Needs and Recommendations for Hybrid Meetings

by David Coletta
New England Yearly Meeting

Adapted from Needs and Recommendations for Hybrid Business 2021 by David Coletta, NEYM, [email protected]; techministry.info.

Which of the pictures above more closely resembles what you imagine when you hear “hybrid meeting”? (click this link to see original graphic.) Do we want to center the people sitting together in a room?

With this in mind, let’s try visualizing a hybrid business meeting as a business meeting that has any mix of individuals and groups (“pods”) attending as single Zoom squares. Some Friends may gather at the meetinghouse, following COVID protocols; some in informal pods of family or friends; and some by themselves.

All these pods will be at different levels of experience with participating in a hybrid meeting for business/worship, and will have different needs.

Needs of the Clerk and Clerk’s Table

In a business meeting, the clerk, as well as anyone else at the clerk’s table who is helping the clerk, needs to know who is asking to be recognized to speak, including which individual in a pod setting.

The clerk needs to be able to tell that the person who is asking to be recognized is at the camera and ready to speak.

The clerks’ table as a pod needs to be able to work together and talk with each other, both publicly and privately, in as comfortable and relaxed a manner as possible.

Needs of The Body As a Whole

The body as a whole needs to be able to tell who is asking to be recognized to speak at any given moment.

The body needs to be able to trust that technical difficulties have been planned for, and that there are people who are responsible for responding to these difficulties, so the body can be free to focus its attention on the worship/business at hand. Any amount of troubleshooting in business meeting is a huge drain of time and energy, and has the potential to erode trust.

The body needs to be protected from disruptions resulting from technical difficulties that interfere with worshipful business.

Needs of Each Pod

Individuals in a pod attending business meeting together need to understand what is expected of them: how to ask to be recognized, how to withdraw the request, how to prepare to speak, and so on. (“Understanding” is more than just knowing, and may also involve practicing.)

Individuals in a pod need to feel that their needs are being considered and attended to, and be comfortable enough with the process that it is not a barrier to participation.

Conjecture: the people who come to a pod are less likely than average to want to use tech in the pod, i.e., that’s why they bothered to come.

Recommendations for Meeting These Needs

If your pod is larger than three people—for example, a pod of people who have gathered at your meetinghouse—

it should have a designated tech host with specific responsibilities. Your pod tech host should be a co-host of the overall Zoom meeting.

it should have at least two devices logged into the business or worship meeting. One should be the device with the camera, and the other should be the pod’s tech host's.

Your pod will need to be attentive to feedback loops: only one of those devices should be handling audio at a time. 

Someone in your pod should be assigned the responsibility of bringing the camera and/or microphone to anyone who wishes to speak.

Your pod should have a tech rehearsal in advance to work through the audio and visual details, make sure the physical space works (including being aware of the path of the sun), and gain confidence that they have prepared adequately.