The physical environment:
1. Set the room as if for a face to face meeting.
2. The camera settings should fill the screen with people and not the furniture, walls, floor etc.
3. Be alert to noise from the environment, including vehicular, air-conditioning, shuffling papers, etc. Find ways to block or reduce disturbing noises.
The Participants: Pay attention to how you will appear and sound to others, because the camera and microphone will emphasize everything: choice of clothes, make-up, gestures, etiquette. A self –view window will help you to see how you will appear to the distant attendees.
Appearance: The camera should catch you at the right angle.
1. Dress as if meeting an important client. A little formality
and care will help project a professional appearance. Wear clothes
that fit well. Bulky and too loose clothing can make you look
baggy.
2. A female presenter should wear a simple hairstyle, minimum jewellery, and use some light make-up.
Body language:
1. It is important to look alert, attentive, and of course, confident.
2. Remember that visual and non-verbal messages assume greater
importance here. Every facial expression & physical movement
is clearly visible. So, make no careless gestures. If necessary,
take professional help about how you should appear.
3. Make natural gestures, neither wild gesticulating, nor totally
missing. Do not sway, rock, and play with your tie, collar,
or jewellery.
Sounding Effective:
1. Do not loose track of the speaking time allotted to you.
2. Speak clearly. Avoid the lazy lip syndrome. Enunciate vowels
clearly, and emphasize consonants. Careless speaks often swallow
the first consonants. It leads to confusion, misinterpretation.
Delivering a presentation:
1. Since this is an audio-visual conference, do not wander out of camera or microphone range.
2. Do not have too much text on a power point presentation.
3. To ensure that your slide is readable especially at distant
sites, consider Arial in a font size of around 30 and 36 for
headings.
4. Make your slides interesting, appealing, focused, and well-designed. Use a light background with dark lettering, but avoid jet black on snow white. Avoid using reds, oranges, purples and pinks for projection as they bleed and look shabby.
Etiquette:
1. Do not leave the room unless totally unavoidable (Visit the washroom before conference)
2. Put off all intrusive sounds such as beepers, alarms, cell phones etc.
3. Do not eat during a video conference.
