Thursday, November 16th, 2006

Working in Front of the Camera: How to Moderate and Present in Formal Videoconference (For Beginner

WBI Multimedia Center Interactive Television Producer Drew Stewart Gives VC Seminar

Do you freeze red-faced in front of the camera? Find yourself muttering inaudible comments? With videoconferencing increasingly becoming a part of our lives, you may have felt the need for a little advice on how to moderate and present a VC to make it as lively and interesting as possible.

Enter the GDLN's Mr.Drew Stewart,World Bank Institute Multimedia Center Interactive Television Producer based in Washington. With vast experience in television and broadcasting, Mr.Stewart has been with the GDLN since its inception and is uniquely qualified to show us how.

Currently on mission at the TDLC, Mr.Stewart conducted a Videoconferencing Seminar “Working in Front of the Camera: How to Moderate and Present in Formal Videoconference” on November 16, 2006, connecting the TDLC studio with JICA offices in Tokyo and Osaka. This Seminar was designed for moderators, facilitators, lecturers and training coordinators who are beginners, with limited VC experience.

“There are no rules to VCs” emphasized Mr.Stewart to participants at 3 sites, “Technology allows us to move around now, to try to bring people close to you” .

After explaining basic technology, Mr.Stewart gave tips for moderators. According to Mr.Stewart, the moderator does not need to be a subject matter expert, but must be comfortable, introduce the program, and stay calm if technical problems arise. It is better if they “broadcast”- warn participating sites in advance if they are to be called on for questions later, to avoid awkward stumbling. Never allow anyone to speak for more than 15 minutes, and a good script, or running order, is essential.

For presenters, Mr.Stewart suggested bringing in relevant material, such as magazine articles, that can be shown to the audience utilizing the document camera to add interest—that is, the edu-tainment factor— to the presentation. Drew cautioned that the font size for powerpoints should be a minimum of 28 points, and provided wardrobe suggestions—blue is best when in doubt.

“This is your opportunity to have fun!”. A mock-VC was called at the end of the lecture and participants were asked to make a 1 minute presentation each, which was videotaped and played back with comments by Mr.Stewart. Participants looked relaxed and seemed to enjoy themselves, talking about winter holiday trips and health tips.

Mr.Stewart will conduct a second workshop “How to Use Videoconference Technology in New Ways to Deliver a More effective Videoconference Session” on December 12, 2006 at the TDLC. This will be an advanced session for those who have previously moderated or participated in a multi-point videoconference and are familiar with the technology and necessary presentation skills. Please contact the TDLC at tdlcpp@worldbank.org for more information.