Meeting Structure Ideas

The meetigs so far have gone well, but I was thinking that since so many of us are currently remote that we could experiment with some strategies for having efficient scientific virtual meetings. I read a few tips from the business world and tried to come up with some ideas. Any input is of course welcome, and I am sure the system will evolve as we use it. Here are my suggestions:

Have a loose agenda for each meeting to try to keep everything on track. I will start posting a preliminary agenda on MatIN 1-2 days ahead of time, and will revise it a few minutes before the meeting to reflect any comments. Naturally we can let the agenda change or deviate from it as the meeting goes on.
We can experiment with using the chat feature in conjunction with speaking, particularly during presentations or long discussions. This gives a polite way to interrupt a speaker if you would like to clarify a point… kind of the equivalent of raising your hand during a talk. You can write a comment directly, or just type a ? if you have a question.
A big challenge with remote meetings is knowing who should be talking, and avoiding situations where everyone tries to speak at the same time. To help mitigate this I suggest that we try to structure agenda topics as a conversation between two people at a time. These people can have a dialogue (with slides as necessary), and others are encouraged to comment on this dialogue via the chat feature. After each point we can have a group discussion as necessary.
“Video Mute” can be used when the video feed is not necessary. This will cut down on data transfer and reduce the probability that the call freezes. Turning your video feed back on could also be a cue that you have something to say.

Please note that these are not “rules”, just suggestions, so I encourage anyone to deviate as appropriate. I don’t want to make the meetings too structured, but thought this would be a good opportunity to try out ideas. Feel free to post a comment or let me know if you have any input.