Here's how to shine like a boss in online meetings

In Zoom meetings, your engagement and influence in conversations can shape whether you're perceived as a leader, researchers say. Image: Shutterstock

Videoconferencing software has made holding business meetings easier in many ways. But it can be hard to know how to behave during these virtual encounters to make a good impression. A British study, recently published in the Academy of Management Journal, outlines the keys to standing out as a leader on video calls.

The authors of this research studied social interaction during online meetings. In particular, they looked at how people can assert their leadership during conference calls. After all, professional meetings are more difficult to conduct remotely than in person. Numerous factors can impair the concentration and engagement of meeting participants. Whoever organizes the meeting needs to manage it masterfully, so that it doesn't become a waste of everyone's time.

But you still need to know how to go about it. To find out more, researchers at various universities, including Birmingham University in the UK, conducted an experiment involving some 50 individuals in several virtual teams taking part in work conference calls. Studying their behavior highlighted the fact that engagement and speaking up are essential factors for being perceived as a leader in a remote meeting.

However, it's not enough to dominate the discussion to position yourself as a leader—and, above all, to be recognized as such by your colleagues. The challenge is to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to express their ideas and opinions. "We found speaking in Zoom becomes quite important for everyone because, in these virtual settings, you cannot capture many nonverbal backchannel behaviors that would indicate whether people agree with or understand you in the same way as if you were meeting in person," explains study co-author, Fuhe Jin, quoted in a news release. 

There's every reason to believe that the key to showing leadership in a remote work meeting is to ensure that speaking time is allocated appropriately. Everyone invited must feel free to express themselves, even when they disagree with what is being said. This is the best way to reach a decision, without creating feelings of frustration and impacting employee motivation.