Common Fears While Setting Up Video Conferencing for the First Time

Unless you are a natural public speaker, which most of us are not, preparing for a meeting can be a very nerve-wracking experience. In fact, public speaking is the number one fear among Americans. Because of this, there is a lot of information freely available online about how to overcome fears concerning traditional presentations and meetings. Recently, however, meetings via video conferencing have become more popular, and there is not much information available that is specifically about the hang-ups such remote meetings cause. There certainly should be, because not only do you have to deal with all the normal fears people have when preparing for a meeting, but you might also worry about issues the video conferencing format may seem to bring with it. There is no need to fear, though. To demonstrate this, we have compiled a list of the top fears associated with setting up a video conference meeting.

• Camera-Shyness – A very high percentage of people are very worried by the prospect of being put on camera in front of a group of strangers. They are worried they will be overly scrutinized and that they will underperform. The truth is that this is a business meeting, not a movie audition. Your audience do not look for or care about how charismatic you are or how natural you seem when you are delivering the goods. Just like in a face-to-face business meeting, the only things that really matter are the professionalism with which you handle your presentation and the data itself. In short, you are not on show here, the information is, so stop worrying about how you come across and just worry about making the content as good as it can be.
• A Messy Office – Lots of video conferencing presentations take place in employee offices, which are often dirty and/or cluttered. Many conference participants worry that they will be judged by the messiness visible in their video and that it might even distract from whatever is being said. Well, you don’t have to worry so much about it, because messy offices are a lot more common than you think, as I have seen from firsthand experience. Like we touched upon already, the bottom line in a business is the data, and good businesspeople will only focus in on that during a meeting, be it face-to-face, video conferencing, or otherwise. You may be very bothered by your messy office, because you are exposed to it for hours every day, but the participants of your remote conference will not be.
• Privacy Concerns – What with Myspace, Facebook, and other social media platforms that are entrusted with lots of personal information exploding in popularity over the past decade, leakage of that private information has become a big deal in the media. Some people who use video conferencing software have become inundated with fears from such stories and are afraid that their business information or video stream might be leaked during or after the presentation. The truth is that the sheer volume of hubbub about online services leaking personal data is a result of media sensationalism, and any actual leaks are extremely uncommon. As if that’s not enough, video conferencing service providers, who often deal with sensitive business information, take extra digital security measures to make sure your meeting’s contents will never be seen by anyone other than its intended audience.
• Overwhelmed by the Wealth of Interface Features – Certainly more so than face-to-face meetings, video conferencing services offer a large range of features that make sharing information more seamless and that allow participants to more thoroughly understand the information being communicated. All these features can be overwhelming to someone who is not well-versed in the software. For instance, most video conferencing clients offer the ability for participants to send instant messages to the presenter while he or she is talking in order to clarify given points. In such situations, it may be helpful to have an assistant or partner acting as a co-presenter that handles such queries or any minor issues that may arise. Other than that, make sure you are well-trained in the software and the features it offers. Thanks to extensive product testing, the programs are not as complicated as they look when they are actually being used.
• Equipment Malfunctions – Many businesspeople grew up in an era where computer technologies were not taken as seriously. This means they were not as well funded, not as exhaustively tested before release, and all-around less well-made. We are 15 years into the 21^st century, though, and making durable and problem free technology products in now a much bigger business, so don’t worry about malfunctions!

For years now, video conferencing services like Bluejeans have been assisting companies by allowing them to communicate more freely with their customers and each other. Prowess in technology communication is a huge part of what makes a modern business successful, and Bluejeans wants to help you see that achieving that goal is actually much less nerve-wracking than you think.