Improve team conference calls with a very simple trick

Create a single frame video conference using a peopleclock to help participants concentrate and engage better.

improve_team_co.jpg


I discovered this very simple technique in an article in the Harvard Business Review, Can Absence Make a Team Grow Stronger

One of the problems of audio-only conferences is keeping concentration when you lack any visual stimuli.

Its also aggravated if you have never met some of the people on the call or know what they look like - you can't "put a face to the voice".

The technique is simply to create a single A4 page with a small photo of everyone in the call each located at a different time on the clock.

In other words - a Peopleclock.

Everybody keeps this peopleclock visible (either on their screen or via a hard copy print-out) for the duration of the call.

So when a participant speaks either for the first time or when they have not contributed for a bit they just say "Its Ken here at 3 o’clock" or "This is Joe at 9 o'clock".

You would be amazed at how just glancing at the speaker’s picture as they talk can bring more life into the call and makes it easier to avoid your mind wandering.

It is like a single frame video conference - very simple, very cheap, very low-tech, no software downloads or web-cams required - but actually very effective.


Tags:

Comments (0)| Related (3) |

Email to a friend | Print this article

Leave a comment

 


Bioteams Books Reviews

Organisational teams: thin slice for responsiveness

 Organisational teams: thin slice for responsiveness

Humans and animals do not need complete information to act; they can operate on various clues provided there is a sufficient context. Organizational teams can also use this thin slicing technique in conjunction with short messaging to enhance their performance. Malcolm Gladwell’s introspective book Blink digs deep into the abyss of human cognition to illustrate the human ability to think at a subconscious level. The idea of thin slicing is used where one is introduced to only a few snippets of information which lead to a series of conclusions based on moments of rapid cognition – an ability claimed to be intrinsically dormant in most humans. By bioteams guest author Max Bhanabhai.


Buy it now from:
Amazon.Com
Amazon.Co.UK


Comments (2) |

continue reading

Click here to check all Bioteams book reviews

KenThompson

Browse Ken's Videos

Translate this page

Français Deutsch Nederlands Español

Featured Categories

Featured Article

Team joining hands

The secret DNA of high-performing virtual teams

Bioteaming – the secret to high-performing, self-organising, virtually networked teams... more

Key Essays - view all

Click for more...

Hot Tags

agility ants autopoiesis bees biomimicry bioteaming bioteams collaboration collective intelligence community complex systems dashboards digital dashboards ecosystems experiential learning flock high-performing teams innovation leadership meetings mobile phones organizational teams penguins pheromones self-managed teams simulators social media Social Networks social software swarm swarm intelligence swarmteams teamwork The Networked Enterprise tit for tat VEN videos virtual communities virtual enterprise networks virtual teams web2.0 wisdom of crowds

Click for more...

Bioteams iphone app

My Most Popular Articles

Ken's LinkedIn Profile

Transform Business Performance
Bioteams Design Website - www.bioteams.com

Bioteams Assessor - Instantly check how good your team is?
BioScore Calculator – Instantly see if you need Bioteams
Discover Bioteams principles Yourself via Action Learning

NASA Widget2_160x40.jpg Wired Mag on Bioteams Guardian Widget_16040.jpg Bioteams Manifesto

Communities and Networks Connection

Search www.bioteams.com

Bioteams Ice-Breaker Zone

Only Fools and Horses Video Clip Funny Team Collaboration Video Dilbert Mission Statement Generator Ali G Video Funny Red Dwarf Video  FatherTed  Pixar

Is bioteams a global trend?

Locations of visitors to this page

Get my new blogs on Twitter

follow ken.thompson at http://twitter.com

Newsletter

News Feed

Sign up for RSS   RSS Feed Subscription
        (What's RSS?)

10 Most popular posts

Recent posts

Archives

Download Browsealoud

Movable Type Content Management System Developed and Hosted by PRO IT Service

Swarnteams Completely Connected

Blog Directory