Apr
17
Recap: The First EA Toolbox Webinar
Filed Under Updates, Computer Skills, Communication | Leave a Comment
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For those of you who couldn’t join us, I wanted to let you know that last week’s webinar – Meet Me in Cyberspace: The 411 on Virtual Meetings (Part 1) – was a resounding success! I was joined by Maria Braune from RollCall Business Solutions who shared some of her extensive web conferencing knowledge with us. Some of the topics we covered were:
- Common conferencing terms – what they mean and when to use them
- Types of conferences – how they work and when each type would be appropriate
- Virtual meeting etiquette – all the things our mothers never taught us about playing nice on the web!
- Some things to look at when choosing a web conference provider – Maria offered some interesting insight into the difference between purchasing a “seat” and a “per minute rate”.
If you missed it and you’re feeling really bummed right now, you’re in luck! We recorded it and now you can watch it at your own leisure! Just download the file and watch it on your computer. Download Part 1: Meet Me in Cyberspace Webinar
(FYI - This download is a zip file so it may take a minute to save it to your computer. Once it’s downloaded, unzip it by right clicking on it and selecting “extract all”. Then, you will be able to select one of the items labeled “play” that corresponds to the media player you want to use. There is a minute or so of “set up noises” before the session actually starts.)
RollCall has also provided us with a PDF that outlines the section on virtual meeting etiquette. So be sure to print that out and share it with the rest of the folks in your office. Download: PDF Conference Call Etiquette
And finally, RollCall is sponsoring Part 2 in this series, which is coming up on Thursday, April 24th at 2:00 EST. Register now!
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Apr
3
Meet Me in Cyberspace!
Filed Under Updates, Computer Skills | 2 Comments
Hi Everyone -
You may have noticed the new banner at the top of this page that is inviting you to join a free webinar hosted by Rollcall. I wanted to tell you a little about this and how it came to be.
It seems that recently, I’ve gotten a huge amount of email from readers asking me to dive into the topic of virtual meetings. It’s becoming such an important part of our everyday work routine – setting them up, participating in them, etc – and there are still so many questions out there. What exactly is a webconference? How is it different from a webinar, or a teleseminar, or a webcast? Which technology should I be using? And how the heck do I make it work?
Unfortunately, I’m not an expert. I tried to do some research on my own, gathering information on what services are out there and what it all means to us as office professionals, but I suddenly realized that there was just way too much. As we all know, technology is changing every day. So once I think I know something, I quickly learn that I really know nothing.
And that’s when I met Maria Braune – a shining beacon of hope in the dark, murky waters of the virtual meeting ocean. Maria works with Rollcall Business Conferencing Solutions and that, my friends, makes her an expert. So, I asked Maria if she had any advice for my readers. And being a virtual meeting expert she replied, “Of course I do! Why don’t we do a webinar?”
Brilliant!
And so our webinar was born: “Meet Me in Cyberspace: The 411 on Virtual Meetings” is the answer we’ve all been looking for. This meeting, sponsored by Rollcall, will be hosted by me and Maria. We plan on addressing all of the questions you have on virtual meetings – what they are, how they work, and how to choose the best type for your needs. Maria will also be sharing some “best practices” so you’ll never wonder about virtual meeting etiquette again.
If you have a burning question you want to make sure gets answered, shoot me an email and we’ll work it in. And be sure to sign up for the webinar – it’s easy and it’s free. Be sure to tell your office buddies about it too. Everyone should benefit from this valuable information.
The first part is on Thursday, April 10th at 2:00 pm Eastern time. We’ll also be hosting a Part 2 a few weeks after. Sign up now!
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Aug
8
E-mail etiquette is such a popular topic these days, there’s been entire books written on the subject. Sure, most of us know that writing in ALL CAPS is the equivalent of SHOUTING over e-mail. And yes, some people still do it. If you’re one of them, please stop. I’m begging you. But there are so many things people do wrong over email. Most of us think we’re pretty good at getting our “tone” across in writing. The fact of the matter is, it’s a lot more difficult than we think. Because of that, e-mail communication can actually cause a lot of misunderstanding, confusion, and frustration. In real terms, that can mean lost dollars and angry clients in the business world. Below are 5 mistakes I’ve personally made. I hope that, by bringing these to light, I can help prevent some of you from making the same mistakes. And, as always, I ask you to add on your personal e-mail etiquette mistakes in the comments section. Go ahead - share and unburden yourself!
1. Taking an overly familiar and too casual tone.
Example: Hi Mark, I wanted to schedule a meeting for you with James next week. How does Thursday look for you? Let me know when you can. Thanks! Take Care, Chrissy.
Ok, that’s fine if you’re friends with Mark. If you’re not and Mark is a client or business associate, this is way to informal and it just makes you look very unprofessional. Try sprucing it up a bit, especially if you are initiating the e-mail conversation. Once you see how they respond, you can mirror their style.
Example: Dear Mr. Smith, I’d like to schedule a meeting for you with James Edwards in the near future. He has some time available on Thursday. Please let me know if this would work for you and, if so, what time you would like to meet. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you for your time. Most Sincerely, Christine Clayton.
Reply: Hi Christine, Thursday is fine. Please put me down for 2:00. Thanks! Mark
Reply: Hi Mark, Thanks for the quick reply! Thursday at 2:00 is perfect. We’ll see you then. Chrissy
2. CC’ ing too many people (or the same person too many times).
Only CC the people who really need to know what the email is about. You don’t want to flood your boss’s inbox with things he’s not really concerned about. When I first started, I wanted to show my boss that I was doing what he asked me to do so I always sent him a copy of my emails. Then, the responder always hit “reply all” and before he knew it, he was getting multiple emails that had no action required for him. Eventually, he was totally annoyed with seeing all my correspondence and I had to stop. I only do it now for critical things that he may need to know I’ve corresponded on or things he has to take action on.
3. Trusting the computer SPAM filter.
My computer, like most, throws random email into the junk file at its own discretion. I’ve found important messages in there months after they were sent. It’s like the Bermuda Triangle for email. I check it every day now without fail. There is just too much chance for huge problems to ensue. If you have a SPAM filter, which I think we all do at this point, sometimes the computer is just not smart enough to know what’s junk and what’s not. Double check it. There’s no harm to it.
4. Sending Email Instead of Talking.
Be careful not to fall into the trap of sending email instead of having a real face to face conversation. Building strong social networks at work is important and it just can’t be done over email. As my boss says, “Wear out the carpet!”. That means, don’t be shy about going to visit people’s offices with your questions. Talking face to face gets the point across much easier and much faster most of the time. Send it in email if you need a paper record of the conversation. Otherwise, talk and get to know your co-workers. It makes work more fun and it improves communication immensely. Likewise, if you find yourself writing a page long email to a client, stop and pick up the phone instead.
5. Sending the right email to the wrong person (and vice versa).
Watch out for that “auto-fill” feature that fills in the address of the person the computer thinks you’re sending a message to. Computers are dumb. Don’t forget that. But if you don’t double check the computer, you’re dumb too.
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