Some of you may already be familiar with this meeting discussion technique that I was reminded of when I facilitated a virtual meeting recently. It's known as "Think, Pair, and Share" and it works extremely well for virtual meetings.

Set a timer (I find 2 or 3 minutes works well) and have everyone quietly think on their own about the question or topic at hand. Ask people to write down their ideas and any questions that bubble up to the surface. Then, depending on how many meeting attendees are present, have participants pair up or form small pods of 3 - 5 people in breakout rooms to share their insights within a smaller group. Then bring everyone back together for the grand finale, where champagne bottles are popped while a marching band plays in the background. Okay, so the champagne and marching band are optional. But what does matter is that everyone shares their findings to the bigger group, whether it's through a spokesperson for each pod or simply by having people compile notes that can be later shared.

This is a simple but effective technique to encourage more thoughtful participation in meetings and help give everyone a stronger voice.