Introduction: What You’ll Learn
Hybrid and remote standups bring new challenges — dropped audio, delayed responses, async updates, or unclear engagement. As the facilitator, you set the tone and ensure communication flows across locations and tools.
You’ll practice:
- Including async and remote updates effectively
- Reading engagement in mixed formats
- Balancing in-room and remote presence
- Re-engaging when tech or energy falters
Step-by-Step Simulation
Scene 1: Opening the Standup
Facilitator: "Morning everyone — quick reminder to stay on mute when not speaking. Let’s run updates round-robin: yesterday, today, blockers. I’ll start."
Facilitator (as a developer): "Yesterday I finished the endpoint tests. Today I’m debugging some flaky results in staging. No blockers."
Facilitator: "Cool — let’s go to Sara next."
Scene 2: Teammate Updates (Hybrid Challenges)
Sara (remote): "Hey — can you hear me? Okay. Yesterday I worked on the metrics dashboard, today I’m polishing mobile views. Still waiting on the new icon set from Design."
Facilitator: "Thanks, Sara. We’ll flag that follow-up. Alex, you’re next."
Alex (in room): "Working on onboarding revisions. Still figuring out if we’re targeting new flows or just patching the old ones. Might sync with Product later."
Priya (remote - async update in Slack):
Yesterday: Reviewed auth code and tested login edge cases. Today: Finishing test coverage. Blockers: None.
Facilitator: "Thanks to Priya for the async update — all clear there. Leo?"
Leo (in room): "Quick one — finished my task queue refactor. Today’s cleanup and writing docs. All good."
Facilitator: "Thanks. Looks like everyone’s mostly connected — if anyone dropped or had issues hearing, feel free to post your update in Slack so we don’t miss it."
Scene 3: Wrapping Up and Recap
Facilitator: "Recap: Sara’s waiting on icons — we’ll follow up with Design. Alex may sync with Product on onboarding. Priya’s async and unblocked. Leo’s on cleanup today. Thanks all — appreciate everyone staying engaged. If you missed the call, please drop your update in Slack. Let’s make sure async folks stay looped in."
Mini Roleplay Challenges
Challenge 1: Sara’s audio cuts in and out.
- Best Response: “We’re losing you a bit — can you post the full update in Slack?”
Challenge 2: One remote teammate is quiet the whole time.
- Best Response: “Just checking in — any updates from your side before we wrap?”
Challenge 3: In-room teammates start side-talking.
- Best Response: “Let’s hold side chats for after — want to keep remote folks in the loop.”
Optional Curveball Mode
Try these twists:
- Zoom drops out mid-standup.
- Async updates come in late.
- One teammate updates via DM instead of public Slack.
Can you lead through chaos and still make it inclusive?
Reflection Checklist
Standup Flow
- Did I include async updates clearly?
- Did I notice and address connection gaps?
- Did everyone get heard?
Communication
- Was I inclusive of all formats?
- Did I prompt gently if someone was quiet?
- Did I adapt if tech issues appeared?
Leadership & Tone
- Did I balance in-room and remote attention?
- Did I close with clarity and appreciation?
- Did I reinforce async norms?
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Ignoring remote or async voices
- Letting tech problems go unaddressed
- Allowing in-room chat to dominate
- Failing to check if updates were missed