Lesson 5.2: Running a video meeting across cultures

A U.S. video meeting often starts on the hour, skips the small talk and works through the agenda fast. People speak up when they disagree. Silence is filled quickly. The meeting ends when the last item is done.

With many Nigerian partners, a few changes make the same meeting far more effective. Greetings and introductions take longer. Senior people may speak first and set the tone. Others may hold back disagreement in front of their managers. And the connection may drop at least once.

Before the meeting

• Send an agenda in advance. It lets your contact brief senior colleagues and prepare. Use the "Meeting agenda" template.

• Ask who will attend, and their titles. This tells you who to greet first and who decides.

• Write the time in both zones, for example 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time / 3:00 p.m. West Africa Time.

• Confirm the day before and on the morning. A short WhatsApp message is enough.

• Choose a platform your partner uses, and share a dial-in or backup plan in case video fails.

Opening the meeting

Greet the most senior person first, by title. Ask after their well-being before any business. Introduce your side in order of seniority, with titles and roles. Then invite your partner to introduce their side. Give this a few minutes; it is part of the meeting, not a delay to it.

During the meeting

• Speak at a measured pace and avoid idioms like "ballpark" or "touch base." Accents differ on both sides. If you miss something, ask politely: "Sorry, the line broke up. Could you repeat the last point?"

• Allow pauses. A pause may mean your partner is thinking, translating a technical point, or deciding how to phrase a concern. Do not rush to fill it.

• Invite input gently. Some people will not contradict a senior colleague in front of others. Ask open questions to the group, and follow up with individuals later rather than putting them on the spot.

• Do not insist on cameras. Bandwidth may be limited. Audio-only participation is fine.

• Agree a fallback. "If we lose the connection, I will call you on WhatsApp."

Closing the meeting

Leave five minutes. Summarize what you heard in plain words. State the next steps you will take and ask what next steps your partner sees. Confirm who will send what, and by when. Thank the senior person and your contact by name. Tell them a written recap will follow, which you will cover in Lesson 5.3.

When things do not go to plan

People may join late because of traffic, other meetings or network trouble. Greet late arrivals warmly and give a one-sentence recap. If the senior person arrives partway through, pause, greet them first and summarize briefly. If the call drops repeatedly, offer to continue by phone, or to reschedule without fuss.

The transferable principle

In any cross-cultural meeting, prepare the room before you enter it: who is attending, their titles, the time in both zones and a fallback. Then slow down the opening, make room for quiet voices, and close with confirmed, written next steps.

Worked example: The first two minutes of a video meeting.

OK, looks like everyone's here. Let's dive in. I've got a hard stop at 11, so let's get through pricing first.

Good afternoon, Mrs. Eze, Mr. Bello. Thank you both for joining.

I hope you are well and that the day has been kind to you.

Before we begin, may I introduce my colleague Tom Reyes, our operations manager. Mrs. Eze, would you like to introduce your side?

We have about an hour. I shared a short agenda yesterday. If it suits you, we can start with your questions on the specification.

Why it works: it greets the senior person first, makes room for introductions, refers to the agenda shared in advance and lets the partner shape the first topic.