It is often said that video conferencing replaces the need for travel.  It is true that many businesses now make deals while executives are comfortably sitting in their home offices.  Audio and video portions of the conference provide the human touch, and file sharing allows all involved to understand figures, read graphs, and see charts that pertain to the topic at hand.  Because of this innovation, businesses save large mounts of money that would otherwise have to be spent on airline fares, hotel accommodations, on site transportation needs, and meal and entertainment expenses.  In addition to the foregoing, the software and hardware requirements that are needed to set up a proper video conferencing center are a one time expense that more than makes up for itself the next time a business trip does not have to be planned, funded, and made by the company’s CEO. 

Yet did you know that there are those who are routinely on the road yet who still videoconference?  Consider the traveling salespeople, the company representatives that present that human touch that makes new clients long term customers, the exchange students who find themselves in a different country yet still wish to participate in classroom experiences at home, the ad executive who has a number of deals simmering and is scheduled to take place in a number of video conference on the same day, and quite possibly a host of other individuals who are on the road yet also participate in video conferences across the globe. For such individuals, a laptop is often their office.  It contains presentations, files that need and can be shared, assignments, and samples of workmanship that may be transmitted at any time.  In addition to the foregoing, it will oftentimes permit its user to have a portable office close by.

Local businesses are catching on to this growing need, and while business centers that offer fax services and dedicated DSL accesses are now the norm at many hotels, video conferencing centers are not far behind.  As a matter of fact, videoconference rooms may now be rented at various business offices and even bank buildings.  These rooms permit for the hosting of a conference or simply for the participation in a conference that is hosted elsewhere.  A presentable conference room is supplied, as well as view stations, and other hardware that is needed to facilitate the process.  For an additional cost, a technician can test the equipment, hook up any additional peripherals you may wish to bring to the meeting, and also make sure all goes well in the process.

While video conferencing from your office has its certain rules and regulations, here some suggestions on how to videoconference on the road successfully:

• Book your video conferencing suite ahead of time.  Many facilities charge additional costs for last minute set-up.  Last minute means different things to different companies, usually 24 hours is considered last minute.
• Spend the extra money for the technical support.  While you may be a veteran operator and perfectly capable of hooking up your office system in your sleep, you may not be familiar with the system at the video conferencing suite.  In addition to the foregoing, if something goes wrong and you lose the connection, do you really want to waste a lot of time and money in hot pursuit of a stray wire or errant computer command?  Go ahead and pay someone else to do it and focus on your meeting instead.
• Tour the facility you will use for the videoconference, especially if you will be hosting it.  Make sure the suite is clean, clear of clutter, and has the understated elegance and chic you want your business associates to see.  Your suite should not scream “rented” and other company’s logos should definitely not be displayed.  As a matter of fact, see if you can have your logo tastefully displayed at the conference site.
• When you visit the facility, make sure the hardware is state of the art.  You don’t want last year’s models that are no longer compatible with anything you are planning to do.  Additionally, find out if the webcam will be using the continuous method of streaming video, or the more jerky method of picture replacement.

As always when doing slide for your presentation, do not use a lot of colors, but instead simply focus on a couple or maybe three.  Additionally, be sure to use a clear, crisp font that is easily legible.

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