Video conferencing advice from Dale Carnegie CEO Peter Handal Help! I will soon be leading a video conference. What can I do to ensure that the experience goes smoothly? Coach: Peter Handal President, Chairman and CEO of Dale Carnegie Training Always: Be prepared. It may sound obvious, but doing your homework is absolutely essential before you step in front of the cameras. Unlike an audio conference call, participants in a video conference don’t have the option to hide by hitting “mute” and only chiming into the discussion when it is necessary. In addition, people have shown to be even more self-conscious and self-aware of their behavior when participating in video conferences as opposed to face-to-face meetings. It behooves everyone involved to come to the “virtual” table looking professional, alert and 100 percent prepared with notes and potential talking points. To read more on this topic, see Seven Quick Tips for Videoconferencing Beginners Sometimes: Employ a colleague to stay off of the camera and take notes. Because participants in a video conference are visible, they need to stay more focused and engaged than if they were on an audio conference call, during which it’s common for participants to multitask. If the video conference isn’t recorded, it is often helpful to have a colleague sit in for the sole purpose of documenting the meeting. Never: Rely upon video conferences for those important meetings for which only in-person contact and interaction will do. While video conferencing is a tremendous step forward in modern technology and a great tool for staying in contact with overseas clients and colleagues, the inherent loss of eye contact can be a major detriment to a conversation and it can impede even the most compelling ideas from being relayed. Additionally, never coordinate a video conference without first testing the equipment, as all machines are subject to errors. It is extremely frustrating (and not to mention unprofessional) if a planned conference is postponed due to an unforeseen technological hiccup. Related content feature Expedia poised to take flight with generative AI CTO Rathi Murthy sees the online travel service’s vast troves of data and AI expertise fueling a two-pronged transformation strategy aimed at growing the company by bringing more of the travel industry online. By Paula Rooney Jun 02, 2023 7 mins Travel and Hospitality Industry Digital Transformation Artificial Intelligence case study Deoleo doubles down on sustainability through digital transformation The Spanish multinational olive oil processing company is immersed in a digital transformation journey to achieve operational efficiency and contribute to the company's sustainability strategy. By Nuria Cordon Jun 02, 2023 6 mins CIO Supply Chain Digital Transformation brandpost Resilient data backup and recovery is critical to enterprise success As global data volumes rise, business must prioritize their resiliency strategies. By Neal Weinberg Jun 01, 2023 4 mins Security brandpost Democratizing HPC with multicloud to accelerate engineering innovations Cloud for HPC is facilitating broader access to high performance computing and accelerating innovations and opportunities for all types of organizations. By Tanya O'Hara Jun 01, 2023 6 mins Multi Cloud Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe