Running an online meeting is a necessary skill in today’s business. Good leaders know how to run a meeting. Exceptional are also every bit as skilled with online meetings.

You’ve heard the hype. Web conferencing can save your travel budget, important in today’s expensive environment. Run them right and you’ll improve communication and save money at the same time. Nice. Here’s 8 tips to help you get started.

1. Have an agenda distributed ahead of time. This is even more important online than in “normal” meetings. Having the agenda in front of all the attendees — preferably

2. Learn how to use your internet conferencing software. Invest a half hour in yourself and learn the application. If you’re worried about the cost, most of the vendors offer free trials - sign up for one and practice.

3. Check on whether participants have done their prep work. For reasons I’ve never understood, people seem more willing to blow off preparing for online meetings. You’ll want to gently nudge with a reminder. I prefer to do this over the phone.

4. Remember to smile while you speak. Call center staff the world round know that your facial expressions translate into your voice tone. Even if there’s no one to see you, smiling (with authority) works wonders.

5. Make sure the background noises are silenced. Don’t speak from a noisy room. If you’re working from home make sure there’s a door between you and the household noises (pets are a perennial challenge here). Turn off your cell phone ringer and ask that others do the same.

6. Have minutes be taken by another attendee. You will be using your computer to present content (PowerPoint, Spreadsheets, whatever) and should never ask people to watch you type meeting minutes. It’s like watching paint dry…

7. Check to be sure points are understood. Online meetings don’t give us the chance to read facial cues - which often help us figure out whether everyone understands or agrees. As the meeting leader, make a point of asking for questions after each major topic. This works best if you specific questions about each main point rather than just saying “any questions?”

8. Keep track of who’s joined the call. This is particularly important if it’s going to be an interactive meeting (as opposed to a formal presentation). Your participants will want to know who else is on the call. Ask everyone to identify themselves at the start of the meeting.

These tips will take you a long way in your desire to run a successful online meeting. Still feeling uncomfortable? Sign up for a free trial with a internet conference vendor (see resource box for helpful links) and practice a bit with a friend. You’ll both emerge knowing exactly how to run a meeting online.

We small business owners have to be careful. We need to invest in growing our business, but not waste a cent. Web conference software can help, if you understand what to look for.

Small business owners often hesitate when thinking about internet conferencing services. There’s a fear it’ll cost too much or that they’ll get stuck paying too much for a bunch of useless features. This article will guide you through the types of plans available and the features you should consider.

Web conferencing software is much less expensive than you think. Webex’s MeetMeNow prices out to as low as $35 a month for an unlimited number of meetings. The other companies (Cisco, Microsoft) have similar plans.

Of course, you still have to decide whether that price makes sense for your company. Pencil out how much you would save on travel, long distance phone calls, and cellular phone minutes. It’s not at all unusual for this to work out to much larger savings than the cost of an entry-level internet conferencing plan.

Now to look at features. If you’re already comfortable with internet conferencing you likely have a mental list of what you want. If not, the best advice is to read this list of features and then sign up for a free trial — it’ll give you a chance to decide which features you really need.

Audio Conferencing: Your web conference vendor should provide a toll free number for participants. If possible, they should also allow for VoIP calling (calling over the Internet).

Video Conferencing: Video streaming is going mainstream. You can hook up a webcam to your pc and let the attendees see you as you speak. Most web conference vendors integrate video streaming into their software.

White Board: I love whiteboards, real or virtual. A shared, online white board is a must for me. The group can work together on an idea, just as if they were in the same room.

Annotating Documents: Tired of reading through documents over the phone, or trying to integrate a slew of “track changes” documents? Instead, the group can review and edit documents together.

Meeting Quantity and Size: Many plans allow unlimited meetings for a set fee. Some charge per-meeting. Be aware that the entry-level programs often cap the number of participants per meeting at around 10 participants, though that’s typically enough participants for small business meetings.

Take a few minutes to review this list of features and think about how you’ll use web conferencing software. The best way to decide is to sign up for a free trial and see if it meets your needs.