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Westside Toastmasters is located in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, California

Videoconferencing versus Face-to-Face

Videoconferencing	Face-to-Face Meetings
You can easily hold meetings with people who are far away from the meeting site.	People who are far away will miss the meeting, or it will be costly to bring them to the site.
You can often accommodate more people by using a number of sites.	Meeting space may be limited.
There is much more set-up and preparation time needed.	Set-up is usually minimal.
Videoconferencing is never spontaneous.	A face-to-face meeting can be spur of the moment.
Distractions are more noticeable; people coming and going are more disruptive.	It's easier to "slip in" or out without causing distraction.
More technical glitches are likely to occur.	Unless special equipment is being used, no technology is involved.
In most cases, once the camera(s) is in place, it isn't moved, which means you are always in view.	You face less personal scrutiny.
People tend to behave differently on-camera.	People are more at ease in a familiar meeting situation.
You can only see what the camera is focused on.	You can see everything that's in the room.

Pointers for Preparing Presentation Materials:

To be most effective, visual aids must be: clear, simple, and bold.
The more directive you are in using your visual aids, the more the audience will follow you.
Transitions before and after a visual aid must be interesting, varied, and directive.
You must also vary your visual aids. Don't follow a pattern.
Each visual is a mini-presentation and, as such, requires an opening and a closing.

How to Hold Visual Aids for the Camera

If in the studio, find out in advance which will be your close-up camera.
Don't reveal your aid until you are ready to use it; give the director a few seconds to react before moving the aid so that the camera operator can get into position to shoot it.
Hold or place your aid so that it is clearly visible to the cameras. Hold it steady; tilt it slightly forward to avoid glare from the lights.
If holding the aid, make sure it doesn't hide your face.
Talk to the interviewer or camera, not to the aid.
When you are finished with it, slowly put it aside so that the camera operators have time to react.
Keep the graphic simple; viewers cannot easily grasp and assimilate too much detail in a short period of time.

Videoconferencing is an effective tool when you want to disseminate information to people who are at different locations, and you want them to see each other's faces and expressions. If you have to work as a long-distance team, it's easier to work together when you can attach names to faces. This is especially important during the early phases of a project, when it's important to build relationships. It's also effective when all team members need to see and discuss the same data, presentations, or visual images.

At the next audio- and videoconference you attend, make a list of the things that worked and the things that didn't.
Contact professional companies who run teleconferencing and try to get as many how-to's as you can from them on how to run an audioconference and/or a videoconference.
Check with people within your company who do these on a regular basis. Find out the best things you can do to run a better meeting and to be a better participant.