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Joseph Allen Announces Publication of Virtual Meeting Book

Virtual meetings have been a mainstay of the “new normal” that began in March 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shifting from the conference room to the kitchen table helped keep people safe, but came accompanied by new frustrations and now-familiar issues (“you’re on mute. . .”).

Enter Joseph A. Allen, PhD, Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology at the University of Utah and meeting scientist and Karin Reed, CEO of Speaker Dynamics. They have combined their expertise in meeting science and business communication in the upcoming book “Suddenly Virtual: Making Remote Meetings Work” (WILEY 2021). They discuss best practices for meeting in face-to-face and in virtual settings, the value of keeping the video camera on, the ideal production values, and virtual meeting etiquette, among many other key topics. The book also covers more complex and ongoing questions of the future of meetings, including managing meetings across global cultures and how to balance in-person and remote attendees in a hybrid meeting. This work is a natural extension of Dr. Allen’s meeting science research regarding meeting behaviors, perceptions of power and hierarchy, and strategies that organizations can deploy to improve meeting effectiveness and satisfaction.

“Suddenly Virtual: Making Remote Meetings Work” will be available for purchase on March 9 from booksellers and from Wiley’s website. For questions regarding the book, speaking opportunities, and other issues, please contact Dr. Allen at joseph.a.allen@utah.edu.