Today we have a guest post from Tom Drews. Tom is the CEO and Founder of What Works! Communications, a company that helps people to design and deliver effective virtual presentations. He is considered to be a leader in the field, and his clients include Google, Symantec, CLIF Bar, McKesson and Citrix Online. You can learn more about his programs at www.whatworks.biz.

Presenting and selling in the virtual environment is the wave of the future! It can be an incredibly effective means of communicating both your message and your value. That said, it will mean next to nothing if you can't effectively engage them. And that is the number one challenge we face when presenting online. What follows are ten best practices for engaging your prospect when using GoToMeeting, or any comparable platform.

Know Your Platform Well

In my early days, I inadvertently kicked 150 people out of a meeting, crashed my computer, and kept an audience waiting for eight minutes while I figured out how to push the start button. Learn from my mistakes and know your platform inside and out! Practice makes perfect. Make dry runs and call support when necessary, and be sure to look for an easy-to-use solution.

Present Value Throughout

The biggest mistake I see sales people make is not presenting value. You may have the greatest product or service in the world, but it will mean next to nothing if you can't effectively communicate your value based on your prospect's most important needs. The very small percentage of virtual sales presentations that hold prospects' attention are those that deliver genuine value based on the audience's most important needs. Connect with your prospect in advance to learn more about their situation, the problems they face, the impact those problems are having on their business, and their needs.

Grab Your Audience's Attention

Most people begin their presentations with an agenda, or by talking about themselves. This is painfully boring. We have to grab the prospect's attention right from the start, or else we may lose them forever. Start with a provocative question, a personal story, a quote, or an interesting fact. My favorite way to start is by presenting the number one challenge that my prospect faces, and then showing how solved the same problem for another customer. Be sure to add engaging visuals, photos or graphics to help support your point.

Keep Your Slides Simple

At least 95% of the presentations I see are crammed with text. Here's the problem with this: We are naturally designed to read what's in front of us, and while you're reading what's on the screen, you're not paying attention to what I have to say. I suggest breaking complex slides into several different slides, and adding visuals to support each point. You can also use a build, where you bring in points one by one. That way the audience isn't reading ahead. And if you absolutely have to keep your slides busy, then at the very least use the annotation tools to help draw attention to what you want your prospect to focus on.

Add Some Hollywood

Instead of designing a dull PowerPoint® presentation, imagine yourself as the writer, director, producer and actor of your own Hollywood production. An Academy Award-winning film consists of thousands of images strung together to tell a story. Apply this approach to your virtual presentations. How can you add photos and other visuals to help you tell your story and illustrate your points? For an example of how to present Hollywood, feel free to view our recorded webinar at www.whatworks.biz under the "event" tab. For stock photos, www.istockphoto.com is my favorite resource.

Make the Most of Your Voice

When presenting online, we don't have the luxury of connecting with eye communication, our bodies, and movement. All we really have to work with are our visuals and our voice. So we have to make the most of it. There are many elements of voice, including volume, tone, inflection, pace and articulation. Record your Web presentations, and then play it back for yourself or others so you can collect feedback and make an honest assessment of your voice. I don't recommend using a cell phone, but I do suggest using a headset connected to a landline.

Eliminate Distractions

I have polled literally thousands of people to learn what they find most annoying when sitting in on virtual presentations, and distractions rise to the top of the list. If someone in the audience is making unnecessary noises, such as coughing, heavy breathing or burping, don't hesitate to mute them. Be conscious of your own background noise, as well. I've sat in on webinars and heard people doing dishes, dogs barking and people snoring. You want your prospect to focus on you, your message, and the value that you have to offer, and that is it.

Use Annotation Tools

Most Web conferencing platforms, such as GoToMeeting, provide annotation tools, which include pens, arrows, boxes, circles, laser pointers and more. The highlighter is one of the most useful tools. It is essentially a pen that allows you to highlight text and other images. Using annotation tools throughout your presentation will help to keep your attendees engaged and focused on your most relevant content.

Interact Often

When presenting virtually, we can't see our prospect, and they "know" that we can't see them. So they're free to do whatever they wish. Social Media and Email are some of the most common distractions nowadays. In order to keep our prospect from wandering, it is absolutely essential that we interact often. Most Web conferencing platforms provide interactive tools such as Polling, chat rooms and white boards, which are ideal for keeping larger audiences engaged. Interact with smaller audiences by asking questions and fielding questions throughout. My No. 1 strategy for interacting and engaging with smaller groups is to address people by their first names, and ask individuals if you're on track and covering their most important needs.

Stand and Deliver

Wearing a cordless headset connected to a landline will allow you to have your hands free, as well as your body. If you use a remote clicker, as you would when presenting in person, you can move about the room while advancing your slides. If frees up your energy so you can be your most enthusiastic self. I've witnessed some of the most successful sales people walking around and gesturing enthusiastically while delivering virtual sales presentations.

In conclusion, presenting in the virtual environment can be an incredibly effective way of communicating your message and your value to your audience. Focus on your value, add some "Hollywood," and keep them entertained. By doing so, you'll be sure to more effectively engage your audience and leave them with a message they won't forget! Of course, you will also shorten your sales cycle, beat the competition, and close more business.

Photo Credit: ShashiBellamkhonda

Okay, so I have returned from my workshifting train trip from NYC to Miami, and yes I am fully aware of how crazy that sounds.  I traveled on Amtrak for the duration of the trip using something that's called a USA Rail Pass.  Basically, you receive 8 segments in 15 days for just under 400 dollars, which considering how late I booked it, is a pretty good deal.  It was a total over over 60 travel hours.

Look, its no surprise that taking a train that distance will not be as time efficient as air travel.  However, I decided to take a train to mix things up a bit and investigate whether workshifting was indeed possible all the way up and down the East Coast.  

Now, for the question of whether I remained productive.  You know how when you get on a plane, you can just crank out work because there are no distractions?  Yeah, it was like that, except for 60 hours instead of six.  It was beautiful.

From a workshifters perspective, Amtrak trains are pretty solid.  They boast big, comfy chairs, probably the equivalent of First Class on most airlines.  They also have working outlets for each passenger so you can stay charged up at all times.  And of course, you can't beat the scenery.  No, the normal trains do not have WiFi, only some commuter trains do.  But I use Verizon Wireless broadband anyway which is built into my netbook.  I was very impressed with Verizon's service.  I had access to WiFi for the entire trip.  There were plenty of spots where I had no cell phone coverage on my T-Mobile Android device but was able to keep working on my netbook.

All in all, the trip was fantastic.  I was able to remain just as productive if not more so, while soaking up beautiful scenery, meeting some very interesting people and visiting some cool spots in the US.  I love experimenting and pushing the boundaries with workshifting because I believe we have reached a point (at least in most of the developed world) where work is truly what you do and not where you sit.  The ability to workshift is not just about productivity and connectedness, its about freeing yourself to take an adventure and bring your work along with you.  And that's exactly what I continue planning to do. :)

Since December 15, 2009, Melissa and I have been home for about 15 days.  Last week, we returned from a 91 day workshifting trip in Europe, and decided to ground ourselves in the East Village for a few weeks before our next adventure.  Problem: My little brother, who I call Boy, is graduating and he lives in Miami.

At this point, I am absolutely exhausted at the thought of another short haul flight.  So, I decide to do the only natural thing any workshifting nomad would do...take a train to Miami from New York City.

I just got a new netbook, and of course am rocking Verizon Wireless broadband card as usual.  I am actually curious to see if I can stay productive while traveling down the entire East Coast on an Amtrak.
P.S. The hashtag for this little experiment is #imonatrain.

I've been workshifting since before there was a term for it. I started back in the late 90s, when I convinced my office that I could manage most of my project details remotely. By the early 2000s, when the company where I worked acquired a new building, I even built workshifting (then called telecommuting) into the desk counts for the office space. Years later, I brought workshifting to my marketing company, New Marketing Labs , because my home is 67 miles away from my desk.

But recently, I picked up an office space closer to home because working out of coffeeshops was getting too disruptive. And in so doing, it gave me pause to reflect on the differences between being 100% nomad and having a desk. It also gives me a new way to workshift, so I'll share that, too.

The Immediate Stretch Out

The first thing I noticed upon getting an office is that I've stretched out my stuff again. I bought a second monitor right away (because living inside a laptop lid is restrictive). I had to buy all these "supplies" like an easel board and dry erase boards, so that I could have some "object permanence." When we're workshifting back and forth to different coffee shops, we can't do that kind of thing.



Oh, and I had to start thinking about refreshments and breaks, because when you're at a coffee shop, you're surrounded by things to snack on and drink, but in an office environment, especially if you've rented your own, there's nothing unless you bring it in.

New Benefits for Workshifting

One thing I noticed right away. The moment I had a desk in my office, I didn't want to be tethered to my cell phone all the time for communication. I turned on Skype right away (though I roll in invisible mode all the time). I'm also renewing my GoToMeeting and GoToWebinar usage (they're a client and the sponsor of this blog).

The benefit of having my office is that I'm not worried about all the loud noises and interruptions of others around me. It doesn't matter when the espresso machine runs, because there's not one in my office. So, I can use remote communications tools much more effectively here.

Having an office space away from my main office (but not a coffee shop) means that I can have more team-minded meetings again. Because I can use remote communications software, I can see everyone's frustrated heads more easily, and that sometimes helps (because nonverbal cues are important to better understanding).

Still a Nomad at Heart

I still have to leave this office behind sometimes. Not counting airports and hotel rooms, I still have to get out to coffee shops and bookstores sometimes. I can't stand too much silence. And hey, sometimes a change of locale helps the experience of thinking and understanding.

When all is said and done, there are benefits to having some kind of office space from time to time. Workshifting isn't about giving up offices entirely, nor is it about staying out there away from the mothership forever. What it is about are options. The more you can work in ways that best suit your role at work as well as your roles in life, the better it is for everyone.

2010 seems to have been the year mobile gadgets have really become ubiquitous. Smart phones, laptops and the like are no longer just for professional uses. It's hard to walk through a public facility anymore without seeing people of all ages on their smart phones and mobile computing devices. As workshifters you know that the majority of the weight in any of your carry on bags these days is at least 50% gadgets and devices. Well, mine is anyway. The biggest challenge all of these devices bring us on a daily basis is having the ability to access the information you need from any of them.

Today I'd like to talk about an app that I use all the time and has been a lifesaver on many occasions: Dropbox. Dropbox gives you the ability to access data across a multitude of devices and share that data with anyone you allow access to.

Last year at about this time I was speaking at one of the biggest events of my life. While traveling on the plane to the venue my laptop screen decided it was going to just stop working. No warning and no Apple store in sight when I landed. Luckily, I had placed my presentation in my Dropbox folder and had it stored safely up in the cloud. 15 minutes after landing I sent a message to the event promoter and asked if he might be able to lend me his computer to do my presentation. He was more than happy to help me out and within 20 minutes I had alleviated the stress of having to give my presentation without slides.

This is the magic of Dropbox. Heck, my wife is as far from a geeky gadget gal as anyone but loves the Dropbox app! We place photos of our 12 week old son in the secure Dropbox and she then has the ability to show them to anyone that asks via her Andriod based smart phone installed with the Dropbox app without taking up precious memory space.

Dropbox can serve a multitude of functions but really excels with the workshifting professional that wants to have important backups and files easily accessible from any device with internet access. Give it a try today. they have a free 1 Gig plan as well as some paid plans.

Let me know what you think of Dropbox!


Photo Credit: Akakumo

Wifi is great. Except when it isn't there. And it's usually when you need wifi the most that it's either not available or goes down.

But if you have a smartphone and a good data plan, you can can get around any wifi problems that you might encounter. How? By tethering your phone to your laptop.

Tethering?
Think of tethering as turning your smartphone into a high-speed modem for your laptop or netbook. It's easy to do, and can not only but a life saver but a sanity saver too. Tethering has enabled me to get information and deliverables to clients when the wireless I've been using has gone down.

Tethering involves connecting your smartphone to your laptop. That can be a physical connection using a cable (I know, how old school!) or making the connection using Bluetooth. Once attached, your phone's data connection acts like wifi.

Your connection speed will, as you've probably guessed, depend on your phone's signal strength. When you're getting four or five bars your Internet connection will be barely distinguishable from a good wifi link. On the other hand, if you're phone is only getting a couple of bars ... like molasses is a good way to describe the experience.

What you'll need
Obviously, you need a smartphone and a laptop. Keep in mind that not all smartphones support tethering. Ones that do include the iPhone, several models of BlackBerry, and most Android-powered phones.

Besides a phone, you'll need a 3G data plan. Anything else and you might not be able to tether. If you can, then you'll get speeds that rival dial up. If you're going to tether, make sure you have a data plan that gives you a lot of bandwidth; at least 5 GB a month.

You'll also need a USB cable to connect your smartphone to your laptop; the phone usually comes with one. This is a moot point if you're tethering over a Bluetooth connection.

You might also need to install drivers -- specialized software that allows your computer to interact with your phone -- on your computer. This isn't always necessary, but whether or not you'll need to install drivers will depend on your phone.

Explaining how to tether specific smartphones is outside the scope of this post. You can find some good tutorials here. And here's an overview to tethering an Android-powered phone running the latest version of the operating system.

Drawbacks
Yes, there are a few. The biggest one is that you can really burn through your data plan's bandwidth by tethering. Getting hit by additional charges, like a colleague of mine recently did, can really hurt your wallet.

While your phone is tethered, you can't make or receive calls. Any calls will be shunted to your voicemail.

Finally, if you use Bluetooth to tether your phone to your laptop that will really speed up the drain on the battery for both your phone and your laptop. Using a USB cable isn't too bad -- taking this route will charge your phone.

Overall, though, the benefits of tethering a smartphone to a laptop outweigh the disadvantages. As long as you do it sparingly, tethering can be a great addition to any workshifter's toolkit.

What are your experiences with tethering?


Photo credit: .shock from Photoxpress

As a sales engineer at Citrix I spend a good deal of my time working with customers as they investigate our desktop virtualization technologies.This means I rarely work from the same location for more than a day or two at a time. I definitely consider my home office my primary workplace, but I could just as easily be at our local corporate office, a customer's office, one of our partners' offices, or camped out at the nearest Panera or Starbucks in between meetings. It's pretty obvious I'm a workshifter and I love the lifestyle, but even better is that I get to work with some of the best technologies for enabling workshifting.

I'm regularly brought into meetings to discuss topics like device mobility, desktops and applications that roam with the user and secure remote access solutions. Most of the time my customers are trying to target a specific problem area like disaster recovery, supporting their branch office desktops ordealing with the increase inlaptop usage across the enterprise, but lately I've heard more and more questions about supporting mobile devices like smartphones or tablets. It probably doesn't hurt that I'm a heavy user of my iPadin meetings, but when you're dealing with hospitals, media companies, law firms, or accounting firms - to name just a few - it's no surprise to hear these types of devices are already showing up in their user communities. What's great is that I can show them how I leverage my iPad in conjunction with our internal implementation of desktop virtualization to work from anywhere. It's just as easy for them to implement a similar solution for their users.

They may not realize it, but the organizations that implement desktop virtualization are paving the way for workshifting to become a more widespread and accepted practice. They may be looking to solve a specific business problem, but in the process they're changing the very nature of how their users interact with and consume their desktops and applications for the better. Don't get me wrong, I'm in no way implying that desktop virtualization begets workshifting, but I honestly believe that as desktop virtualization usage expands within the enterprise, the rate of workshifting will also increase.

If you work for an organization that's implemented desktop virtualization, do you use it on a regular basis? Do you have secure remote access to your desktop or is it only used internally? I'd love to hear if you've been able to use it to workshift and how your experience went. I think the two are a perfect fit, but I want your feedback.


Photo Credit: Aranath

Gear. It's an essential part of workshifting. While you don't want to be that guy or gal, you do need to carry a few things with you when you're working away from the office. And I don't just mean a laptop or netbook or tablet, either.

Whether you carry a little or a lot when you workshift, a good bag for all of that gear is essential. Here are a few pointers for choosing the bag that's right for you.

Size matters

Up to a point, anyway. You're probably not carrying everything and a microwave oven. But you're also probably carrying more than just your smartphone and wallet.

Look for a bag that has enough room to carry the tools of your workshifting day. At the very minimum, the bag you choose should have space for a notebook or netbook computer, your phone and MP3 player, some physical files, a paper notebook and pens, and a USB flash drive or two. You might also want to make sure that the bag has space for a book (or an ebook reader), your wallet, a bottle of water or travel mug, and some snacks.

The bag itself should have as slim a profile as possible, though. I've lugged bulky bags around and they've been an inconvenience to me and to people on transit. Duffle bags are out, as a some backpacks - way too bulky. A good messenger or courier bag is a worth holding on to. More about this in a little while.

Accessibility

I don't know about you, but I usually need to get to the things in my bag in a hurry. Whether it's pulling out my wallet to pay for a hot chocolate at a cafe, putting away my netbook, whipping out a USB flash drive, or getting to my Moleskine and pen to jot down a note, I don't want to struggle with too many zippers or clasps.

A usable gear bag should have enough easy-to-access pouches of varying sizes - small for things like your wallet and phone, and larger for ... well, for larger items. Velcro covers or straps for those pouches make getting to what's in them easier.

Durability

No one like a bag (or anything else) that doesn't last. It's more than annoying; it adds another expense to your balance sheet. Over the years, I've owned a few bags that didn't last 12 months. Straps frayed and broke. The outer shell tore. Pockets wore out. And I'm careful (almost paranoid) when it comes to my stuff!

You're going to pay a premium for a durable bag. Even then, you're not always assured of getting one that will last. There are a few things to look at when choosing the right bag.
First, make sure that the fabric is thick but not heavy. Thin nylon doesn't cut it. In fact, it's easy cut. Heavier nylon is good, and it's lighter than canvas. Canvas, on the other hand, is tough and it's a lot more resistant to water than nylon.

Next, look at the zippers. Are they thin or thick? Plastic or metal? And how strongly are they stitched to the bag?

Versatility

Chances are you won't just use your gear bag for ... well, just lugging your gear. If that's the case, then the venerable laptop bag just doesn't cut it.

My gear bag (more on this in a moment) is also my carry on when I fly. And I use it as an overnight bag when taking short trips. So I need something that can carry my gear and my travel items. That means a bag that's big, but not too big, and durable.

A few choices

There are a lot of bags on the market. Here are a few that I recommend, based on all of the factors I discussed earlier.

My favorite, and the bag I use daily is the Carry On Travel Pack from Mountain Equipment Co-Op (a Canadian outdoor and gear retailer). I've used that bag daily for over five years, and it's been everywhere with me from around town, throughout Canada and the United States, and to China. Best of all, whenever I need to I can turn the Carry On into a backpack.

The Tom Bihn ID, while pricey ($140 USD), is well worth the price. If I wasn't so attached to my Carry On I'd seriously consider one of these. The ID big enough for a laptop and your other gear. It also has enough pouches for any and all of your accessories. The main portion of the bag is also well reinforced with foam, which will protect your laptop.

While the design isn't quite to my liking, I'm impressed with the Ogio Hip-Hop. Once again, it's a bag that has more than enough space for your gear and offers quick access to your phone, MP3 player, and even your laptop's AC adapter. There are also a pair of pockets on either side of the Hip-Hop for bottles of water or a travel mug.

What gear bag do you use? Share your favorites by leaving a comment.

Photo credit: fotolia © 2happy

Like many of you, my work consists of traveling in planes, trains, and cars, and staying in hotels of different varieties.

Some of the locations are stunning, and the landscapes are postcard perfect.  Other trips involve projects where I may not get to see the outside of the hotel, or client office space.
The research about the future of work presents us with a picture of an increasingly mobile workforce, working as "nodes on a network," and working on different projects, with different people, at an increasing faster pace.

A recent IBM report has been creating quite a buzz, has people thinking about the future of work and what will be important. The report states that "chief executives believe that -- more than rigor, management discipline, integrity or even vision -- successfully navigating an increasing complex world will require creativity."

Most of the work we do now, and into the future, requires us to think creatively, come up with new ideas, and work with new groups of people.

The challenge can often be --- how can we be creative, or stimulate our creativity if we are constantly moving, working, creating, and "on the road?"

I have found that travel can in fact spark creativity, and reflection. I have learned that long plane rides do not need to always be filled with a good book, or my carefully created playlists. TIME TO THINK can be gift.  I have found myself coming up with a new strategy idea for a client, or a new perspective about a personal challenge while thousands of feet in the air.
Social psychologists have discovered that creativity is not only a characteristic of the individual, but may also change depending on the situation and context.

For those of us who are "road warriors, virtual nomads," or have travel as part of our work, this is a reminder that in fact our lives can be great catalysts for the nurturing of creativity.  Many of us change the "situation and context" of our lives numerous times a week. Our mini-journeys although often challenging, can help us flex and develop our creative muscle.
Here are some suggestions for nurturing, finding, or strengthening your creativity while on the road.

A different seat, a change in plans, a different view: I have found that changing my preferred seat on a plane, or going down to hotel restaurant if I usually order room service, can literally change my view --- and maybe the way I see things. We create habits and routines, even on the road - and yet a change in our surroundings, can often spark new ideas. As often as I can, I try to walk around a city or town, and if possible get to a gallery or museum where I can see how others have viewed the world. (The Antoni Gaudi architecture in Barcelona Spain vividly comes to mind. On my first trip to Barcelona, I remember thinking "this is what can be created, if you do not allow things to constrain our thoughts." WOW.)

Creativity Toolkit: Blogs, Twitter, and TED Talks: I am a convert to the wonders of social media. Information, Inspiration, and virtual communities are part of benefits of social media. I have been far away from my "home base," and able to experience the benefits of a twitter friend's blog, blog radio, or webinar. I have been able to "tune in" to TED Talks, and feel like I have a front row seat to world class learning. ALL while "on the road."

YOUR notebook (Thank you Daniel Pink): One of the tips that has been most helpful for many of the students in my classes, has been the suggestion to carry a creativity notebook. Ideas, thoughts, "teachers," can come to us at many different times, in many places. A small creativity notebook allows us time to jot down our thoughts, or insights, and keep moving.

Mindfulness: The practice of mindfulness is one that encourages awareness  and focus. One of the most different experiences of my adult life, has been my participation in a Mindfulness retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh. I learned about the incredible power of deep breathing, meditation and mindfulness. This could be an article in itself...and could be in the future. There are many, many resources on mindfulness. I might suggest the work Thich Nhat Hang, and Jon Kabat Zinn.

"The World House" (Thank you Dr. King): I would not feel complete, if I did not mention the core of what I do for a living ...other people...different people...diverse people can also spark our creativity. Meeting different people, learning about their culture, country and history can bring our own level of learning and awareness to new heights.

Many of us ARE our "product," and out being able to think clearly, and be creative, is what we are expected to do. 

I challenge you to change your seat, take some quiet time, learn from someone else, and celebrate the creativity teachers that is in and around the spaces and places in our lives.

What do you think?


Photo Credit: Capt Piper