Here's how:
Respect the medium. Memorable artworks seem ideally suited to the medium in which the artist chose to create them. Rodin's The Thinker, say, wouldn't be nearly as powerful done as a drawing, and Gaugin's islanders wouldn't have the same sensual appeal rendered in bronze. What does that have to do with whiteboards? Whiteboards are also a medium of expression, elegantly suited to displaying visual information in a setting where collaboration is the desired outcome. Whiteboard presentations show complex relationships that would be cumbersome to describe in words, they make highly technical information more accessible, and they help people literally see a situation at a glance. All the while, whiteboard presentations encourage the kind of synergy that results only from sharing insights and ideas.
But when the nature of your presentation is not interactive, when the primary objective is reporting rather than problem-solving, opt for another medium. Whiteboard presentations have a way of being transformed into effective sleep aids about 3.5 minutes after it becomes apparent (a) you're writing a really long list (b) collaboration isn't the overarching goal. That's not to say you can't use words or make a list during a successful whiteboard presentation, but be careful that written material serves as shorthand or summary---the road map rather than the destination.
Imagine the elephant. Whether or not Michelangelo actually said that his approach was to find a piece of marble and chip away everything that didn't look like an elephant, he sure enough knew what he wanted to accomplish before he picked up a chisel. It behooves you to do the same. Ask yourself what you want---how will you know at the end of the meeting that your goals have been met? Sketch out the order of the topics you want to discuss, choose illustrative examples carefully, and loosely time your presentation before hand (including time slots for discussion.) Deal with technical aspects like lighting in advance.
Remember, it's 3-D. Keep in mind that even though the material on the whiteboard is two-dimensional, you must be attentive to three dimensions. When you are at the whiteboard, don't just stand there. Change your position. Walk around a little. Involve the group with gestures of inclusion (in a small group setting, you may even went to rotate the duty of whiteboard scribe among participants as a strategy for getting folks to park their own perspectives.) Ask for suggestions from the group about how to best picture an idea. And always watch your back; turn towards the group whenever you can.
Be sensitive to scale. Match your presentation to the size of the group. The words or images on a whiteboard should be easily readable by the last person in the room. You may want to experiment before your meeting begins, and create a reminder of ideal letter size somewhere on the board. Plus, avoid writing on an area of the whiteboard that is lower than your waist. Any lower, and visibility is compromised.
Light it right. Artists make a big deal about the quality of light, and so should you. After all, visual information hitches a ride on light rays in order to get to your retina. For highly reflective whiteboards, use room lighting or wall washers for illumination, since a focused light source will bounce right back, causing squints from those in the group who forgot their sunglasses. (By the way, whiteboards don't have to be shiny white; they are available in reflection dampening finishes and colors like gray, cream and beige.) If you plan to project items on a whiteboard, use rear projection or flat screen technologies with a touch sensitive screen. Here the light source emanates from the surface of the whiteboard itself, and your presence won't cause a shadow.
Clean up. No matter how grungy their garrets, artists who care about what they do always take time to clean their brushes, tools and other stuff. It's a good habit to get into with whiteboards as well. Clean the whiteboard regularly to prevent build up of residue. And keep away from the whiteboard---far away---any kind of writing implement not designed expressly for it. Some highly enthusiastic participant who grabs an indelible marker will do irreparable damage.
Think about changing with the times. If Picasso could decorate plates and Hockney use a Polaroid, you can ponder the benefits of acquiring an electronic whiteboard. Among many other advantages, electronic whiteboards allow you to: involve numbers of people at multiple locations, project letters sufficiently sizable to be seen by a large group, instantly save everything on the whiteboard to slide format for reference back and forth during the meeting, easily incorporate video and Internet sites into your presentation, e-mail copies of whiteboard items to participants after the meeting, and print out material. Still, training is required to utilize an electronic whiteboard well and some people are intimidated by the whole idea of using them. If that's the case in your environment, it's far better to stick with traditional whiteboards.
Have fun. Done right, whiteboard presentations are dynamic, involving, refreshing. Put what's here into action, and enjoy making the most of the art of communication.
Perils of Compression
The first thing to keep in mind is that videoconference technology doesn't operate quite like television. Instead of scanning and constantly refreshing the image in order to fool your eye into constructing a seamless representation, most videoconference systems compress the picture in order to send it over telephone lines or the internet. As a result, the broadcast image loses detail and contrast.
What's the solution? Select clothing with an eye to creating a well-defined edge. Color choices like royal blue, burgundy, purple and gray will contrast well in front of almost any background. When you pick one of these as the color of the jacket you'll wear, you create accents with a solid-color shirt or blouse - like light gray or oxford blue with a blue jacket, rich yellow with an earth-tone brown, and so forth.
Leave anything with a complicated or repetitive design, including stripes, checks or dots, in the closet. Video cameras will broadcast a moiré pattern - that weird shimmering effect - when confronted with complex visual data.
Rule out ruffles or loose garb as well. The whole idea is to draw an edge that will help you stand out. Don't erase it with clothing which is too soft or unstructured.
Too Much, Too Little
Sticking with colors like royal blue, burgundy, purple and charcoal gray entails another benefit. Automatically, you won't be wearing something which matches your skin tone. Clothing too close to your coloring can cause you to virtually disappear on camera.
At the same time, steer clear of too much contrast by avoiding colors at extreme ends of the value spectrum. The video camera may close its electronic eye tightly in order to deal with the reflection from pale or white clothing, and open up very wide to take in clothing that is black or very dark. Either way, the image of you will be compromised.
Perrine offered the following tips that will leverage these steps. For example, to build trust, the arrangement of the seating is an important element to consider.
And be careful about accessorizing. Matte jewelry is much better than reflective shiny pieces which bounce light back to the camera. Eyeglasses with a non-glare coating can also eliminate that potential reflection problem
Good Grooming, Bad Habits
If you wear make-up, apply it as you usually would - unless you have a preference for very dark lipstick, which should be lightened for the camera. Videoconference broadcasts using high-definition technology demand extra attention because every tiny imperfection is magnified. Additional make-up - for men and women - can deliver a sizable positive impact. Be sure to shave carefully, and when the videoconference is an all-day event, consider shaving during a break.
Try not to fiddle during the videoconference. Habits that go unnoticed during a face-to-face meeting - tapping your pencil, rubbing your nose - will be accentuated on camera. Enlist your computer camera at home as a tool to review your most frequent facial expressions. It's not unusual for a display of deeply felt interest to come across as frowning disapproval.
Tips for Presenters
If you will be standing to present material during a videoconference, wear clothes suggesting a clean, unbroken line. Suits for presenters of both genders fill the bill.
As a presenter, there is another thing you should square away before the videoconference begins: lighting.
Ask for 3-point lighting aimed at your face from an angle about 30 degrees on the horizontal, and 45 degrees on the vertical. In other words, you want three separate lights rigged slightly above your eye level: one light a bit brighter on your good side, one less bright on the other side, and the third at normal brightness slightly behind. Have the room lights dimmed a bit to differentiate you from your surroundings.
Look Ahead
It's always a good idea to survey the videoconference site at least 24 hours ahead of time. Check the color of the background to make sure your clothing choices will do the trick. Pay attention to lighting.
If your organization has its own space dedicated to videoconferencing, it's easy to stop by for an inspection. If the site is across town, you might call ahead to arrange a preview. And if it's farther away, get the phone number of the person who's setting up the videoconference and ask about background color and camera placement. Or, review the space on camera using your own videoconference system.
Confidence
For any videoconference, an attractive personal appearance can boost the effective achievement of your business goals. While clothes don't make the person, presenting a professional demeanor does make the person - namely you - feel more confident. And the more relaxed and confident you are, the more ready you'll be to make a real contribution to the meeting.
ORANGE, Calif. (October 19, 2001) – Peer to peer interaction is an essential ingredient in the world of healthcare for professional growth, advancement and education. In recognition of this driving need to share information the Medical Staff, Board of Trustees, Administration and community supporters of St. Joseph Hospital unveiled an advanced communications system on October 18 at the hospital’s renovated Zoul Auditorium.
“The Zoul Auditorium is a thoroughly modern facility that will enable our medical staff and nurses to interact among themselves and with other professionals across the United States,” said Raymond Casciari M.D., Chief of Staff at St. Joseph Hospital. “The new communications system will strengthen the ways professionals at St. Joseph Hospital share information, experience techniques and conduct diagnostic consultations in our pursuit of continued excellence in patient care.”
The new communications system and renovated 46-seat auditorium are designed to enhance interaction and education onsite among the 1,000-member medical staff at St. Joseph Hospital. The unveiling reveals the culminated efforts to upgrade the auditorium facility used for hosting continuing medical education programs and professional gatherings. Improvements at the auditorium also include new seating, paint and infrastructure to promote an environment for productive group interaction.
“This type of system can be utilized to conduct group activities including procedure observation, educational seminars, web-enabled video and teleconferencing with offsite peers, and multiple forms of presentations,” continued Dr. Casciari. “This system will exponentially expand the benefits caregivers gain through professional interaction and communication.”
Technologies and systems in the newly renovated auditorium will be used to evaluate patients, view live surgical procedures, conduct Continuing Medical Education courses, add role playing to training sessions, create documents interactively, brainstorm new procedures, mentor hospital caregivers, and conduct both video and teleconferences with offsite peers.
The renovation and naming of the Zoul Auditorium was made possible through a generous gift from the estate of Marjorie Zoul. As the project entered planning stages, it became evident that the opportunity to install a modern communications system would require additional funding and support. All parties involved agreed it would be essential to do a complete upgrade of the facility.
The effort to secure the resources and equipment to create the communications system was led by both the physicians of St. Joseph Hospital and the Board of Trustees and its Chair, Lisa Perrine.
Perrine, a five-year member of the Board of Trustees, is also President and CEO of Cibola Systems, an Orange County based consulting firm providing multimedia systems integration and tools used to develop and facilitate communication among groups. As the board moved forward on the project with the physicians, Perrine personally spearheaded a recruitment of in-kind electronic equipment for the auditorium.
“The technologies we have installed in the Zoul Auditorium provide a combination of communication tools,” said Perrine. “The ability to integrate computer generated visuals and documents, videoconference, view onsite procedures and conduct DVD and video presentations is an effective means to share and grow the collective knowledge base of a group. These communications tools will greatly assist the care givers of St. Joseph in their continued work and professional growth.”
The system was assembled through a gift from the St. Joseph Hospital Medical Staff, donated expertise from Cibola Systems, and donations of equipment by members of the local business community including a video projector from Sharp, remote control electronics from AMX, signal routing and conversion electronics from Extron, an electronic whiteboard from TeamBoard and a video conference system from PIMCO. Through all their efforts, the system was assembled for use and installed during the renovation of the Zoul Auditorium and is now officially operating.
About St. Joseph Hospital
Founded in 1929, St. Joseph Hospital in Orange is a 469-bed, not-for-profit Catholic hospital dedicated to extending the healthcare ministry of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange. St. Joseph Hospital’s reputation for compassionate are and clinical excellence – as well as its highly recognized 1,000-member medical staff – has earned it the distinction of “most preferred hospital” in Orange County. St. Joseph Hospital’s dedication to setting healthcare quality standards extends beyond the walls of the hospital’s Orange campus. Through the many outreach services, a freestanding medical and dental clinic, and three mobile health vans, St. Joseph Hospital meets the needs of the medically undeserved.
Southern California- based Cibola Systems President outlines four critical areas that are consistent in all effective meetings
SANTA ANA, Calif. (April 16, 2002) Lisa Perrine may not carry a tool belt, wear overalls, or drive a 3/4 ton pickup truck, but the President of California-based Cibola Systems is quickly becoming one of the most prolific builders of rooms and workplaces that help organizations achieve their objectives in a shorter amount of time.
From boardrooms to school rooms, Perrine is not only talking about how to create a more productive meeting environment, she has a list of blue chip clients that are listening and reaping the benefits of following her consultation.
Perrine recently addressed more than 20 University of California at San Diego senior project managers working in the University’s Facilities Design and Construction Department, where she outlined important steps all architects and designers should consider when creating buildings and rooms for maximum productivity.
“ These steps are very important because by making meeting time shorter and more productive, organizations can leverage their scarcest, most valuable asset – talented professionals,” said Perrine. “Top business professionals spend nearly 50 percent of their working hours in meetings. However, many say the majority of these meetings fail to translate time into measurable events. These steps will help make meetings more productive,” said Perrine.
The San Diego based university has more than ten buildings slated for construction in the coming years. Making these facilities true centers for productive learning and collaboration is the focus of all the school’s on-site architects, engineers and designers.
“ The demands of meetings and the construction of buildings have become more complicated than ever. Whether it’s for a university or a private corporation, Lisa’s insight into designing rooms that accommodate the need to communicate efficiently and effectively are valuable to any professional designer or architect,” said UCSD Senior Project Manager Michael Downs.
Like the massive weight bearing beams that support thousands of pounds, the strategy Perrine employs is built on four key steps that she insists are consistent in all productive meetings. These include:
• Trust
• Energize
• Engage
• Model
Perrine offered the following tips that will leverage these steps. For example, to build trust, the arrangement of the seating is an important element to consider.
“An oval or egg-shaped seating arrangement will encourage dialogue while conserving space. Also, avoid window placement which causes some group members to squint to avert their eyes – this can appear to be a sign of distrust,” said Perrine.
Creating energy is also a critical element to more productive meetings.
“People don’t want to waste time in meetings Make them productive and it will energize the audience,” said Perrine.
For example create visual clarity by limiting views, patterns and reflections. This is especially important in an environment that utilizes video conferencing technology.
“Try to avoid meeting environments with views of busy streets, regular patterns or even hallway impressions. Window coverings are one way to eliminate these visual distractions,” advises Perrine.
Also, Perrine explained that to improve visual perception, all meeting environments should reduce the amount of shiny surfaces that may create distracting reflections.
To help engage an audience, Perrine likes to encourage active listening.
“People within a ten-foot diameter can be heard when speaking naturally, and within twenty feet they can be heard with voices raised. Larger spaces may require microphones for speech clarity,” said Perrine.
Also Perrine recommends adequate space at a group’s perimeter in order to let people move around, which raises their level of interaction with one another.
Finally, Perrine explained that modeling is crucial for the most effective learning to take place. The best rooms are those that convey information to the audience in as many ways as possible so everyone can participate in the learning process.
“Everybody learns differently. For some people, hearing is more powerful while others rely on seeing. For some it is the ability to have hands-on interaction. The best modeling environments provide for all three,” said Perrine.
For the best modeling environments, Perrine encourages the use of interactive multimedia, rapid visualization, and recorded examples of ideas and processes being explored.
“This idea of modeling is not unique to a scholarly environment. In fact, in today’s business culture, one of the big concerns is the retirement of a generation that possesses a great amount of knowledge. How do you translate this information to the younger, up and coming business leaders? Modeling will be one of the best solutions to the so called ‘brain drain’ in business world,” said Perrine.
Regardless of whether designers and architects incorporate one or all of her ideas, Perrine often encounters a common misconception. This misconception is that technology solves all communication problems.
“The simple fact is this is not true. Approximately 75 percent of business communication can be maximized through improving the place where meetings occur and the way they are conducted. Changing the way educators or business leaders meet face-to-face can save valuable time and allow them to invest more time in their community and personal lives,” said Perrine.
About Cibola Systems
For more than 30 years, California-based Cibola Systems has designed, integrated, and serviced audiovisual/multimedia systems – creating efficient communications among business leaders, and accelerating their ability to inspire, collaborate and mentor.
Specializing in the medical, legal, publishing, and financial industries, the “Cibola Method” begins with an innovative needs assessment process and a single point of accountability. Cibola’s award-winning designers and engineers then integrate space design, audiovisual technologies, and process coaching to create high value communication tools. Cibola has successfully integrated more than 1000 audiovisual solutions for organizations that include Conde’ Nast Publications, O’Melveny & Myers LLP, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and PIMCO.
SANTA ANA, Calif. (August 20, 2002) In today's business climate, ideas need to move faster than ever, global teams have to cooperate more closely than ever, and nonstop travel seems less appealing than ever. One solution to these challenges is to completely rethink how meetings are conducted.
For more than 15 years, Cibola Systems, a leading audiovisual consulting firm, has passionately worked to improve business and organizational meetings in order to accelerate the accomplishment of business goals. In fact, Cibola is not only presenting it's methodology throughout universities, boardrooms, and prestigious business organizations, the firm has a roster of blue chip clients who are listening and reaping the benefits of it's consultation.
From Beckman to Ingram Micro to Screen Actors Guild and Conde Nast, Cibola's client list is as diverse as it is impressive. However, the common thread that weaves all Cibola projects together is the fundamental goal of helping businesses accomplish their objectives in the most efficient manner possible.
"By making meeting time shorter and more productive, companies can enhance productivity and better leverage their scarcest, most valuable assets…talented professionals," said Lisa Perrine, president of Cibola Systems.
A big key to Perrine's approach to designing meeting rooms that accelerate business goals is the premise that behind every meeting, there is the underlying purpose to inspire, mentor or collaborate. Understanding how to unlock these underlying objectives can open up world-changing ideas for businesses and organizations. Further, Cibola's business model has targeted those industries where inspiration, collaboration and mentoring have the greatest impact. These include, finance, law, healthcare, and publishing.
"These industries have been the cornerstones of our society for thousands of years, and they continue to be the magnets for today's brightest minds," said Perrine.
Three primary examples of Perrine's work include the Los Angeles-based headquarters of the Metropolitan Water District, the Newport Beach headquartered bond trading giant Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), and the corporate headquarters of UNOCAL.
"Each of these clients had very specific challenges that needed to be solved through improved communication environments," explained Perrine.
For example, MWD needed to completely revamp their boardroom meetings in order to drastically streamline their voting process.
"Redesigning the boardroom was a key objective for the design of our new facility. The meetings that take place in this room are very public, and the voting process is key to each and every board meeting," said Bobbie Becker, Business Outreach Manager and project manager for the new MWD facilities.
The solution Cibola Systems helped create was an electronic-based voting system that automatically calculates a weighted vote, establishes a quorum, and organizes the order of speakers for commentary.
"What used to be a four or five hour meeting has now been reduced to two and a half hours," announces Becker. "The way Cibola designed our board room has made our operations so much better."
The room is so successful that it is now the highlight of public tours, and is used by the Governor, Rail Authority, and Air Quality Management District.
For PIMCO, the challenge was to create a highly effective system of tools that would improve the communication throughout its global operation while streamlining the flow of information internally. Additionally, there was the challenge of creating a more efficient way to disseminate financial information to the company's clients and investment community.
"When Cibola designed this room and how it should work, they thought of everything. No matter what we use it for, it has never failed us," said Chuck Hulbert, Telemedia Manager for PIMCO.
Specific examples of the solution include a large, technology intense conference room that can accommodate up to 100 people, a separate room designed exclusively for video conferencing, and an on-site television studio for on the spot market commentary. In short, Cibola Systems has helped PIMCO create one of the most productive meeting environments in the world.
According to Hulbert, the combined impact on the bottom line of the company is difficult to quantify, however he quickly calculates the dollar savings in travel time alone in the tens of thousands.
"We have offices all over the world, and communicating with those offices is critical for us. With our new communication capabilities, we have drastically reduced the very expensive need to travel, " said Hulbert.
On top of that, by connecting the boardroom to offices and rooms throughout the headquarters via streaming technology, all of the 500 PIMCO employees can now view analyst meetings, economic forecasts, and other strategy meetings in real time.
The result, according to Hulbert, is a new level of teaching and information sharing, so critical to keeping employees of a large company on the same path.
"That has really helped educate our employees, and create great environment for inspiring the entire company. It 's really pretty exciting," said Hulbert.
When UNOCAL vacated its office tower in downtown Los Angeles and established a new executive headquarters in El Segundo, creating a communications hub that communicated effortlessly with its global offices was paramount. To accomplish this, Cibola Systems worked closely with company executives to design meetings spaces that helped maximize communications. Effectively employing videoconference equipment in meeting facilities provided UNOCAL's staff with a wide range of communication spaces for decision -making and long distance communication. "We use these rooms daily, and because Cibola Systems really understood our objectives and worked closely with us throughout the installation, we have improved our ability to communicate with our remote offices immeasurably," explained Dr. Allen Crawford, Project Manager with UNOCAL.
Whether financial, health care, legal or the creative fields, today's business leaders are realizing that improved communication and increased meeting efficiency is critical to maintaining a competitive edge in the business world.
"By creating more effective meeting environments, today's CEO's can not only communicate their views and their objectives much more effectively, they can help save valuable company time which ultimately allows them to invest more time in their community and personal lives," said Perrine.
Law firms, courts and legislative bodies are taking steps to make meetings more productive. Often these involve introducing technologies to enhance collaboration, mentoring and negotiation.
But technology is really the icing on the cake. Productive and fruitful meetings begin with these basic steps:
When people believe a meeting is important, they're willing to focus on its objectives. If they believe their time is wasted, their minds will not stay focused. Keeping questions on point and building on the answers shows participants that their time is valuable.
Make the best use of everyone's time by insisting that all those attending a meeting participate. Avoid including people who would be hesitant about making a contribution.
Meetings are more effective when everyone agrees to create a tangible product before leaving. Avoid meetings where the only objective is to talk or listen.
Seating that allows eye contact creates a sense of openness and integrity. Eliminating power positions like tiered seating is also effective. Round or square tables stimulate honest communication.
Develop an agenda. Holding a productive meeting without an agenda is like trying to negotiate a contract without deal points. Display a spreadsheet for the key meeting topic and ask everyone to list his or her single most critical issue.
Eliminate distractions. Disrupting the flow of logic may be a good advocacy strategy, but it's not a good meeting technique. Also, limiting distractions outside the conference room and controlling noise from neighboring areas help to focus attention. Turn off the phones, close the door and be sure the room is fully supplied before beginning a meeting.
Multimedia presentations are low in cost and usually simple to present, so use them at meetings. Invite a staff person to cut and paste documents, graphs, photographs, whiteboard sketches and even video clips into a visual log of the meeting's accomplishments or decisions which can be printed or posted online.
Quantify the meeting's success. Give a numerical rating to the meeting on a cost/benefit scale. Ask everyone to value the time invested and the perceived benefits on a scale from one to ten. Include scores in the meeting minutes.
Whether it's brainstorming a case strategy, preparing for a deposition, discussing a recent case or cultivating a new client, encouraging the effective exchange of knowledge can result in increased productivity and should be a focus for professional growth and organizational efficiencies.