I see that people have a hard time speaking up in virtual meetings. They don't find an opportunity to speak their mind. Even if they have something valuable to say, they remain silent. It can be difficult to be visible in an offline meeting, and it can be even more difficult in virtual discussions.
I've found that two things work best for my clients:
Be prepared. Preparing for the meeting helps figure out when a person can bring greater value and come up with wording to express that during the meeting. The other part of preparation is communicating with those attending the upcoming meeting. Pre-meeting communication helps identify their ideas and concerns, let them know what you want to say in the meeting, and get their feedback on it.
Stay focused. Sometimes it's hard to stay focused on the online meeting when various notifications pop up and demand your attention. Emails, messengers, and social media seem like brief distractions. But in those moments, you lose track of the discussion, making it harder to contribute with your ideas.
If you want to learn more about virtual presence I highly recommend this HBR article