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There is a cornucopia of online tools that are gaining currency as we all spend more time working at home. For some having the opportunity to flex their technical credentials and demonstrate expertise driving a digital whiteboard is a dream come true. For others a new box of digital tools is approached with trepidation.
This is the first part of a series looking at the proliferation of collaboration tools and how to make sense of them all.
Here we will look at the high-level approach and provide our best advice:
In our next blog we will look at a range of common tools and try and categorise them into a framework, so you know where they all fit and what they are used for.
- Focus on what was important about the f2f/workshop/telephone/paradigm that you want to re-capture (and potentially improve upon) so that you can identify the right digital interface to replicate that focus
- What are you trying to achieve?: What you want to do first, it’s very easy to get carried away with all that’s on offer and to orchestrate a collaboration outcome that showcases “cool new things” rather than focusing on the desired business outcome
- Remember your audience: If you are using a new tool for the first time then chances are so are they. Much time can be lost (and so can the message) whilst all participants figure out how to drive a new piece of software. Factor this into your preparation and planning; consider providing some training in advance
- Be Prepared: If you don’t have previous experience with driving a particular tool e.g. zoom, then get some practice in first. Ordinarily when preparing a successful presentation advanced preparation is required, this is doubly true when making the presentation remotely
- Free trials: Most online tools offer a free or trial packages so you can shop around and see exactly how usable different solutions are. Take advantage.
- Tune in to Design Standards: Most communications software adheres to a standard navigation logic driven by decades of interface design refinement. Start to tune in more consciously to this logic and you will find it reaps dividends as you move from one tool to the next and your intuition improves
- Learn the Help Function: Good tools usually have great help & support– look for the Search Icon & click on it
- Ask Google to Help: Go to google and do a video search i.e. “How do I setup a zoom conference?”. Someone has done it before, and they can show you the tips and tricks in an easy to digest fashion. Remember there are no awards for spending hours figuring this stuff out by yourself, rather the pay off comes from acquiring toolset competence quickly and supercharging your remote collaboration.
In our next blog we will look at a range of common tools and try and categorise them into a framework, so you know where they all fit and what they are used for.