Video conference calls are an excellent way to collaborate on projects, both in the IT industry and in various other corporate sectors. According to a 2014 IDC report on video conferencing, there has been a substantial increase in the use of desktop and mobile video collaboration tools in companies of all sizes, both within their IT departments as well as general use company-wide. About 44 percent of all companies surveyed say that they use video conferencing and an additional 42 percent claim that they will begin using it in the near or long term future. A 2014 Gigaom Research report discovered that 87 percent of remote users feel more connected to their company when using video conferencing.
But are you really running a successful video conference? Check out these tips to make sure that you’re getting the most out of your video conference.
1. Know Your Video Conferencing Tools Well
It’s essential that you have a handle on how to use your video conference call service efficiently before making conference calls. Most people have some passing knowledge and experience with video conferencing, but if you want to have a truly successful video conference, you need to know your tools, inside and out. Whether you’re using a telepresence room for hundreds of thousands or dollars, a midrange modular system with specialty hardware or a low-cost service, you need to take the time to make sure you understand the ins and outs of the hardware, software and connectivity options. Set aside a time well before the conference call to learn these ins and outs, so that when a glitch occurs during a call, you understand your service well enough to handle it efficiently.
2. Visuals and Audio are Both Important
Whether you’re a presenter or a participant in a video conferencing call, you should give careful thought to your surroundings to make sure that you’re appearing well aesthetically on camera. Make sure that your location is free of clutter. Ideally, you should have a clean background behind you, so that other participants are not distracted during the video conferencing call. However, you can keep a sign with your company’s logo behind you for a branded professional look during the call. Also, make sure that you have sufficient lighting during the call, so that others can see you without shadows or a glare. Consider the time of day your video conferencing call is taking place and position your cameras and audio appropriately to make sure that nothing goes awry with visuals or audio during the call.
3. Be Both Engaged and Engaging During The Call
It’s important to pay attention during the call to make sure that everything runs smoothly and that the conference call is productive. That being said, you should make sure that you’re presenting engaging information and material, so that other participants are not bored during the video conferencing call. Video presentations are usually more memorable when you’re interacting with your audience, rather than lecturing to them. Make sure that you’re not reading off of your PowerPoint slides in a monotone. Instead, ask engaging questions to keep your participants interested and address participants by name if possible. Put effort into your visuals. Show interesting images, graphs and videos related to the topic at hand to keep participants from getting bored during your presentation.
4. Don’t Forget Etiquette
Just because it’s a video conference call rather than a face-to-face meeting doesn’t mean that business etiquette should fall to the wayside. Make sure that you introduce yourself and others at the beginning of the call. Make sure that you arrive and start the video conferencing call on time to avoid wasting your participants’ time. Avoid interrupting anyone during the video conferencing call. Instead, wait for a break to raise your next point or use instant messenger to bring up your next point to make sure that all comments and concerns are addressed. Also, make sure that you avoid any side conversations, whether with someone sitting next to you or via phone or instant messenger, and multitasking on your phone or computer during the call. Keep your phone turned off and have participants mute their lines if they want to type anything during the conference call.
With video conferencing services like Blue Jeans, you can easily conduct video conferences for IT or other corporate sectors. Such services help you save the time and money it would take to travel for conferences and meetings, allow you to collaborate with colleagues and clients in remote locations and make your meetings overall more productive. Companies across the world use these video conferencing services to conduct online training and HR interviews, hold press conferences, share presentations and hold global meetings.
