Can you imagine a meeting where everyone is in the same room, but no one is actually there? It might sound like science fiction, but it’s actually a thing! Async meetings allow professionals to be present without being present. By using technology, remote workers can join in on meetings without having to leave their homes or office. This revolutionary way of working is changing the way we do business. Learn more about async meetings and how they can help you stay productive!
What are asynchronous meetings?
Asynchronous meetings are those where communication still occurs in a typical “meeting format”, however, without all participants present at the same time. Some common examples are Loom video messages or recorded meetings which others can watch and re-watch later.
When are async meetings used?
The beauty of async meetings is that you can have them at any time during the day, regardless of whether your colleagues are not in office. This means async meetings can be scheduled during working hours while some participants are still busy working away in the office, while others may only be able to participate
Async meetings are perfect for getting input from your team members, even if they can’t attend the meeting itself or prefer to do their work outside of office hours. Async meetings give you flexibility and allow you to brainstorm ideas, ask questions and discuss strategies with your team from
Before we delve too much into async meetings, you might want to quickly brush up on async communication.
What is async communication?
Asynchronous communication is any type of interaction where messages are sent without immediate feedback. This means async communication does not require real-time responses to messages and can be processed at a later time.
What are synchronous meetings?
A synchronous meeting is a type of meeting where all participants are in the same time zone. The time zones may or may not be in the same geographical area. The meeting takes place either online or face-to-face.
What is synchronous communication?
A synchronous communication is an interaction where messages are sent and responded to immediately. This means the response must be given at the time of receiving the message, not at a later stage.
Cons of synchronous meetings
Common mistake business owners make is thinking that all their employees are available to work during the same hours. This often leads to synchronous meetings being scheduled for times convenient of just a few of the participants. This means that some of your staff may have to choose between being productive and staying connected on the job, or spending time with their family
Asynchronous meetings vs. synchronous meeting
So what are the main differences between async and sync? Well, async meetings can take place at any time of day, regardless of where people are located. For example, you might have colleagues living in different parts of the world or employees who work night shifts or overnight. While async meetings only require each person to be available on some part of the meeting, sync meetings require everyone to attend at the same time.
Finally, async meetings are only one way of communicating, while sync meetings are two-way.
Asynchronous meeting tips
What are some tips to staying productive, focused, and in touch with your colleagues, whilst communicating via async meeting? Async meetings can be a great way to stay productive, focused, and in touch with your colleagues. However, there are a few things you can do to make the most of them!
1. Make sure you’re available for the meeting. This means turning off notifications and putting your phone on silent. Try to find a quiet place where you can concentrate on the meeting.
2. Preparation is key! Make sure you have all the relevant information and documents ready before the meeting starts.
3. Stay focused! async meetings can be tempting to multitask, but it’s important to focus on the meeting at hand.
4. If you need to take a break, let your colleagues know. It’s very distracting for people to be wondering where you are or what you’re doing.
5. At the end of the meeting remember to thank everyone for their time and input, even if it didn’t work out. Remember that async meetings are a great opportunity to get important matters across without taking up too much time.
6. Over time, async meetings will become shorter and they will be used less and less. So remember to stay organized, prepare correctly and follow the tips above, everyone will benefit from async meetings!
What not to do when sending async communication messages and meetings?
Don’t use async mode as a water cooler conversation. Asynchronous meetings are not the time to chat with colleagues about non-work-related matters, but rather should be reserved for focused conversations. Keep async mode strictly work-oriented and then return to being “offline” again.
Don’t use async mode when you have urgent news to share. If a message is time-sensitive, it should be sent in real-time so that the entire team is aware of the situation at once.
Don’t abuse async communication tools just because they exist. Make sure you’re using async for true asynchronous communication and not just because it’s an easier alternative to being truly present in a meeting with your colleagues.
Finally, avoid using async mode when you want time to think about how to phrase something or organize your thoughts ahead of sending them out over the wire. The beauty of async mode is that people can give you time to collect yourself before replying, but when quick responses are required, don’t send a message in async mode.
Asynchronous meeting providers?
tl;dv
tl;dv a new company that works with async meetings. They have created a website where people can record, transcribe and share their online meetings so they can watch them later. Asynchronous meetings are becoming more common because it is easier to have different time zones represented at the same time.
tl;dv async meetings might seem like an extra step but they’re actually more efficient than traditional synchronous meetings. By using async mode you can speak with your colleagues without them having to be online at exactly the same time as you. An added benefit is that async mode allows you to check your work or do research without interrupting your colleagues or missing out on important conversations occurring within the team during async mode. Think of async mode as being able to have a whole team meeting, without actually having a whole team meeting.
How to download the tl;dv Google Chrome Extension?
- First, open up the Chrome web store and type “tl;dv” into the search bar.
- Next, click on the blue “Add to Chrome” button and then click on the “Add extension” button that pops up.
- You will now see a small tl;dv icon in your Chrome toolbar. Click on it to open up the extension.
- To start recording a meeting, click on the red “Start Recording” button. You can also choose to start recording by pressing Ctrl+Shift+R (on Windows) or Cmd+Shift+R (on Mac).
- When you’re finished recording, press Ctrl+Shift+S (on Windows) or C
Yac
Yac is another asynchronous meeting provider as they allow you to send voice messages instead of having a meeting. This way, async meetings can be one-way and you can listen instead of typing your response back.
How to send a voice message on Yac?
- First, download the app from the Play Store or App Store.
- Next, type in your email address and create a password to sign up.
- Click on “Meet” and input the email address of the person you want to speak with.
- Click on “Send a message!” and a pop-up will appear where you can record your voice message.
- Finally, press send!
Loom
Loom is a popular tool used to send video messages, aka, asynchronous meetings. You can save up to 30 seconds of video in your account, which means you’ll never miss a meeting again.
How to use Loom?
Loom is extremely easy to use. Here’s a quick breakdown:
- Simply sign-up for an account at loom.io and download the app on either iOS or Android.
- Once you’ve downloaded the app, simply login and choose a video that you’d like to send.
- You’ll then be shown the number of steps it will take to complete your message.
- Once you’re ready with your message, click on “Send” and voila! Your video has now been sent!
Final thoughts on async meetings
Async meetings are a vital tool for any company that needs to include people from different time zones or geographical regions. Async meeting providers like tl;dv async meetings might seem like an extra step but they’re actually more efficient than traditional synchronous meetings. By using async mode you can speak with your colleagues without them having to be online at exactly the same time as you. An added benefit is that async mode allows you to check your work or do research without interrupting your colleagues or missing out on important conversations occurring within the team during async mode.
Think of async mode as being able to have a whole team meeting, without actually having a whole team meeting!
