Archive for September, 2009

Tips on Setting Up Online Meetings

Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 7:15 pm  
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Scheduling a meeting Before you start a meeting at the office you need to schedule a meeting room, find a conference phone and get some donuts on your way to work. You also have to do a few things to set up an online meeting. It only takes a few minutes and I'll walk you through the options. This article will be reference WebEx's MeetMeNow software because it's what I use, but the tips apply to most online meeting software.

Choose date and time

Choose a meeting date and time. Most control panels offer this is as the beginning of the online meeting process. By default your local time zone is displayed but can be changed if needed. You also want to schedule an estimated meeting duration. Don't forget to select email reminders and the default reminder time on most meeting applications is fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes before the meeting the attendee will receive a reminder email. Is the meeting a recurrence? You can set up the meeting to recur each week at this time if applicable.

Types of invitations

Most online meeting applications offer several different ways to send meeting invitations. WebEx offers three types of meeting invitations. The most popular way is to log into the meeting application and choose the option “schedule a meeting “. The most popular applications offer toolbar integration into applications such as Internet Explorer®, MS Office® and Excel®. I find this to be the most convenient feature that MeetMeNow has to offer. If you're meeting attendees are already using instant messengers you may have the option to schedule a meeting directly from your instant messenger. MeetMeNow has built in Instant Messenger functionality.

Choosing options

Not all meetings are like, some are interactive and others require a one way presentation. Here's some of the options that you may want to consider when setting up your next online meeting. Chat allows people to use text messaging features to communicate during the meeting. Attendees can text the meeting organizer or each other. Video option allow attendees to either view your web cam or vice versa. The notes feature can be set up to either allow just the meeting organizer or all attendees use a built-in notes feature. Notes can later be printed out at the end of the meeting. File transfer is a popular choice to allow the presenter to publish documents and files to attendees. WebEx MeetMeNow has a unique feature to send feedback to the host. When the meeting ends a feedback form appears to allow meeting attendees to give feedback on the meeting experience.

Privileges

After selecting your options you may want to set up some privileges for your attendees some of these are selected by default and others aren't. You can allow attendees to save shared documents or perhaps print only. Attendees may have the option to view the attendee list, thumbnails or control applications or desktop remotely. You can also select detailed chat options allowing participants to only chat with you or all attendees.

Conclusion

The options and settings reviewed above will depend upon the type of meeting you are having. Obviously a sales presentation or training demonstration will be different than any brainstorming meeting. But now you know some of the choices you have and the flexibility that online meeting software has to offer. I have written detailed reviews of the webs top online meeting software. Please visit my independent reviews and see how they compare in features and functionality.

Demosthenes Damon is a article writer who uses online meeting software to save money and communicate with clients. See detailed reviews at http://www.onlinemeetingrecap.com or online meeting software

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Web Conferencing: The Advantages of a Browser Based Online Meeting System

Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 7:02 pm  
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If you are thinking about getting into web and video conferencing, then it is important to know what is required to operate any proposed conferencing system. Some systems run on proprietary software and need special equipment, while browser based systems usually do not require the installation of special software or equipment. Many organizations and individuals will find browser based solutions easier to use. Here are a few reasons why this is so:

1. They work on all operating systems. Do you have some users on Mac and some on PCs? Do you have some users who have Linux? If you want to connect all of these people together in one conference it may be impossible if you have to install special software to run your conference. In this case a browser based system that can run on all operating systems and all browsers allows you to connect with all of your staff or clientele without any worries about what kind of computer they are operating.

2. You don?t have to download and install software. Sure, people are becoming more computer-literate as time goes on, but downloading and installing software and getting the software to run properly can be an obstacle to some people. The good news is that with many browser based systems there is no software to download, because the installation is done on the technology provider?s host computer. Participating in a conference is as easy as going on line to view a website.

3. People anywhere in the world can go online and join the conference. With no equipment installation and no software installation to take care of, the door is open to widespread participation in your conferences. The only thing that you have to do is to notify your people and provide them with a url and a password and they can join in.

4. There is no problem with firewalls. Most offices and many individuals protect their computers and networks from hackers by using a firewall. This is good for security but can become a problem if you are trying to join people together in a conference. Many web and browser based systems are not affected by firewalls and no special instructions have to be given to conference participants whose computers may be protected by firewalls.

All of these factors add up to one very strong advantage of using browser based conferencing systems: they allow you to get maximum participation in your online events. With little or no technical obstacles, such systems make it easy for large numbers of people, using diverse equipment and with varying degrees of computer skills, to take part in online meetings. So, take a look at the various conferencing packages on the market at the present time and pick out one that is both easy to use and powerful enough to meet your communications needs.

Dan Richmond is Co-founder of MegaMeeting.com. MegaMeeting provides web & video conferencing services for individuals & businesses. For more information, please call 818.783.4311 or Visit http://www.MegaMeeting.com

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Best Video Conferencing Facilitation Secrets

Tuesday, September 8th, 2009 at 2:22 pm  
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Today’s difficult business environment makes it nearly imperative to conduct online meetings via  the Internet, telephone, and other video conference software vehicles.  These webinar methods can clearly lower  the cost of conducting meetings with your clients or your business team.  However, because many meeting leaders are relatively unfamiliar with the use of Web conferencing software or videoconferencing, it may be sometimes difficult to conduct effective meetings through this medium.

Just as for face-to-face meetings, it’s important for the meeting leader to get people enthusiastically involved from the beginning, and to hold their attention throughout the session.  It’s important to keep the participants objective focused, to be able to collect, process and document information,  to build a consensus on solutions, and then to establish a good  understanding of agreements made and actions to be taken at the conclusion of the meeting.

Because, online meetings using video conference software are perhaps a more difficult venue for successful meeting facilitation, it’s really important to employ the best meeting facilitation practices and tips for successful webinars.

Meeting Preparation

1.  It is important  to distribute all relevant meeting materials well in advance of the web conferencing meeting, to include the agenda, pre-reading materials, meeting guidelines, and of course, the instructions for using the online video conference software, or web conferencing service.

2.  Plan to conduct your online meeting in no more than two hours.  If more time than that is needed, consider breaking the meeting apart into several sections.  This is necessary because it’s proven difficult to retain attention and energy in online meetings for longer than two hours.

3.  If the meeting purpose is problem solving or planning, consider asking participants to submit their brainstorming ideas and other thoughts in advance of the meeting.

Beginning the Meeting

4.  Start the meeting with the roll call of all who are participating and from where they are joining the session.  This is important to create more intimacy among the participating members who may well be from widely varying geographical locations.

5.  Traditional meeting facilitation practices call for a fairly standard  formula to “inform — excite — empower — involve”  the participants:

Start by clearly describing the meeting purpose.

  • Create enthusiasm by providing the participants with clear benefits of participation.
  • Be sure that they understand their clear role for  the meeting, and the empowerment for generating results that they have been given.
  • Start the meeting by by asking an image building Type B questions (“Imagine..?”, “Consider…?”, “Think about…?”, “If….?”)  to quickly get the participants involved in the discussion.

6.  It’s important to have specific kinds of Web conference ground rules, given that it’s difficult for people to speak spontaneously:

  • Be sure to let people know when you enter the meeting, and when you are leaving the meeting.
  • Always be sure to identify yourself by name prior to speaking.
  • If you’re in a telephone conference, avoid putting your phone on hold, particularly when a music loop other sounds occur.
  • Avoid doing other work during the meeting and stay 100% focused.

Conducting the Meat of the Virtual Meeting

7.  Be sure to gather input from all participants during the meeting.  It’s good practice to follow an “around the horn” sequence, and he continued to repeat that sequence.

8.  Be sure to establish a means for checking consensus, either by requesting verbal response from each participant in sequence, or to poll by text chat, if that facility is available.

9.  If at all possible, use Web conference software that enables the participants to view meeting materials, and perhaps even to see the moderator and participants speaking in person on their personal computers.

10.  As the meeting progresses, be sure to summarize the results and agreements at the end of each key meeting session.  Be sure to ask questions to ensure understanding and agreement.

Ending the Meeting

11.  As you are closing the meeting, be sure, to recap all issues, decisions and agreed-upon actions to enable complete understanding and to establish a clear commitment for action.

12.  Be sure to publish a meeting summary, and if possible even a recording of the meeting, a meeting immediately after the meeting close.

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