Creative Boom London kindly wrote a fantastic review of the workshop which covers all of these points (and more) in detail.

• Have an agenda, with timings, which should be forwarded to all participants beforehand, and outlined again at the beginning of the meeting
• Allocate someone in charge of chairing to keep the meeting focussed and running to time
• Adhere to the same protocols that you would in offline meetings – listening to whoever is speaking, not interrupting
• Allocate someone responsible for taking minutes to record what was discussed, agreed and decided, and writing these up to circulate to rest of group

The tools. (some we’ve mentioned before):

Skype: hosts conference calls for up to 9 participants, with video, file sharing and instant messaging (useful for sharing web links or notes whilst talking).  The latest version also enables screen sharing to show your colleagues exactly what you’re looking at.

Twiddla -  a more creative environment to share images and sketches with all team members online at the same time.  Has a supporting chat (text and audio) function for discussions (unfortunately no longer free, except for a 30-day trial)

Etherpad – a dynamic method of online collaborative writing which allows you to see your teams edits in real-time.   Useful if the focus of the meeting is to get a document finalised.   This application is free if the files are kept public, but there is a cost to make them private.

Google Wave – the new conversational tool from Google (still currently in invite mode) which allows for real-time editing like Etherpad, but also acts like a wiki (allowing for attachments and links), e-mail (you can start new ‘waves’ with your contacts) and instant messaging.

(So there’s no excuse if we’re hit by another bout of snow!)

When working on a project with others, a mixture of both online and offline communication methods work well together. It’s likely that at least one face-to-face meeting will take place, and meetings are not always easy to facilitate. So, stock up on big paper, markers, coloured pens and post-its – here are a few tips and methods you can use to keep the creative juices flowing but stay on track:

- Use the project timescale as a basis for meeting agendas.  This way, everyone will know what is to be achieved at the meeting in relation to the overall key milestones and deadlines.

- Use break-out groups as a way of generating ideas and discussion.  Encouraging a large group to break into smaller groups or pairs ensures that all participants have the opportunity to contribute, and will keep motivation and interest high.

- Keep good records of discussions at meetings.  This may include:

o Questions that when answered would help to move the project forward. If they can’t be answered within the meeting time, review them at the end and participants can research the solution afterwards.

o Knowledge, existing models or examples useful to the project’s development.  They can be documented and transferred to an online space (e.g. Google Docs or project wiki) to ensure that discussions aren’t repeated at later meetings (this resource can also be taken forward to future projects).

o Outcomes of discussions, feedback and decisions made. Ensure these are integrated into project development, so that good ideas or points aren’t lost. These can form the basis of a project ‘manifesto’ or knowledge bank to refer to on an ongoing basis.

Web tools can be used in conjunction with meetings to enhance effectiveness and stay productive. For example, participants can be encouraged to continue discussions on a dedicated forum or message board, for questions cannot be resolved during the meeting, or where a longer discussion takes the focus of the meeting away from the agenda (although sometimes this can be equally productive!). Any points discussed online in between meetings can be incorporated into the agenda for a following meeting.

Online tools such as Google Docs or wikis can be used to record progress, so that project members that were unable to attend the meeting can stay up-to-date, involved and still make contributions.