There are a lot of folks working from home right now. Older, younger, many who have not really been exposed too much to the concept of video conferencing. I’ve been part of a lot of meetings where it’s obvious that some are having problems, or aren’t even aware that they may not be having the optimum experience.
I’ve been working from home for years, so thought I’d put together a basic list of do’s and don’ts for using a video conferencing app like Zoom, Webex, or LiveMeeting.
Test your equipment and learn the basic functions of the conferencing application! Your device should have a camera app of some kind that will allow you to see what you look like on camera. Likewise, most conferencing apps have tests that can determine how well your device will work. If all else fails, set up a quick ‘pre-meeting’ where you can play with and learn the application, test your audio, video, etc.
Depending on the device, the microphone can be either very sensitive or not sensitive enough. Be sure to place the device/microphone at the correct distance to best pick up your voice. Too close can be overpowering to your listeners, too far and they may not hear you.
Most video conferencing apps will allow you to use the computer audio. If possible, use this instead of a call-in number. This will reduce lag; use the call-in as a backup if there are network issues (stuttering, latency, video problems).
Use a single audio source. Don’t turn on the computer audio and then call in, or have multiple devices running in close proximity. It will cause echoing or feedback. Consider a small wireless headset with a microphone if you need freedom of movement.
Prepare your space. DON’T sit in front of a strong light source – all your viewers will see is a dark silhouette. Avoid a cluttered background, especially if you’re going to be speaking. Having too much ‘stuff’ behind you can be distracting.
Place the camera properly, in front of you whenever possible or slightly elevated. Laying a tablet or phone flat on a table makes for a very odd viewpoint, and it’s not flattering for you and distracting to the viewers. Try to place it in such a way where you need to look at it when you’re speaking.
Don’t forget you’re on camera AND that people can hear you! Go on MUTE when you’re not speaking, and if you’re part of a really large conference you may want to consider stopping the video except when speaking.
If you’re having a large conference, consider appointing someone as a moderator, who can control muting people, coordinating participants, etc.
Those are just a few things that I’ve noted. How about you? Any particular pet peeves or irritations?
I recently wrote an article for SupportWorld on how to build an effective business continuity plan. It focused on what you need to do to be prepared for an event. After I wrote it, I did some additional research on just how badly a business can be impacted by a disaster.
Often, when we think of a disaster, we think of storms like
hurricanes or tornados, earthquakes, or other catastrophic – but natural –
events. And these types of disasters can
have a huge impact on business.
The cost natural disasters has hovered around $100 million
annually since 2012, with some huge spikes in 2007 ($200 million) and 2011
($380 million) due to major hurricanes.
Since 2000, natural disasters have cost the global economy over $3 trillion
dollars.
One out of three small-to-medium business owner will be
personally affected by extreme weather, and the average loss due to a major
weather event is $3,000 per day. Sadly,
most of these businesses – 84% – do not have insurance.
While natural disasters have a high cost, it pales in
comparison to man-made events. While the
exact cost is difficult to determine because many attacks go unreported,
estimates range from a low $5 trillion to the tens of trillions. There’s been a nearly-70% increase in the
number of security events in the last five years, and that number is expected
to continue to increase. The average
cost of an attack rose from $1.4 million to $13 million dollars!
The business losses due to a cyber attack are also much
higher than seen with natural disasters, because often these events come with bad
publicity or expensive remediation plans.
Business disruption due to a cyberattack is around $4 million, and the
cost of lost information is nearly $6 million!
We generally hear about it when a big corporation is hit, as
it makes headlines on all the media outlets.
Small to medium size business are much more likely targets, and we
rarely hear about these as it often goes unreported.
Over 43% of attacks target smaller organization, and only
14% of them feel they have an effective continuity plan. Of the companies attacked, 60% will go out of
business with six month. Surveys show
that 55% have experienced some sort of attack, and 50% have said they had data
breaches of customer information.
Most attacks are web-based or social engineering type
attacks, but there’s been a marked increase in the number of ransomware
incidents in the last few years.
These are some startling statistics, and it underlines just
how important is has become for a business to be prepared. More and more organizations are beginning to
look at implementing business continuation, and as attacks increase the need
for qualified people to mitigate them will be critical.
My last post focused on the Apollo astronaut’s moon
suits. Those suits served well, and
allowed them to spend time on the lunar surface. From the very beginning, however, there was a
desire to not just walk around on the moon, but have a vehicle that could be
used to expand the exploration.
Werner Von Braun had early plans for MOLAB, a Mobile
Laboratory on the moon. His idea was a big,
pressurized vehicle. Other concepts came
from a variety of design concepts – wheels ranging from 5 to 12 feet tall, or
no wheels at all but rather tank-like treads or even one design that was an Archimedean
screw. All of these concepts were prior
to any actual experience with what the lunar surface was like.
Some thought it would have deep pools of dust, preventing
the use of a vehicle at all (and would even prevent an astronaut from walking
there). So they needed more data, and
got useful results from two NASA probes.
The first was the Ranger probe in July 1964. This probe could not land, but rather crashed
into the lunar surface, all the while running TV cameras that sent footage back
to NASA. Next came Surveyor, which was
able to actually land, did a little digging, and clearly showed that the
surface could support a vehicle.
The problem was weight.
Every concept was just too big, too heavy to even get to the moon. After much discussion, NASA decided to table
the idea and simply rely on the astronaut’s ability to walk.
And this is where we have a leadership lesson. NASA gave up, but Sam Romano at GM did
not. We can learn from his example – if we
have an idea that has merit, don’t give up on it. Keep working on it when you can, promote it
when you can, and be dedicated to the task.
Sam’s approach was, “if there was gonna be a car on the moon, it should
be a General Motors car!”
So informally, he continued working on it. There was a space on the lunar module that
could potentially be utilized to store a vehicle, but it was small and awkward –
a pie-shaped space about 5 x 5 x 5 feet.
They had to come up with a way to fit a rover that would accommodate two
astronauts, four wheels, and associated support hardware into something a bit
larger than a big doghouse! And they had
to do all of this while keeping a close eye on the weight. For the Lunar Module, the more weight the
more fuel that needed to be used to keep the LEM hovering. This was critical – on Apollo 11 they were down
to literally a few seconds of fuel when they finally landed!
They started with a model.
One of the designers used his son’s GI Joe, at the time a 1/6 scale representation
of an astronaut, so the model was in 1/6 scale as well. They laid it out, then had to figure out how
to origami-fold it into the small, odd storage bay. They were able to get it to fit, by folding
the seats flat, hinging the rover into three sections, and having the wheel swivel
inwards. The wheels formed the V-shape
in the pie-shaped space, with the floor facing outward.
So, they had a solution, now they had to sell it. This is where visual aids were really effective. Rather than presenting the concept on paper, they simply took the 1/6 scale remote-control model to NASA, and then stood outside of Werner Von Braun’s office and just drove the little vehicle inside! Von Braun was on the phone at the time, and he immediately hung up and expressed his excitement over the new concept. Ultimately, he embraced the idea, and the rest is history.
What can we learn? If
you believe in something, keep at it. Be
creative, market the idea. You may just
come up with something historic!
