It’s all about the meeting….
For some reason, I’m just not good with remote controls. It doesn’t matter what the remote actually controls – VCRs, DVDs, TVs, stereos, you name it. The remote doesn’t seem to register my selections, or it doesn’t behave the way I expect (menu navigation is extremely troublesome for me – returning to the last screen instead of moving down in a list, for example), or I push the buttons so hard that I wear them out completely and render the remote unusable. And let’s not even try to talk about remotes that control multiple systems!!!
My most recent battle occurred yesterday when I was in a conference room trying to get our video conferencing system turned on. There were three of us in the room, and none of us was particularly video-savvy. I decided to be brave and attempt to use the variety of remotes sitting on the conference room table to get us into our meeting. Of course, I had my usual difficulty and after about 7 minutes, I was full of anxiety and frustration. We were late, and there was no time for my remote control fumbling. Unfortunately, no one else in the room seemed to have any better skills than me. The pressure was on! Miraculously, trying what seemed like the right button one more time finally got us to the conference. I sat wondering how many of our customers have the same challenges.
Conference calls, whether they are audio, video, or web, are supposed to be about the meeting, not about the equipment or technology. Conference calls are just virtual meetings, but, for me, joining a video conference was always a fear-inducing prospect! Anyway, I settled into the meeting, and although I’ve been in many video conferences previously (always making sure someone else had the responsibility for using the remotes), I was struck again by the effectiveness of being able to see and hear our colleagues overseas – to see them nodding along, to see hand gestures, facial expressions, etc. In the end, it WAS all about the meeting. The meeting was effective and informative. And I realized, that somehow I’ve got to emerge triumphant from my battle with the remote. Who knows, maybe I’ll even give desktop videoconferencing a try now!!!! So, for anyone else out there who avoids using video conferencing because of remote control issues (like me) or uncertainty about new technology or whatever else, I encourage you to give it another try. Good luck and happy meetings!