Summary: The best video conferencing equipment in the world can't make you and your business look good if your people do not use the set-up to their advantage. These eight video conferencing tips can help you look great.
Even the best video conferencing equipment on the market doesn't explain all of your communication problems. Some issues are a result of the actions of the participants and have more to do with inexperience, bad manners and lack of consideration than with the quality of the mics, monitors and connections.
To make your long distance video communication events go smoothly, keep the following 8 things in mind:
1. Set up rules for participation in advance. Will everyone speak freely or will only 1 or 2 people do the majority of the speaking? While you aren't sure the people on the other end will speak in an organized and orderly fashion, you should do everything possible to be sure you maintain a disciplined approach on your end.
2. Do a practice run to make certain everyone understands how things work. While modern video conferencing equipment is intuitive and easy to use, letting folks that are unacquainted with its operation, practice a bit, is an excellent idea. Set up a chat with another regional office or a trusted peer who will tell you truthfully if you and you staff are coming across well.
3. Be aware of the cameras but not engrossed by them. Think of how experienced news reporters have interaction with the camera. They communicate to the individual watching the broadcast, not to the camera. They don't compulsively think about being a centimeter or two off their marks, but they don't intentionally step outside of the frame either. They appear at ease at all times.
4. Eliminate outside disrutbances from the meeting room. Modern microphones are far more sensitive than ever, so close the door to the room where the meeting is being held, silence pagers, watches and mobile phones and keep paper rustling to the absolute minimum. Always assume that extraneous sounds are being picked up although they may not be.
5. Avoid wearing distracting or heavily decorated clothing. Cross-hatch patterns may react with a camera in bizarre and distraction ways and very small decorations may not be visible. Stick to decorated clothing to avoid creating distractions that can take attention away from your carefully planned words during your telemeeting.
6. Have a clear goal. Exactly like in a face to face meeting, be clear about what is to be discussed. Otherwise, you'll never know when your discussion is complete. For video conference meetings, this means establishing a clear agenda and sharing it with all locations.
7. Make sure someone is in charge at each location and over the whole meeting. Somebody should be able to call time when the meeting runs longs, and somebody at each location should be accountable for informing other locations when there is a communication problem. If no-one is appointed to be in charge of a location, it's possible that nobody will speak out if something goes wrong, and time could be wasted.
8. Provide digital presentations and handouts ahead of time. People often prefer to view handouts and presentations in their own time so that they can prepare before a meeting, so provide digital presentations and email copies of handouts in advance , allowing those who want to study the chance to do that. That may also save a meeting if a presentation do not want to transmit at the proper time.
When you keep these eight common sense tips in consideration during your live video conferencing events, you can be sure that your words amount to true communication and do not fall on deaf ears. Making the best use of your video conferencing equipment means guaranteeing people understand how to work with it instead of against it.
Even the best video conferencing equipment on the market doesn't explain all of your communication problems. Some issues are a result of the actions of the participants and have more to do with inexperience, bad manners and lack of consideration than with the quality of the mics, monitors and connections.
To make your long distance video communication events go smoothly, keep the following 8 things in mind:
1. Set up rules for participation in advance. Will everyone speak freely or will only 1 or 2 people do the majority of the speaking? While you aren't sure the people on the other end will speak in an organized and orderly fashion, you should do everything possible to be sure you maintain a disciplined approach on your end.
2. Do a practice run to make certain everyone understands how things work. While modern video conferencing equipment is intuitive and easy to use, letting folks that are unacquainted with its operation, practice a bit, is an excellent idea. Set up a chat with another regional office or a trusted peer who will tell you truthfully if you and you staff are coming across well.
3. Be aware of the cameras but not engrossed by them. Think of how experienced news reporters have interaction with the camera. They communicate to the individual watching the broadcast, not to the camera. They don't compulsively think about being a centimeter or two off their marks, but they don't intentionally step outside of the frame either. They appear at ease at all times.
4. Eliminate outside disrutbances from the meeting room. Modern microphones are far more sensitive than ever, so close the door to the room where the meeting is being held, silence pagers, watches and mobile phones and keep paper rustling to the absolute minimum. Always assume that extraneous sounds are being picked up although they may not be.
5. Avoid wearing distracting or heavily decorated clothing. Cross-hatch patterns may react with a camera in bizarre and distraction ways and very small decorations may not be visible. Stick to decorated clothing to avoid creating distractions that can take attention away from your carefully planned words during your telemeeting.
6. Have a clear goal. Exactly like in a face to face meeting, be clear about what is to be discussed. Otherwise, you'll never know when your discussion is complete. For video conference meetings, this means establishing a clear agenda and sharing it with all locations.
7. Make sure someone is in charge at each location and over the whole meeting. Somebody should be able to call time when the meeting runs longs, and somebody at each location should be accountable for informing other locations when there is a communication problem. If no-one is appointed to be in charge of a location, it's possible that nobody will speak out if something goes wrong, and time could be wasted.
8. Provide digital presentations and handouts ahead of time. People often prefer to view handouts and presentations in their own time so that they can prepare before a meeting, so provide digital presentations and email copies of handouts in advance , allowing those who want to study the chance to do that. That may also save a meeting if a presentation do not want to transmit at the proper time.
When you keep these eight common sense tips in consideration during your live video conferencing events, you can be sure that your words amount to true communication and do not fall on deaf ears. Making the best use of your video conferencing equipment means guaranteeing people understand how to work with it instead of against it.
About the Author:
Paul Fraser is owner at AVT and writes about video conferencing equipment and others issues connected to distance communication. He knows that good skills combined with great equipment can lead to successful video conferencing events.
No comments:
Post a Comment