高效的視頻會議怎么開

　溝通教練詳解高質量視頻會議的訣竅，確保與會人員理解你要表達的內容，就算是他們邊聽邊看手機也無妨。

　　電話會議、Skype在線視頻通話以及全球視頻會議等技術不斷涌現，極大地改變了人們舉行會議的方式。這是件好事，因為它至少每年能為大公司省下大筆的差旅費。但它也有軟肋：在視頻會議中，要實現有效交流實非易事。

　　通訊咨詢公司Speakeasy的首席執行官斯科特.維斯稱：“現在絕大多數管理人員都是在現場會議的環境中成長起來的，即大家坐在同一個會議室里圍著一張圓桌開會。因此，視頻會議的環境會讓他們覺得頗為陌生。部分原因在于，在這種會上，與會者通常無法獲得即時反饋，對自己表現如何心里沒底。”

　　因此，在Speakeasy最新開展的一項調查中，盡管高達67%的受訪高級經理稱，2012年預計將舉行更多的視頻會議，但毫不奇怪，也有62%的人稱，他們對自己是否具備充分利用這種會議的技巧感到擔心。

　　維斯稱，搞砸視頻會議的風險確實存在。他說：“比如要和派駐在不同地點的高級管理人員召開一場常規的季度戰略會議，而且決定采用視頻會議的形式。如果與會的每個人并未完全理解會議上所說的內容，或者有人沒機會發表一些至關重要的信息，你可能要等到會議結束很久以后才會意識到這一點——而此時經營上可能已經蒙受了重大損失。”這時就該你張口結舌了。

　　就如何避免這種情況，維斯及其團隊已向眾多“財富500強”企業的管理人員提供了相應的學習 。這些企業包括：可口可樂公司（Coca-Cola），微軟公司（Microsoft），家得寶公司（Home Depot），UPS公司以及通用汽車公司（General Motors）。這一學習 的要點如下：

　　盡可能減少視覺干擾

　　顯然，在電話會議中這不是問題，但在視頻會議上，與會者能相互看見，這就不是小事了。因此維斯的建議是：“請按照電視出鏡的標準著裝。”這意味著，要穿的保守而簡單，比如一套深色西裝，純色襯衫或女式襯衫。不要穿白色服裝，因為在燈光下它會產生眩光，也不要穿圖案復雜的服裝，比如犬牙花紋。

　　眼睛直視攝像頭

　　攝像頭通常就是個小黑點，所以，當你潛意識里可能更想看著顯示屏時，要你看著攝像頭會有些不舒服。不過，維斯稱：“攝像頭就是進行眼神交流的手段。如果看著別處，就會讓人覺得你在有意躲避，或是心不在焉。同樣的道理，當你在會上與對方交談，視線卻越過對方的肩膀，也會顯得失禮。”

　　維斯稱：“就算視頻會議要開兩個小時，你也必須專注地看著攝像頭。舉個例子，你肯定不希望攝像頭拍到你時，你正低著頭看手機。人們常常跟我說，一場耗時很長的視頻會議開完后，他們會因為全程都必須做到全神貫注而感到筋疲力盡。”

　發言時請站起來

　　如果必須坐著，那么請挺直身體，以彌補坐姿對嗓音的削弱效果，同時請把雙腳平放在地板上，保持呼吸的深度。

　　維斯補充道：“攝像頭和耳麥會放大一切。”因此，請保持比平時當面溝通更正式的姿勢， “不要顯得無精打采”。

　　放慢語速。在不同觀點間要有停頓

　　維斯寫道：“當面溝通時，許多管理人員傾向于語速很快地說話。但是在電話會議或視頻會議上，給與會者更多時間，讓他們消化你所說的內容就至關重要了——更重要的原因是，如果無法看見對方，他們很可能正在一心二用。”而在自己所要表述的觀點中間略作停頓，可以讓聽者有機會發表看法或發問，這直接關系到下一個要點：

　　保持協作

　　維斯說：“很多視頻會議由某一個人主導討論，通常是級別最高的人，結果會議變成了一個傾倒數據的過程。這對其他所有與會者來說無疑令人沮喪。而且這么做很危險，因為如果不給人們機會發表看法，你就無法知道他們是否真正理解了你的意思。”

　　確保每個人都有機會發言的一種方式就是計劃 會議主持，他們能適時插話，詢問與會者的看法（這還有另一個有益的效果，即避免與會者一心二用：沒人希望被點名要求發表看法時，讓人注意到他當時正心不在焉。）

　　維斯表示，在會議上不要獨占風頭的最大原因在于：“很多深思熟慮的人并不強勢，并不會貿貿然跳出來高談闊論。有些人可能對你試圖解決的問題已有答案，但是，如果沒有足夠的停頓，也不詢問大家的意見，就可能錯過這些答案。”

　　至少在這方面，視頻會議與當面溝通的會議并沒有多大區別。

　　譯者：清遠

　　What with teleconferencing, Skype, and global conference calls, technology has wrought a sea change in the way people hold meetings. That can be great, not least because it saves some big companies millions annually in travel costs. The downside: Coming across effectively in a virtual gathering is tricky.

　　"Most executives today 'grew up' with in-person meetings where everyone was seated around a table in the same room," says Scott Weiss, CEO of communication consulting firm Speakeasy. "So a virtual meeting is a strange environment, partly because you usually don't get immediate feedback to let you know how you did."

　　Small wonder, then, that although 67% of senior managers in a new Speakeasy poll expect more virtual confabs in 2012, 62% say they're concerned about their own skill at making the most of these meetings.

　　The risks in blowing it are real, Weiss notes. "Let's say you have a regularly-scheduled quarterly strategy meeting with all of your senior people in various locations, and you decide to do it as a teleconference," he says. "If everyone doesn't get everything that's being said, or someone doesn't have a chance to contribute vital information, you might not realize it until much later -- after substantial damage has been done to the business." Gulp.

　　Weiss and his team have coached executives at Fortune 500 companies like Coca-Cola (KO), Microsoft (MSFT), Home Depot, UPS (UPS), and General Motors (GM) on how to avoid that. A few pointers:

　　Minimize visual distractions

　　Obviously, in a phone meeting this doesn't matter, but in a teleconference where your audience can see you, "dress as you would for a television appearance," Weiss suggests. That means conservative, simple clothing, like a dark suit and solid-color shirt or blouse. Avoid white, since it can create a glare under the lights, and busy patterns like houndstooth.

　　Keep your eyes on the camera lens

　　This is usually a small black dot, and it feels strange to stare at that when your impulse is probably to watch the monitor instead. "The lens is your means of eye contact. Looking anywhere else comes across as evasive or inattentive," Weiss says. "It also looks rude, like looking over someone's shoulder when you're talking to them at a party.

　　"Even in a two-hour teleconference, you have to stay focused on that lens. You don't want the camera to find you looking down at your cell phone, for example," Weiss says. "People often tell me they're exhausted at the end of a long virtual meeting from being 'on' the whole time."

　　Try to stand while you're speaking

　　If you must sit down, compensate for the dampening effect on your voice by sitting up straight, with your feet flat on the floor, and breathing deeply.

　　"The camera and microphones exaggerate everything," Weiss adds. So maintain a more formal posture than you would in person and "don't slouch."

　　Speak slowly. Pause between ideas

　　"In person, many executives tend to speak rapidly," Weiss notes. "But in a conference call or teleconference, it's crucial to give people time to absorb what you're saying -- especially since, if you can't see them, they may be multitasking while you're talking." Leaving a pause between the points you want to make gives listeners a chance to comment or ask a question, which leads to the next tip:

　　Keep it collaborative

　　"Too many virtual meetings are data dumps, where one person dominates the discussion -- usually the highest-ranking person," Weiss says. "It's frustrating for everyone else, and it's dangerous, because if you give people no opportunity to comment, you really have no idea whether they understand you or not."

　　One way to make sure everyone has a chance to speak up is to appoint a host or moderator who will chime in and ask attendees for their views. (This also has the salutary side effect of discouraging too much multitasking: No one wants to be noticeably not paying attention when called on for a comment.)

　　The biggest reason not to hog the limelight, Weiss says, is that "many deep thinkers are not assertive enough to just jump into the discussion. Someone may have the answer to a problem you're trying to solve but, by not pausing enough and not asking for input, you miss it."

　　In that respect, at least, virtual meetings are no different from the in-person kind.