Member Article

10 Hidden Advantages of Web and Video Conferencing

It’s good to talk. It’s great to web and video conference. And it’s even better to conference in a new and interesting way. Especially when you’re trying to show how dynamic and exciting your company is to work for.

So if HR’s your thing, check out these “life hacks” on the benefits of web and video conferencing. It may give you some fresh ideas for motivating your candidates, employees, and managers.

INSTEAD OF ORGANISING A CONFERENCE… …use video conferencing to do the organising.

An impromptu one-to-one instead of back-and-forth email tennis can work wonders. And if the chemistry’s bubbling, maybe you won’t need that ten-way roundtable.

INSTEAD OF GRANTING ACCESS TO EXECS… …grant access to everybody, for everything.

There are proven advantages to web and video conferencing compared to email. Sharing different documents in a single session gets everybody’s concerns on the table. It looks great to new starters, too, and it speeds the process up.

INSTEAD OF A SAGE ON A STAGE… …make your webinars many-to-many.

From simple webinar to full-blown video presentation, nothing gets the conversation moving, or engages your audience like interactive meeting tools such as letting your audience talk back in real time, with structured “Yes” or “No” polling and comments. Right there, during the webinar.

INSTEAD OF PRESET TIME SLOTS…. … switch on the webcams and let the ideas and chatter flow all day!

Your people will quickly get used to being able to talk to global colleagues without needing to dial – and may never want to switch off.

INSTEAD OF CONFERENCING WITH CUSTOMERS… … get interactive with your customers,

by inviting them into your office and making them the stars of your presentation. Whether you’re focusing on their documents or hearing their opinions.

After all, the benefits of web and video conferencing aren’t one-sided.

INSTEAD OF WAITING TO HEAR HOW YOUR PRESENTATION WENT… … ask how it went, right there during the conferencing session.

Multiple-choice polling, managed comments, Q&A sessions while the document’s fresh in everyone’s mind. Why wait?

INSTEAD OF A WALK-THROUGH… … make it an exploration.

Split a linear presentation into three branches and have your audience vote on the direction they want to go in. They’ll get the outcome they want… and you’ll feel great.

INSTEAD OF ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL… … fit your content one-to-one.

Another benefit of web and video conferencing is being able to customise content for different people and teams in the same conference. So each listener will feel you have their hopes and dreams covered.

INSTEAD OF TALKING TO THE WALLS… … hold up a mirror.

Employees engage more when they can see pictures or video of who else is on the call. Why not extend this basic conferencing principle to your webinars and presentations, too?

INSTEAD OF DEFAULTING TO EMAIL… … introduce web and video conferencing as a norm. Casual messaging and face-to-face comms contain a thousand little social nudges that foster interdepartmental harmony.

Everyone works better when they feel they’re among friends.

Signing off:

• Web and video conferencing go beyond meetings.
• They’re not just tools for talking.
• Web conferencing is about creating. Ideas, innovative thinking, and active participation.
• Web conferencing creates harmony in your enterprise. And that’s music to any HR professional’s ears.

Takeaways:

1. Get out of the “meetings mindset” – web conferencing is about building a sense of togetherness
2. Don’t default to the linear presentation and the one-way walkthrough when you can make them interactive
3. Treat web conferencing as one more means of communication… it can even replace email!

Intrigued by these ideas? Juice them up with this comprehensive eGuide on ’The connected business: Generating a collaborative culture: how to build innovation in your enterprise’. Copy and paste this link into your browser to download: http://bit.ly/1Up9WfR

This post first appeared as a slideshare on the Arkadin blog. View it here: http://bit.ly/1hR4u9F

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Annemarie Walkling .