Conducting Virtual Meetings
When I think about using a PC for a virtual meeting, the first thing that comes to mind is hooking up a desktop video camera so participants can see each other.
But video, according to CoWorking.com founder Bernard DeKoven, actually can make it harder to conduct a good virtual meeting. “Videoconferencing is minimally effective if all we’re going to do is look at each other’s faces,” he said. It “was supposed to add personality and subtle meaning to meetings, but that rarely happens.” Instead, “people tend to play with it during the breaks and ignore it during the meeting itself.”
Amen to that.
I have a Logitech QuickCam sitting on top of my monitor, and though it can be fun to make a video phone call with friends or family, I never use it for serious meetings. Most of the time, the technology gets in the way. The quality of the video is almost always disappointing, and the images are jerky even when I’m using a high-speed digital subscriber line.
Video can be useful in broadcast situations such as a speech or presentation. A week after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, RealNetworks announced that, for the first time, it would be using its own RealVideo technology to stream the full proceedings of its annual Real Conference 2001. Many companies routinely Webcast stockholder meetings or earnings reports.
But even without video, there are ways to conduct productive virtual meetings using other tools such as shared “white boards,” shared applications, group presentations and online “chatting,” especially when these services are accompanied by a teleconference.
WebEx and PlaceWare are among several Web-based services that let participants conduct meetings without having to travel to a central location. Both services offer a white board that can be used to display drawings or text. The host of the meeting can maintain complete control of the white board or share control with others.
One of the most popular features of both services is the ability to share a presentation using PowerPoint or any other application. The speaker displays slides on the screens of all participants, and, as an option, the people in the room can use their keyboards to ask questions or make comments.
I like the polling or voting feature in both services. It’s easy for the facilitator to conduct an instant poll to gauge audience reaction or take a vote if that’s how decisions are to be made.
Users also can collaborate, working together to write or edit a word-processing document, a spreadsheet or a presentation. It’s possible to set it up so that more than one person can type or control the mouse, but that’s often a mistake. I find that it works best if you have a facilitator who controls the document with participants making suggestions via phone by typing in a chat area. A colleague and I used PlaceWare to co-edit a document, and I found it to be a very effective way to collaborate.
A facilitator also can serve as a secretary for the entire group, taking notes that are on display for all to see. DeKoven recommends using the outline function in Word because it’s easy to move ideas around and collapse and expand topics as necessary. When the meeting is over, there is a shared document that can be posted to a Web site or sent by e-mail.
Free alternatives include the instant messaging services from AOL (https://www.aim.com), Yahoo (https://messenger.yahoo.com) and Microsoft (https://messenger.msn.com). They allow groups of people to chat. Yahoo has the ability to include video and audio; Microsoft offers free meeting services through its NetMeeting software and through upcoming versions of MSN Messenger.
For more resources on virtual meetings, visit https://www.coworking.com/resources.
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Technology reports by Lawrence J. Magid can be heard between 2 and 3 p.m. weekdays on the KNX-AM (1070) Technology Hour.
