IN THIS ISSUE:
3 Ways Online Learning Benefits Organizations | How to Present Well Remotely | Seth Godin's 4 Tips for Making Graphs That Work | Consultancy Gets in Shape with GoToMeeting Corporate with GoToWebinar

3 Ways Online Learning Benefits Organizations

By Lynda Goldman

"The virtual classroom can bring e-learners together. More companies are asking for this type of e-learning, and have the infrastructure to support it," says David Werboff, Group Director, eLearning Solutions, Informa Training Partners, a company that trains sales professionals in pharmaceuticals, biotech and medical devices.

Live online learning creates a group learning experience that is designed around the needs of the learner, offering these 3 benefits:

1. E-learning is moving away from self-paced learning modules and has become much more collaborative. Participants can interact with experts and peers in ad hoc discussions or in structured small group activities, teach-backs and role plays.
2. E-learning can increase retention and application. Short, targeted learning experiences offer participants an opportunity to apply the concepts, principles and procedures before the next class. Participants who travel to a training session don't always have time to practice and apply concepts between classes.
3. Live online learning provides a diverse setting. Participants from many geographical locations can bring different ideas and backgrounds to the learning activities.

David Werboff, Group Director, eLearning Solutions, Informa Training Partners offers these e-learning best practices:

• Visualize how learners will experience the learning environment and anticipate and answer their unspoken questions.
• Don't waste learners' brain power on how to access online learning. Use programs that are clear and easy to use.
• Balance audio, text, visual media and interactivity to meet different users' needs.
• Cater to the younger, sophisticated workforce with top-quality graphics. Clip art just doesn't cut it anymore.

Lynda Goldman is the author of 31 business and communication books. She writes corporate communications that tell your story: white papers, case studies and articles, and ghostwrites books. www.LyndaGoldmanInk.com

How to Present Well Remotely

By Leslie Poston, Technology Writer and Founder and CEO of Uptown Uncorked
(From www.workshifting.com, a new blog sponsored by Citrix Online.)

One of the many things a workshifter may find themselves doing is having a presentation, webinar, client meeting, podcast call or other remote contact with clients and customers. I am continually surprised at a few simple things that people neglect to do to make the experience a good one for all concerned.

Etiquette
If you are conducting a meeting or making a webinar from your home office, the most important thing you can do is respect your listeners. You are giving them knowledge or help, yes, but they are giving you their time to hear what you have to say.

To that end, making sure that all noise and distraction are removed from the area around you is step one for basic etiquette when recording audio or video (or both) from your home office. The big noisemakers in a home office setting are: kids, spouse, traffic, air conditioner, fan, washer or dryer noises, typing keys on a laptop, and ringing phones.

As much as you love your kids (and we do, too), it's distracting to people listening in to hear them playing in the background (and an upset infant can drown you out completely). In that same vein, your spouse may not understand that you need a short period of quiet unless you tell him or her - communication can solve both of those noise factors as your spouse will most likely be happy to help keep the other noises down to a dull roar.

Even if it hot out, close windows and doors to eliminate traffic noise and appliance noise from other parts of your home, and turn the air conditioner and fan off for the duration of your recording or call. That low hum may not sound like much to you, but depending on the tools you have for conducting your meeting, it can be amplified to a jet engine level roar for your listeners. If you are working on a laptop, either refrain from typing or mute your mic while you type - laptop keystrokes sound like little gunshots to the listener.

Incorporating Multimedia
If you are conducting a presentation or webinar online that will require the use of multi media tools like slides, links, movies or active video feed, make sure you choose current tools! One otherwise smart company recently conducted a weeklong series of classes that were broadcast in Real Player, a service not reliably compatible with many platforms. There were complaints all over the internet of people not being able to use the service or participate in the classes because of the tools that were chosen. Shutting out more than half your audience by not choosing a tool that is universally compatible is a bad move.

Incorporating multimedia can be tricky (and we will go over pointers on how to do so effectively in a later post). If you don't have the equipment or software for creating advanced level presentations from home, that is fine. There are plenty of tools, such as Zoho Show, out there to help you create your presentation on a budget. Look for tools that promote compatibility with both Windows and Mac at a minimum and Linux as well if possible.

Downloads
When people tune in for a seminar, forcing them to download your presentation material to their computer is not ideal. A better way to handle it is to give them the option to download your fabulous slides after the meeting or presentation is over, or directing them to a slide sharing service.

Good Habits
Just like you're told not to say "um" when speaking in person, it helps to get into some good habits for remote speaking also. It's tempting to eat or drink while recording or live casting your podcast, video cast, webinar or remote meeting. It feels like you are alone, or that no can tell if you sneak off camera or mic for a moment. I assure you, we can hear you chewing! It's much better to pause briefly and have that snack later.

The traditional markers of a good in person presentation, like eliminating "um" from your vocabulary, also apply here. Any pointers that will keep your audience awake and focused are great to incorporate here - people's minds tend to wander even more if they aren't listening to something in person.

•••

Wrapping up, your key pointers for a good podcast, webinar, meeting or other in-home presentation while workshifting are:

• Eliminate external noise and distractions
• Refrain from typing if on a laptop
• Follow guidelines for good in person presentations
• Hold off on snacking
• Avoid in-presentation downloads
• Use the best tools you can find for your budget

You don't need the most elaborate gear to record a good podcast or webinar. A little care and attention to detail, coupled with a consideration for the people listening to you, should do the trick and make you shine.

Read more articles about Web commuting at www.workshifting.com.

Leslie Poston is the founder and CEO of uptownuncorked.com. You can follow her at www.twitter.com/geechee_girl.

Seth Godin's 4 Tips for Making Graphs That Work

Sometimes genius is just seeing what's in front of you. And Marketing guru Seth Godin does it better than just about anyone.

We've all sat through presentations filled with dull line and pie graphs, (most of which contain so much information that it is impossible for the viewer to decipher without help from the presenter. And, if we're being truthful, we've all probably made these presentations ourselves, too.

Godin recently used his blog to shine a light on the literally ugly truth that has been staring us in the face all this time.

Take his advice to heart. It might take a little more thought and energy to build your presentation, but we think you (and your audience) will like the results.

1. Don't let popular spreadsheets be in charge of the way you look.
92% of all the business presentations made in the United States are done with templates created by big companies in Excel or PowerPoint. This is a horrible tragedy.

First, programmers don't often have a lot of taste. The fonts are flaccid, the defaults are wan and uninspiring. There's no sophistication.

Second, and more important, when you show me something exactly like something I've seen a hundred times before, what do you expect me to do? Here's a hint: Zzzzzz.

Read the rest of Godin's blog entry.

Consultancy Gets in Shape with GoToMeeting Corporate with GoToWebinar

"[GoToMeeting Corporate] allows us to support clients and staff whenever they need us, and that builds loyalty."

– Laura Sturaitis, Senior Vice President, Media Services and Product Strategy, Business Wire

Is it possible to be too cutting edge? It is when you're an organization offering tools and services that your clients don't understand how to use.

Business Wire, the global market leader in commercial news distribution, recently suffered from this issue. The company provided clients with the means for using online video, blogs and social networking to spread their communication messages, but the clients didn't understand these services or how they compared to Business Wire's competitors.

Business Wire needed a simple way to demonstrate the use and benefits of these new multimedia technologies – so they turned to GoToMeeting Corporate with GoToWebinar.

"By conducting a GoToMeeting session, we can really strut our stuff, demonstrating live how photos, video and social media tools can help tell client stories in vivid and memorable ways," said Laura Sturaitis, senior vice president, Media Services and Product Strategy.

After experiencing initial success with GoToMeeting, Business Wire began using GoToWebinar to create an internal education series called Business Wire University for its worldwide employees and a client-facing Webinar series that won a 2008 Commendation of Merit from the Society for New Communications Research (NNCR).

"Our Webinar program has become a cornerstone of marketing efforts and serves double duty as employee training and education around the world," said Sturaitis.

Read the entire case study.