention to the sensations in your body. Acknowledge any sensations tied to stress or anxiety and let them pass without pushing them away. Then, rest your attention on your breath. Notice the way you breathe. Let these sensations anchor you in the present moment.

Our breathing is a powerful way for us to regulate our emotions, and it is something we take for granted. Through your breath, you can activate your parasympathetic nervous system — the calming response in your body. If you can spare more time, go for longer sessions. Try out different methods of breathing. These exercises can help you find calm in a hectic workday.

What kinds of routines does the MindFi app provide?

Here are the four different modes in the MindFi app:

• Focus is the digital detox timer for productivity geeks to focus on a work or life task
• Breathe provides open-eye haptics-guided breathing exercises
• Mood has short audio-guided, mood-specific mindfulness tracks done with open eyes.
• Courses consist of longer 10-minute meditations. These are developed by mindfulness experts and consists of topics such as Basics, Self-care, Sleep, or even Leadership.

Does it matter if you are inhaling from the chest or stomach? What’s more effective?

When we take in a breath, we either expand at the chest or through the stomach.  

Many people are in the habit of breathing only with their chest. The problem is, chest breathing is inefficient. The greatest amount of blood flow occurs in the lower lobes of the lungs and the air just doesn’t get there when you breathe this way. These breaths are generally more rapid and shallow compared to breathing from the stomach. 

Breathing from the stomach is known as diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing. Just above your stomach is the diaphragm, a major muscle used during respiration. Proper breathing starts in the nose and then moves to the stomach.

As your diaphragm contracts, the belly expands and your lungs fill with air. It is the most efficient way to breathe, as it pulls down on the lungs, creating negative pressure in the chest, resulting in more air flowing into your lungs. Belly breathing slows down the heartbeat and can lower or stabilise blood pressure. More importantly, it helps you relax and relieves stress.

Finally, if you experience any pain during practice, pause and take a break before retrying. If you continue to experience pain or have a prior medical condition, do consult a doctor. Otherwise, I wish you all the best in your mindfulness journey!

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Register for our next webinar: Meditation webinar for entrepreneurs

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing contributions from the community. Become a thought leader in the community and share your opinions or ideas and earn a byline by submitting a post.

Join our e27 Telegram group, or like the e27 Facebook page.

Image credit: Jared Rice on Unsplash

The post A meditation guide for entrepreneurs from an entrepreneur appeared first on e27.

Malaysia’s BookDoc partners with Ministry of Youth and Sports partner to spread COVID-19 awareness

Malaysian health tech company BookDoc is partnering with the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS) of Malaysia to provide services to tackle the spread of COVID-19, according to a press release.

The joint partnership will focus on providing services like free mental health tele-consult services and personalised advice on how to stay healthy during the pandemic. It will be conducted by a team of nutritionists and dieticians who will be sharing information on the right nutrition and indoor workout.

“The tele-health service initiative by BookDoc is very timely, especially during movement control order (MCO), where everyone is encouraged to stay at home. Health advisory and consultation by a qualified doctor, specialist and nutritionist and dietitian can now be obtained digitally without physically leaving your home. Thanks to BookDoc, this complimentary offer will now be accessible by national athletes, former athletes, youth leaders, and students/trainees under IKBN and ILKBS,” said Reezal Merican, Minister of Youth and Sports.

Also Read: Balancing innovation and security: How Revolut implements regulatory compliance framework in their business

BookDoc is currently working with the Ministry of Health (MOH), the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI).

India’s e-commerce giant Flipkart injects US$90M into PhonePe

Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart has injected a total of US$90 million into its digital payments platform PhonePe, according to The EconomicTimes.

Phone Pe allows users to transfer money instantly to anyone by using just their mobile number. The firm, however, recently saw its transactions dip by 35 per cent.

On the brighter side, the company has recently restructured its homepage and user interface to feature essential use cases like recharges, bill payments, money transfers prominently and an information centre dedicated to COVID-19.

Currently, with a user-base of 200 million, the company is also competing against Google Pay, Amazon Pay, and Paytm.

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Image Credit:  camilo jimenez

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