Posts Tagged ‘virtual meetings’

Leaders or Doers?

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

Working with Web 2.0 tools like Twitter.com, LinkedIn.com, Facebook.com, Ning.com, and wikis has been both challenging and enlightening. Seth Godin’s new book Tribes proposes that everyone is a leader and that your leadership is needed. (Note: Read Hugh MacLeod’s “tribes” – 10 Questions for Seth Godin interview – it is amazing!) Social Networks live and breathe based upon active interaction of the participants. Phone, face-to-face, and virtual meetings are the same – actively engaged participants make the event come alive. This leads to an interesting question.

In Social Media – you either participate and contribute to the conversations going on around you or you sit back passively reading them. What ever your “intention” is, you either do or do not engage in the process through sharing your comments, ideas, pictures, podcasts, and videos. In other words, you “do” or “do not”. It is quickly obvious in the Social Media world that Leaders are Doers. Literally, “talk” is cheap. You have to record/capture your thoughts AND post them.

On conference calls (and other types of meetings), is the same true? Are leaders also doers? Yes. When a leader imposes control over the participants, it stops the flow of creativity and engagement. Leaders that actively share and encourage others to take active roles in various parts of a project find the group much more active.

Do, or do not. There is no ‘try.’ by Jedi Master Yoda.

Start looking at your meetings as opportunities to encourage participants taking a leadership role through active engagement.

Posted by Byron Van Arsdale
Author – 16 Secrets to a Great Conference Call
ConferenceCallTraining.com

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Posted in Leadership Tips | 2 Comments »

The Tidal Wave of Feedback is Coming Soon!

Tuesday, October 14th, 2008

Web 2.0 tools continue to give people an easy method to influence others through the expression of opinions, facts, pictures, and videos. This trend is growing and presenters, trainers, and leaders need to be fully aware of what is happening in your face-to-face and virtual meetings. People are no longer talking behind your back, they are electronically talking right in front of you. And, you’d better start listening!

In my July 2, 2008 blog post, Collaboration Trumps Control!, Josh Baer is credited for bringing this issue to my attention via his post titled “We need Twitter and IRC integration for PowerPoint” (June 15, 2008.) He makes the case for having real time feedback during a presentation via Twitter. Imagine you are part of a panel or giving a presentation where the participants get to raise questions, express opinions, rate your effectiveness, etc. with 144 characters or less in real time. Get the picture? It is coming.

Current TV collaborated with Twitter.com to air “Hack the Debate.” Comments from Twitter users were streamed live throughout the recent U.S.A. Vice President debate.  As the debate rolls on, you see Twitter users providing real time comments that overlay the video and flow across the screen in the foreground.

Think back – when was the last time you saw a TV program focus primarily on the audience comments and secondarily on the broadcast. This is a huge shift that further shows how audiences are taking an active role in all types of presentations. Ignore the temptation to judge how useful it is and focus your attention on the fact it is starting to happen.

It is impossible to put the proverbial Genie back into the bottle. As leaders, trainers, and presenters, you need to realize that your participants are already using text, email, and Web 2.0 applications like Twitter to voice their opinions during your meeting or presentation! What Josh recommends in his blog post is making the comments visible real time during the presentation so everyone can see what others are saying.

We are close to Halloween so a good scare is in order! A presenter or leader’s worse nightmare is about to come true. You will soon know in real time, with certainty, that your presentation or meeting is a bust.

The solution is simple (I said simple, not necessarily easy ok?) You’ll have to consistently lead presentations, trainings, and meetings (both face-to-face and virtual) that are engaging, interactive, and highly productive. The bar is being raised and mediocre meetings will no longer be tolerated.

The tidal wave is coming and it is only 144 characters long. Are you prepared?

Please add your comments. Interested in learning about Twitter? Follow me on Twitter.com via @headset.

Posted by Byron Van Arsdale
Author – 6 Principles of Powerful Conference Calls
ConferenceCallTraining.com

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What Conference Call Leaders Can Learn from Michael Phelps #2

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

Swimmer Michael Phelps now holds the most number of gold medals (8) ever won during a single Olympic Games event. Much like Tiger Woods or Lance Armstrong, he has earned his place among a very small group of athletes who are the best in the world. What did he do that supported him to be the best in the world? Let’s take a look at two strategies that professionals can use when leading conference calls, webinars, and virtual meetings.

• Lots of practice with a great coach!
Just as practice alone does not insure improved results, having a coach does not guaranty success either. You have to partner with the right coach AND diligently practice to consistently grow your skills.

It is impossible to excel when you take one year of experience and repeat it for twenty years. This explains why business professionals, after 30 plus years of conference call history, are still plagued with poorly executed conference calls.

As a leader of virtual meetings, do you just practice or are you working with a mentor or coach to grow your skills? If not, who are the business people you respect and admire? This is a great place to start looking for support. If you are working with someone, can you see an improvement over time in your leadership skills? If not, what needs to change (attitude, intention, mentor, etc.) for you to improve?

• Humility wins respect.
When Phelps was interviewed with Mark Spitz after breaking Mark’s 1972 record of 7 Gold medals in a single Olympic Games event, you saw nothing but humility and respect. Contrast this with the trash talk by Alain Bernard of France about how they were going to ‘smash’ the Americans. Not only did this add fuel to the USA team’s desire to win, Bernard lost respect in the sport. Bernard IS a world-class athlete yet will never be in the same league as Phelps due to his ego.

As a leader of virtual meetings, do you lead with humility or ego? The more ego you demonstrate in your virtual meetings, the less room you provide for participants to be brilliant. Unless you are surrounded by sycophants or rely upon threats to control your employees, humility affords you a rapid way to grow your respect as a leader.

One final thought: you cannot fake humility. This inward journey has many possible places to get lost along the path and is best enjoyed with trusted mentors and coaches. As Michael Phelps, Tiger Woods, and Lance Armstrong show us, the rewards are well worth the effort.

Posted by Byron Van Arsdale
Author – 21 Ways to Screw Up a Teleclass
ConferenceCallTraining.com

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How Do You Handle Introductions During Virtual Meetings and Conference Calls?

Tuesday, August 12th, 2008

Thanks S.B. for the question and the answer is simple. Do it quickly! Virtual meetings of any type are focused around a topic and participants are ready to begin at the appointed start time. Any delay is seen as a strike against the leader of the call and, if applicable, against the company responsible for setting up the call.

Here’s a typical situation: the call begins on time yet the leader gives “please introduce yourself” as the only direction for introducing yourself. Participants then normally give a variety of responses, long and short, that may or may not include information relevant to the purpose of the call. Recall any networking event where people stood up and introduced themselves with some variation of the 10-second to 45-second elevator pitch. While barely acceptable in face-to-face meetings (actually, it isn’t even acceptable in face-to-face meetings yet no one knows how to stop this monster once it begins creeping around the room!), this kind of introduction will kill the energy and momentum of your call.

Here’s what I recommend: give specific instructions and then make sure everyone, even the CEO, follows the rule. If someone gets creative with the rule, immediately and gently ask them to “pause” (see Step 2 of Improving Skype Based Conference Calls!) and remind them of the specific information required. If you allow one or more people to break the rule without correcting it immediately, you have lost the opportunity to make a correction. Again, if you are going to correct someone, do it immediately and tactfully.

Here’s an example of a specific instruction for an introduction: “Let’s begin with a short introduction. Please tell us your full name and what department you are from.” Another example is: “Please tell us your first name and using only one (1) word, what do you want to get from today’s call.” The key here is to keep ALL introductions as simple and short as possible. Write out how you will ask participants to introduce themselves before you get on the call! Then repeat exactly what you have written when conducting the introduction.

If you are clear and concise in giving the instructions for introductions, others are more likely to follow your lead. However, if you ramble when giving the instructions, don’t expect your participants to be clear and concise!

With practice, you’ll have a fast, concise introduction that will get your virtual meetings and conference calls started on the right foot!

Posted by Byron Van Arsdale
Author – 16 Secrets to a Great Conference Call
ConferenceCallTraining.com

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