Seven Steps to a Vital Videoconference

When it's time for your fifteen minutes of fame will you be ready? With videoconferencing becoming common place in 21st century communication, executives, entrepreneurs, and leaders need to be media savvy. Here's how to put your best face forward:

1. Prepare. It's not enough to show up to speak. Practice with the technology an hour before your presentation and rehearse your message points. Don't wing it.

2. Pause and Listen. Expect time delays. A weak video signal could cause a delay or echo. Allow ample time for your message to reach the other site and wait for a response before you resume making new remarks.

3. Use Small Gestures. Actions are amplified on videoconference. Wild, sweeping movements can result in distorted, fuzzy images.

4. Appoint a Moderator. The moderator facilitates the meeting, introduces guests, and keeps the presentation movoing. The moderator or a designated person operates the technology to free speakers to focus on the message.

5. Dress for TV. Avoid distracting jewelry, shiny clothing, and large, bold patterns. Keep another shirt or blouse in the office for late day videoconferences. Perspiration stains and wrinkles will be noticeable on video. Keep powder handy for shiny noses and bald spots.

6. Create a Connection. Begin with hello. The wave is a standard greeting in videoconferencing. Use the zoom function on the camera to establish eye contact. It's difficult to communicate without viewing facial expressions from the remote site.

7. Minimize Distractions. Keep noise down by restricitng movement in and out of the room. Turn off all beepers and cell phones at the beginning of the meeting. Place a "Do Not Enter" sign on the door and change activities frequently to maintain attention and avoid the boredom factor.

Nothing can replace in-person communication. But if you master the techniques of online communication, videoconferencing is the next best thing to being there.

Copyright Diane DiResta, 2004. All rights reserved.

Diane DiResta is President of DiResta Communications, Inc.,a New York City based consultancy. She is author of Knockout Presentations: How to Deliver Your Message with Power, Punch, and Pizzazz (Chandler House Press) http://www.diresta.com

TANDBERG Wins Frost and Sullivan Market Share Growth Leadership Award TMCnet - 12 hours ago Global high definition video conferencing and mobile products and services player TANDBERG seems to have understood this requirement perfectly receiving the ...

Citrix buys high-def video conferencing player NetworkWorld.com, MA - Nov 18, 2008 GoToMeeting can blend audio and videoconferencing with collaboration tools including desktop sharing and chat. It also supports application sharing, ...

Video Conferencing ROI is it possible, is it auditable? CIO, MA - Nov 19, 2008 With all this hype about the deployment of video conferencing and TelePresence for both environmental and financial reasons, I struggle to find much 'post ...

The Whitlock Group Achieves IOCOM Preferred Affiliate Status MarketWatch - Nov 18, 2008 The Whitlock Group is one of the nation's largest systems integration firms focused on audiovisual, videoconferencing, video-production, broadcast, ...

Harborview Medical Center Improves Patient Care for Non-English ... MarketWatch - Nov 19, 2008 Real-time videoconferencing sessions enable doctors to "virtually" bring interpreters into the office to help diagnose and treat patients in a fraction of ...

Photos: KT-Tech Debuts KTvid: Live, Real-Time, 2-Way Video Chat ... SYS-CON Media, NJ - Nov 19, 2008 Person-to-person videoconferencing on today's narrow-bandwidth 2.5G cellular networks [No need for 3G]. Video chat on mobile devices and cell phones powered ...

Videoconferencing alive and well in the NHS bjhcim, UK - Nov 19, 2008 The King’s Fund Report also envisages the use of videoconferencing for medical consultations; in Northern Ireland the future is already here. ...

Injured county official still in touch, from home San Antonio Express, TX - 21 hours ago Elizondo could see and hear everything happening at the meeting via videoconferencing. And those at the courthouse had a view of Elizondo — complete with an ...

Amherstburg Family Health Team receives videoconferencing initiative Amherstburg Echo,  Canada - Nov 19, 2008 OTN helps deliver clinical care between health care providers and patients via two-way videoconferencing systems and tele-diagnostic instruments like ...

Tandberg sees no danger from falling oil price Reuters - Nov 19, 2008 Chief Executive Fredrik Halvorsen told an investor conference he believed video-conferencing had now gained sufficient quality and momentum in its own right ...

RELATED ARTICLES New Service Utilizes Videoconferencing for Easy Access to London Academic Expertise An innovative service, launched in March 2005 enables educational institutions and corporate organizations worldwide to access the immense pool of academic and professional expertise concentrated in London, UK via videoconferencing.Today, many US and European universities resort to opening and maintaining campuses in London, one of the most expensive cities in the world, to enable their students access to the wealth of experiences and teaching resources that the city offers. Web Conferencing: A Boon to Businesss It is Sunday evening and you are preparing again to go on a business trip. Monday morning the alarm goes off at 4:00 am, you drag your body and your briefcase to your car, drive to the airport, wait in a long line, get on a plane, get off a plane, and find your way to your client's office. Web Conferencing Software - Choosing Your Application It is worth bearing in mind that, when you are deciding which web conferencing application to utilize, none of the applications currently available will do everything well.Each system has its own strengths and weaknesses and it is therefore important for you to identify what you hope to gain from your web conferencing application. Video Conferencing Basics This article will provide you a brief introduction about what actually video conferencing is. By video conferecing we can connect with some other identity and also can see the video online in real time. How to Get Your Video Production Right the FIRST Time I'll cut to the chase. To make your video look right, you have to wear makeup. Benefits of Web-Based Conferencing I recently graduated from college, and instead of taking a corporate programming job, my friend and I started our own web development company. Everything was going great. Web Conferencing: Finding a Service Provider that Meets Your Needs With the vast amount of service providers that are available today, it's not always easy to find the one that best fills the bill for your particular web conferencing needs. Each one claims to be the biggest, best or least expensive, and all will try to convince you that their particular plan is the one that makes the most sense for your business. Seven Steps to a Vital Videoconference When it's time for your fifteen minutes of fame will you be ready? With videoconferencing becoming common place in 21st century communication, executives, entrepreneurs, and leaders need to be media savvy. Here's how to put your best face forward: 1. The History of Video Conferencing - Moving Ahead at the Speed of Video No new technology develops smoothly, and video conferencing had more than its share of bumps along the way before becoming the widely used communications staple it is today. The history of video conferencing in its earliest form goes back to the 1960's, when AT&T introduced the Picturephone at the World's Fair in New York. Internet Conferencing - Advantages Nobody works in complete isolation. In virtually all lines of business, contact with other people will be required in some capacity. Web Conferencing 101 First, a small disclaimer: No matter how you slice up conferencing solutions, the categories you use to group them are mutable and subject to instant revision. Combinations of various elements make some applications basically impossible to categorize. Science Learning from Nature We are sure seeing a lot of scientific research trying to copy nature. We see non-technology copying birds, insects, spyders, animals and MIT and AUVs-Underwater Autonomous Vehicles copying fish. Web Conferencing Tool - Reduce Your Communication Costs For most people in business, meetings are a necessary evil. Stop for a moment and consider how much hosting or attending meetings cost your business and you may be in for a surprise; precious time spent traveling to and from the meeting location, travel expenses, and in some cases the hire of the meeting facility. Web Conferencing - What is it? Web Conferencing is, very simply, a meeting, conference or seminar that is held over the World Wide Web. Web conferencing can refer to audio, video or text-based conversations and are conducted in real-time. Tips On Planning A Successful Video Conference Planning a successful video conference can actually be harder then it sounds. There are several key factors you want to make sure and get right or your conference could become a total nightmare. How Video Conferencing Works - Multimedia, Interactive Communication Across the Miles You may think you understand video conferencing pretty well until someone who isn't at all familiar with it approaches you for a simple definition. When they ask, "What exactly is video conferencing?" you could suddenly realize you're at a loss for words. Video Killed The Telephone Star ... You know the 80's song, "Video Killed the Radio Star." It was a big hit and one of the first videos to air on MTV. Web Conferencing - the Virtual Global Office Enabler Online collaboration has begun to evolve from just being the Wow factor to something core that every business has to invest and have a plan for. Internet has changed the way we work and live, it has made virtual offices and work from homes possible. The Future of Thought Swapping In the future we will be able to have small chips in our brains and which will work like cell phones, but without the inherent flaws. You will not have to carry them around or worry about dropping them into the toilet. Telephone Conferencing - Evolution in the Web The Need To CommunicateThe need for businesses to communicate both internally and with each other has always been great. Successful transactions cannot be completed without communication - so much relies upon it; decent customer service; placing orders; winning new business.