Category Archives: Meetings

Video conferencing and its benefits

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video conferencing comes in many guises, from the simple – though still effective – to the extremely sophisticated and expensive. Telepresence video conferencing is the most high-end of the options available. The idea here is that the other person or people in on the call should seem like they are actually in the room with you. That means they employ the highest quality sound and vision communication, depending on high bandwidth connections for the significant amount of data that needs to be transmitted reliably for such high resolution and fidelity reproduction at the other end. That involves specialist equipment and, as such, has an associated price tag. For that reason, it is most frequently employed by big businesses that can both afford the costs and require the best audio visual conferencing that technology can offer. At the other end of the scale there is the simplest camera and microphone set-up, which is cheap enough to be built into many new computers – even netbooks, which might cost only £200-£300. Powered by Skype or other similar software, these are used by millions of people to make cheap or free video calls across the world with only a broadband connection.

There are many advantages to all forms of video conferencing. Cost is one, and is the reason that so many people use Skype. Why pay for a costly international call when you can get one for free online? Throw in the video images as well and you have all the reasons you need. For companies, this cost factor is multiplied when you consider the expense of getting people together for a meeting – especially if they are coming from different countries. This also takes time, and generally you will be spending far longer travelling than in the meeting itself – an inefficient use of time. There are also environmental advantages, since travel is carbon-intensive. That makes a difference in an age where carbon footprint is quantified and incorporated into a company’s results and public image.

Video conferencing will usually pay for itself in a pretty short time. Naturally, there are limits even to the best technology and there is no substitute for a face-to-face meeting. But the benefits are such that every business with any kind of geographic spread – even across a few miles – should consider some form of audio visual conferencing. Whether that’s at the lower end of the spectrum or one of the cutting-edge telepresence video conferencing set-ups will depend on the needs of your firm.

Please visit http://www.edgevision.co.uk/

Powerpoint presentations that shine

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powerpoint presentations have long been a double-edged sword. Good sales presentations using decent Powerpoint design can be a massive asset to a company. A poor presentation, put together by someone who doesn’t know what they are doing, can be a liability.

One of the problems with Powerpoint, as well as its advantage, is that it is so easy to use. Without any training, someone with basic computer literacy can cobble together a slideshow without too much trouble. It’s extremely powerful, allowing you to embed all kinds of different graphics, movies, audio and other effects. So much is built in that a speaker hoping to make a good impression can really go to town, incorporating as many as possible of its capabilities.

This, however, is often a serious mistake. Powerpoint design is a fairly subtle art. Like any audio-visual medium, doing it well is difficult. Just because you can put together a flier with desktop publishing software, or a home movie with a video camera, doesn’t mean that the outcome will convince the audience.

Worse, Powerpoint is so ubiquitous in the business world that there is often the expectation that it will be used – both on the part of the audience and the speaker. That means that presentations can be thrown together simply to fulfil that expectation. Whilst well-designed powerpoint presentations can add a whole new dimension to a speech, giving complementary information and appealing to listeners for whom the spoken word isn’t a natural medium, a poor presentation will switch people off. Put another way, not having a Powerpoint presentation is better than having a bad one. This can hamstring otherwise competent speakers, because they find that the slideshow actually detracts from what they are saying. This is never more the case when it simply duplicates the material verbatim – a mistake that is all too common.

The purpose of sales presentations is to close a deal. Good Powerpoint design can help you with this; bad Powerpoint design can end up losing you the bid. If you are in any doubt, compare a few successful presentations – yours or other companies’ – with ones that haven’t gone so well. What has been the difference? Where Powerpoint adds to clear and effective communication, it is an asset. Where is makes things more complicated and distracting, it’s best left out. The trick is finding out how to do it right, every time.

Please visit http://www.eyefulpresentations.co.uk/