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Communicating Effectively over the Access Grid
Mary Fritsch, Argonne National LaboratoryAriella Rebbi, Boston University
Many Thanks
An earlier version of this training was developed for the SC Global Production Institute Thanks to Sherine Mansour, Sheridan College
Additional material is taken from Mary Fritsch’s tips for communicating over the AG, soon to be available on the AGDP web site http://www.accessgrid.org/agdp/
Pulled together by Jennifer Teig von Hoffman, Boston University
Today’s Agenda
IntroductionsBrief Access Grid Overview for SpeakersPersonal PerformanceEvent Facilitation TechniquesPractice Sessions
Please hold your questions; we’ve got a lot to cover, and will ask for questions at specific times by show of hands
The Access Grid (AG)
Group-to-group collaboration across high-performance networks Individual site installations often called “nodes”
Often used to support large-scale distributed meetings, collaborative work sessions, seminars, lectures, tutorials and trainingLarge events mean lots of planning and prep Smaller and/or less formal AG events often require
little if any planning and prep
AG Node Technical Support
Each AG node has some number of technical staff involved in each event, depending on the size of the node and the nature of the event As few as one, as many as five or
more
A Team at Each Node
All staff work closely together, especially if any issues arise during the course of the event (technical or otherwise) This is as true for speakers as for tech
staff This is true both of staff at a specific
node, and staff at all participating nodes Text-based backchannel (MOO) is used
for communication among staff
Who’s Your Audience?
Remember that your “virtual” audience is very much real. In some cases remote audiences vastly outnumber the audience which is physically in the same room with you.How is giving an Access Grid presentation different than just talking to a group of people in a room?
Making the Most of your Presentation (your link to your virtual
audience)
Maintain confidence; maintain camera “eye contact” (your connection to the outside) Work with your node’s technical staff to
ensure the camera is placed well
Speak clearly and slowly Work with your technical staff to learn
appropriate microphone use Don’t “eat the mic”
Use high-energy delivery!!!!!!!Watch for cues from your audience
Making More of Your Presentation
Pause if anything disrupts the event. Be sure to inform your “virtual” audience what is happening Work closely with your node’s support
staff if problems of any kind arise Your node’s support staff can convey
messages to remote audiences through their node’s staff (also by using back channels)
Communicating Effectively
Find ways to repeat who you are, your topic, and where you are speaking from to include all “late-comers”For somebody who has never been exposed to the AG it may be confusing to walk into a node with a talk in progress.
All speakers should learn the strengths and limitations of AG technologyWhich is part of what you’re doing today
Communicating Directly
Remember to tailor your presentation for the audience and group dynamics of the whole event, not just the people in your physical room Remember possible cultural
differences in audiences, since AG technology makes it possible to communicate globally.
Communicating Carefully (using and designing your dppt slides)
Design slides carefully, use legible fontsKeep presentations strong and simpleEnsure your PowerPoint slides are compatible with Distributed PowerPoint DPPT Guide available on the AGDP If in doubt, test slides locally using dppt
before event
Their Mileage May Vary
When designing presentation materials: Realize variance of screen sizes and
monitor colors across remote nodes Want to use something other than
PowerPoint? Talk to your local node staff – other options are available – BUT PLEASE – try and speak to them as early as possible so you can have ample time to set things up.
Virtually Motivate your Audience
Be animated, but stay in camera rangeAgain please remember possible cultural differences, and to whom you are speakingEliminate“um” from your vocabularyIn small- to medium-sized events, consider inviting audience participation and interactivityWatch your audience for visual cues
“What Should I Wear?”Visibility is important on the Access Grid
In general, avoid patterned, busy, or detailed clothingChoose solid, bright colors that will translate well over the AG technologyConsider your lighting (work with your production/technical team)Ensure there are no lights behind you or any source of lighting (such as a window)
Planning Ahead
We’ll cover several facilitation techniques today. When choosing one, ask yourself: What is the format of this event? How many people and sites will be
participating? How is this group accustomed to interacting? Which technique best fits my personal style?
As you become comfortable with the AG, you may have additional, excellent ideas to try
Common Sense Facilitiation Techniques
At the beginning of an event, let your event participants know how you’ll be handling questions and commentsThree recommended techniques: Just Speak Up Raising Hands Passing the Floor
Just Speak Up
In small meetings, it may be most appropriate for people to just speak up whenever they want to speakAG audio is pretty clear A sharp intake of breath tells you
somebody wants to say something
This usually feels quite natural, but important to make it explicit
Raising Hands
Good for many medium-sized meetingsAsk people to raise their hands, and wait until recognized by the chairperson before they speak Relatively intuitive, since people are
accustomed to doing this in many settings
With this facilitation strategy, it is crucial that all participants can easily be seen in video streams
Management Through the MOO
Frequently used, but we do not generally recommend it Not transparent to meeting participants Relies heavily on node operators – we feel
that meeting participants should be able to communicate freely without assistance
The MOO is a text-based backchannel used by AG node operators for communications during any given AG event
Managing Through the MOO
Node operators manage questions in two ways: Asking questions by proxy through the
MOO Notifying node staff of questions through
the MOO which are then requested through the public channel
Always should be planned in close collaboration with your local node staff
Passing the Floor (a great technique for large events)
Recommended for large, formal eventsOne AG site in each event is considered the “main” site Usually the site with the main speaker or
largest audience Sites which are not “main” are “remote”
Each site needs a Master of Ceremonies (MC) A Speaker may double as an MC
Passing the Floor
At any given time, one site has “the floor”The MCs work together to pass the floor around to each site in turnEach site needs (their own) strategy for local management of questions Raising hands Standing in line at a microphone etc, etc. . .
A Basic Example: Facilitating a Lecture
Four participating sites: Main: A Remote: B Remote: C Remote: D
In this example, the Speaker will double as the Master of Ceremonies at site A
Lecture Facilitation
Speaker/MC at Site A explains that questions will be solicited from sites in the following order: A, B, C, D …
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
Speaker/MC at site A solicits questions from local audience at Site A
Please note that some protocol will be in place at each local site for how to indicate that one has a question, ie by raising one’s hand or lining up at a microphone
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
Site A Speaker/MC “passes the floor” to Site B MC
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
Site B MC solicits questions from local audience at Site B; Site A Speaker/MC answers them in turn
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
When all questions have been answered, Site B MC “passes the floor” back to Site A Speaker/MC
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
The Site A Speaker/MC next “passes the floor” to the Site C MC
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
The MC at Site C solicits questions from the local audience at Site C, which the Speaker/MC at Site A answers in turn
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
The MC at Site C“passes the floor” back to the Site A Speaker/MC. . .
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
. . . Who in turn “passes the floor” to the Site D MC, for Site D local audience’s local questions, which the Speaker/MC at Site A answers in turn
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
And finally, “the floor” is returned to the Speaker/MC at Site A
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
The Speaker/MC at Site A thanks all MCs and audiences, and closes the event.
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Practice is Important!
Practice before an event if: The event involves a large number of participants
(say, 50+), or a large number of participating sites (say, 8+), or most sites are new
The event is high-visibility, or high-pressure
Once you get the hang of it, you won’t need to practice as oftenToday we’ll practice the most complicated technique we’ve discussed: Passing the Floor
Volunteers Please
Four sites: Main Site A, with Speaker/MC and
audience Remote Site B, with MC and audience Remote Site C, with MC and audience Remote Site D, with MC and audience
Any other sites will simply observe
How We’ll Practice
We will run through the lecture example which we saw earlier Italicized notes on each slide give detail
on what should happen at each step Suggested topic: Your Favorite Dessert
I will now “pass the floor” to the MC/Speaker at Site A so they can begin the practice session
Lecture Facilitation
Speaker/MC at Site A explains that questions will be solicited from sites in the following order: A, B, C, D …
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
Speaker/MC at site A solicits questions from local audience at Site A
Please note that some protocol will be in place at each local site for how to indicate that one has a question, ie by raising one’s hand or lining up at a microphone
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
Site A Speaker/MC “passes the floor” to Site B MC
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
Site B MC solicits questions from local audience at Site B; Site A Speaker/MC answers them in turn
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
When all questions have been answered, Site B MC “passes the floor” back to Site A Speaker/MC
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
The Site A Speaker/MC next “passes the floor” to the Site C MC
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
The MC at Site C solicits questions from the local audience at Site C, which the Speaker/MC at Site A answers in turn
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
The MC at Site C“passes the floor” back to the Site A Speaker/MC. . .
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
. . . Who in turn “passes the floor” to the Site D MC, for Site D local audience’s local questions, which the Speaker/MC at Site A answers in turn
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
And finally, “the floor” is returned to the Speaker/MC at Site A
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Lecture Facilitation
The Speaker/MC at Site A thanks all MCs and audiences, and closes the event.
MAINA
REMOTEC
REMOTED
REMOTEB
Practice Over
The Speaker/MC at Site A should now pass the floor back to me to conclude the practice session
We Need Your Feedback
http://scv.bu.edu/accessgrid/seminars/eval.htmlLet us know if you’re interested in leading other seminars too!