Article Reservoir

In today?s high tech corporate world, teleconferencing
has become one of the most useful tools to facilitate
increased productivity. It is also a very effective
way of alleviating wastage be it time or resources.

Many of us have been at meetings or seminars where we
find ourselves drifting off into our own little world
whether it be through boredom or tiredness. However,
there are several ways to ensure that this kind of
meeting stays on track.

Consider producing an agenda which can be easily
distributed to all parties prior to the conference. In
this way candidates will be more prepared with
suggestions or questions when the meeting commences.

Start on time. Yes, that sounds very simplistic, but
what is the point is saving costs on traveling and
accommodation if you waste everyone?s time who is
attending? Remember the old saying ?time is money? and
try to stay strictly to the timetable.

Make sure everyone dials in on time. Again, no point
in having all those people sitting around just because
of a late phone call.

When it is your turn to speak, state your name so that
your voice will begin to be recognized. People should
be concerned about what you are saying and not wasting
effort trying to figure out who said what!

Above all else, try to get people involved with the
subject matter. It can be difficult to judge how a
meeting is being perceived when you don?t have the
luxury of observing body language.

Teleconferencing has become the ?norm? in the
corporate world with meetings taking place between
participants situated all around the world. But does
it have a use in the community?

Not only does it have a place, it has become
increasingly popular in ways that may surprise you. In
remote areas – Alaska for example – teleconferencing
is used between the public and municipal entities.
Winter weather and vast distances between centers make
face to face meeting difficult and sometimes
dangerous.

The State legislature has set up a communications
system whereby testimony can be given and recorded.
Meetings with residents are also carried out in the
same way.

The center of the ?hub? is the capitol building but it
has many conferences centers scattered all over the
state as well as voluntary posts set up in people?s
homes.

This system not only allows for the public at large to
interact with the authorities, it also allows for
interaction amongst themselves.

Issues concerning the community at large can be
discussed prior to the state agencies becoming
involved. In this way they put up a united front and
put their points over more succinctly. This also saves
time for all the parties involved.

This system could also be a life saver. In the middle
of winter this can be used as an invaluable life-line
to far flung outposts.

Who would have thought that this tool – the darling of
the corporate world – could be used so effectively
for, and throughout, the community?

Gone are the days of board meetings around a huge
wooden table on the top floor of a skyscraper. They
still occur, obviously, but it is more likely these
days to have a teleconference. That is, a group of
people – from any part of the country or world -
participating in a meeting via telephone or video.

Since the boardroom meetings started to go "high-tech"
it was also necessary for the accessories and
equipment to become more sophisticated.

Take, for example, the whiteboard which has replaced
the need for paper and pens. This white colored board,
taking its name from the traditional chalk blackboards
of our schooldays, uses colored markers which can be
dry erased. It replaces flip-charts and conventional
chalk boards.

This has metamorphosised into an interactive device. A
"touch-screen" device on the computer allows all
parties to participate. This also allows the computer
to capture any or all of the information entered on
it.

Another innovation of the whiteboard is the
interactive kind which allows for the input of data,
writing, drawing etc., allowing all participants to
contribute to a common project.

The whiteboard is not restricted to the previously
mentioned actions. It can be used as a projection
screen for movies, or for slide shows and
presentation.

The whiteboard is perhaps one of the most necessary
accessories for the organization which has to
communicate with its workforce or for project meetings
with clients. What better way to show that your
company is on the forefront of technology?

It may surprise you to know that teleconferencing is
not restricted to the business world. Many individuals
use this as an invaluable tool to communicate thoughts
and ideas over great distances.

It is not too difficult to set up a conference.
Something as simple as a two way telephone system is
relatively cheap. No specialized equipment is
necessary as each individual uses his own phone or
extension to participate in the meeting.

Speaker phones can be used but many people complain of
the ?echo? effect. It also picks up peripheral noises
like the shuffling of papers and tapping of pens on
desktops. It may be necessary to invest in microphone
headsets which would also free the user to move around
mid meeting.

Costs vary according to the complexity of the set-up.
The more locations to be used, the more expensive it
becomes. For example, satellite connections,
television facilities etc., will add significantly to
the cost.

There are specialized companies who will co-ordinate
all purchases of equipment andor services – again
adding to overall cost of the initial set-up.

You can add web conferencing software to your system
to enable you to show presentations and
demonstrations. This will give an overall professional
look and feel to the conference. Be sure to practice
with it before the event – inefficiency is something
you don?t want to portray!

Teleconferencing can be as simple or as elaborate as
you wish to make it. It all depends on your needs or
the needs of your company.

With today?s sophisticated work methods -
teleconferencing for example – it is of paramount
importance to ensure that the meeting is productive
and doesn?t lapse into a useless waste of time.

Care should be taken to steer the proceedings in a
useful and interesting way to ensure full
participation of all the attendees. After all, what is
the point of holding a meeting where all anybody
remembers is how bored they were!?

Consider first what the aim of the meeting is. Perhaps
you want to develop an idea, or solve a problem, or
find a way to increase productivity. For more than one
aim an agenda is probably a good idea.

If you are not a good host, find or employ a
professional who can direct the meeting and keep the
?flow? going. He may ask participants in turn to
contribute to the subject making it more interesting
and more productive.

Tip colleagues or workers may contribute more to a
stranger asking questions since they do not want to be
seen as evasive. Office politics do not come into play
with a stranger.

Communicate to the participants well beforehand what
the objective of the meeting is – send them the agenda
- and outline what you expect them to contribute.

During and after the meeting state the decisions and
conclusions that have been reached so that everyone is
very clear on the progress being made.

Finally, send out a copy of the discussion to ensure
that there was indeed a ?meeting of minds?.

It is becoming increasingly popular, whether by choice
or necessity, for individuals to work over the
internet from their own homes.

This has necessitated a rather unique approach for
these individuals to keep abreast of work schedules
and the like without traveling to far flung places for
conferences or meetings.

Teleconferencing was born out of the need for faster,
more efficient, use of time and resources. Along with
the teleconferencing though came several negative
aspects of working from home.

If video conferencing is not being used, the
participant will not be able to have that face-to-face
kind of meeting whereby a lot can be construed by
something as simple as body language. This could make
it a lot harder to get your point over to just a voice
on the other end of the phone line.

Home-workers can also be distracted whilst joining in
with a conference. If you had a complaining child and
a burst pipe on one hand, and a conference call on the
other, which one takes priority?

But don?t be put off by teleconferencing. There are
many advantages to being able to attend meetings from
your own home office.

No more wasted time waiting in traffic jams or busy
airports. No more nights away from home in faceless
hotel rooms waiting for other delegates who may have
been delayed.

Teleconferencing is an extremely precious tool in
today?s busy world. Used wisely it can bring together
many intelligent, inventive individuals, saving on
costs and increasing productivity.

Teleconferencing is as much part of today"s business
routine as pens and paper were to conferences of days
gone by. But with new technology comes the necessity
to "mind your manners" when communicating with global
participants.

When you are mid conference call, how do you make it
known that you have something to contribute? Do you
wait until there is a lull in the conversation or do
you just "jump in"?

Did you know that the Japanese will listen to what you
have to say, and then consider what they will answer,
leaving that uncomfortable – to us in the Western
World – silence that we feel compelled to fill up
sometimes with inane chatter!

Unless you are on a video conference, there is no
clear way to interrupt, especially when you are not
familiar with the seniority of all the participants.
Cutting off a colleague may be forgiven but
interrupting the boss – well that is a whole other
ball game!

If possible, discuss this sensitive matter with the
organizer before the meeting takes place. If you are
the organizer, produce an agenda and distribute it in
advance.

Maybe you could factor in a question and answer
segment at the end of each subject being discussed
which would also allow time for other suggestions or
ideas to be tabled. It is important, and to keep the
"flow" of the meeting going, that someone directs
events.

Organization is the universal language used when
setting up a successful teleconference whether it is
"in-house" or international.

Perhaps the most annoying aspect of holding
teleconferences is the fact that people"s attention
spans can be so short. Why waste valuable time putting
together a complicated presentation only to find that
some participants are checking their emails whilst you
are in full flow?

One of the tricks of keeping a meeting interesting is
to use "moving" images or audio recordings to interest
and stimulate participants. Ask questions at the end
of each clip to ensure full audience participation.

A participant will be more likely to concentrate if he
knows a question will follow. This may sound a little
"schoolish" but better this than wasting resources on
inattentive attendees!

A virtual whiteboard is also another great tool to get
people involved. It not only makes for ease of showing
sketches in real-time, it also allows others to add
their own input to the board for all to see. This is
then captured by the computer for use and archiving
later.

Recording devices are invaluable in these situations
since they accurately record conversations etc. and
can be used to transcribe events of the meeting. This
also keeps people on the alert since they may want to
show "the boss" that they were actively involved.

Above all else, these teleconferences should be
interesting and informative. Although they save the
expense of hotel bookings, flights and travel etc.,
they can deteriorate into hours of wasted time which
defeats the object somewhat.

Be innovative, time is money. "Move" with the times!

In the past, when conferences or meetings were
necessary between two or more people, it was simple to
book an appointment for all parties to congregate at a
given location and time.

As businesses grew, sometimes spreading out to offices
in different cities or towns, this started to become a
little more difficult.

In these days of high speed travel, including
airplanes, the corporate world has encountered many
more problems.

How, for example, do you get the managing director of
one branch of a company to meet with executives of
another branch when each office is on a different
continent? The answer is easy – teleconferencing!

For those of you who are not technically minded this
is a technique which allows three or more people to
have a ?conference? but either through their
telephones or computer and not face-to-face. It is
becoming increasingly popular and has several
advantages over the more traditional meeting.

Imagine the sheer logistics which go into booking
hotels, flights, limousines etc. Now imagine the cost
- plus take into account that everyone has to
co-ordinate their available dates.

With teleconferencing the hardest part is connecting
everyone by phone! Whether it is a three way impromptu
discussion or a larger, more complicated, meeting you
can use an ordinary phone or the whole set-up can be
routed through a conference calling service.

Whichever system, or online arrangement you choose to
use, it is clear that teleconferencing is an
invaluable tool in today?s hectic business world and
is here to stay!

Teleconferencing had become one of the world?s most
valuable tools for business globally. At the touch of
a button individuals from the corporate world can be
chatting away as if they were merely in an office down
the hall. But there is more use to this technology
than meets the eye.

One of the most innovative uses for this kind of
teleconferencing is being utilized by several
institutions across the US.

Colleges and learning centers in Tennessee have set up
teleconferencing facilities linked to an animal
sanctuary catering for the needs of Asian elephants.

One day a week students from several colleges, can
?tune-in? to the sanctuaries which can be anywhere in
the world!

Cameras and transmitters are already in situ and the
student can study the elephant in its natural habitat
without fear of disturbing the animal. Students from
different schools can then join in discussion groups
to enable them to expand on what they have witnessed
first hand.

Tutors are on hand to educate and guide the students
through the meetings and answer any questions they may
have – one tutor covering several schools at once.

Indeed, teleconferencing in this instance, has become
a hugely successful way to teach conservation and
ecology to the younger generation.

Who would have thought that the necessity for a fast
and cheap method of bringing business people together
at a moments notice would also, in turn, be used to
educate and excite our children about the wonders of
the natural world?