John Niland: Building Trust Remotely 28th June

When it comes to conveying credibility and building trust, we have a host of non-verbal resources in a face-to-face meeting: facial expression, dress-code, posture, eye-contact etc. But what about a teleconference? Or a crucial telephone call with a person we may never have met? Or a colleague we only see infrequently?

In this call John Niland (www.success121.com) will illustrate some of the classic pitfalls in a light-hearted way, and will talk about the real-life consequences (good and bad) that follow from how professionals use this vital medium.

You may want to catch up on this session for the simple reason that many professionals are unaware of how they come across … which in turn creates a lot of frustration when they don’t “connect” with colleagues and prospects.

Typical Feedback: By far the best was John Niland. He delivered a basis that works for all. Understanding the “audience” and developing trust are the very difficult credibility criteria. His “value-centred” approach is first class.

Nancy Settle-Murphy: Navigating Across Cross-Cultural Tripwires 29th June

It’s tough enough to get a handle on the cultural differences that can get in the way of successful virtual collaboration. But when people work from a distance, in the absence of vital visual cues, addressing and accommodating cultural differences becomes exponentially more difficult.

In this lively session, Nancy Settle-Murphy (www.guidedinsights.com) highlights the cultural differences that most often impede successful virtual collaboration, and offers practical tips and tools listeners can apply to their own unique situations, regardless of the cultures.

Typical Feedback: Nancy’s discussion on cultural tripwires was wonderful. It would be worth hearing again. Provided specific practical tips.

John Flynn: Tools for Successful Virtual Working 30th June

John is based in SanFrancisco with Ring2, a multinational conference call provider. He’ll summarise the technology solutions that are available to virtual teams, giving the pro’s and cons of each in terms of features, benefits, costs and complexity/simplicity. In addition, he’ll introduce some client “case studies”  including Doug Arbulu of Bain and Company, who will outline the mix of tools they’ve deployed and why.

Typical Feedback: I would like to hear John Flynn and Doug Arbulu again. The practical advice from John Flynn and Doug Arbulu was great, so more from all of these would be good.

Jean Binder: Communication on global projects 1st July

Jean Binder is the award-winning author of ‘Global Project Management’ . He is a certified project manager (PMP) and has more than 20 years of experience working in project environments, most of them living abroad and communicating in multi-cultural and multi-language environments. Jean has particular experience of managing global projects, having implemented collaborative tools and techniques in a number of global organizations. The Global Project Management Framework developed during his academic studies is explained on the website GlobalProjectManagement.org.

Typical feedback: A really relevant and interesting session. I think it brings us back into the reality of managing a diverse workgroup across geographies.

Pete Bennett: The seven dirty tricks you must be aware of before choosing your audio and web conferencing partners 2nd July

Pete Bennett is a serial entrepreneur and founder of of Ozone Conferencing in the UK, which provides audio and web conferencing services to organisations as diverse as major banks, government departments, universities, ladies knitting circles and boy scouts.

Unlike Remington’s Victor Kiam who famously liked his shaver so much he ‘bought the company’, Bennett hated the conference company he was using so much that he decided to set up his own!

During the call he’ll be sharing some of the practices which conferencing companies can use to inflate their profits at your expense and providing you with simple countermeasures to ensure you get the best deal – whoever you choose as your supplier.

Typical Feedback: Great practical advice on the things to look out for when choosing virtual working technology.

Gareth Kane: Sustainability and Virtual Working 6th July

Enlightened companies are finding that a robust green reputation can help them win new business, recruit and retain better staff and cut costs. Virtual working has a huge potential to cut carbon emissions through reduced business travel, which can account for 25% of many companies’ carbon footprint. Sustainability consultant and author Gareth Kane (www.terrainfirma.co.uk) will discuss how virtual working can cut carbon emissions and how those benefits can be sold to your clients, employees and the general public. His book ‘The Three Secrets of Green Business’ was published by Earthscan in 2009.

Typical Feedback: I found Gareth’s talk really interesting, both in terms of the main content and little snippets I picked up, Thank you Gareth and Penny.

Elizabeth Harrin: Social Media and Virtual Teams 7th July

You probably already have a raft of techniques to manage your virtual team, so what value can social media tools add? In this session, Elizabeth Harrin (www.pm4girls.co.uk) will look at the different types of social media tools that can help you keep your team on the same page, such as wikis. We’ll also look at four challenges of managing virtual teams and how social media tools can address these.

Join this session and cut through the hype about social media: it won’t solve all the problems of working with virtual teams, but this overview will give you an insight into how you can tap into new technology to equip yourself for managing teams in the 21st Century.

Elizabeth is the author of ‘Project Management in the Real World’ and is has just finished a book on social media for project managers.

Typical Feedback: Elizabeth Harrin was excellent! Would listen again to her. The talk has triggered several ideas about keeping every one informed.

Lothar Katz: Negotiating Internationally 9th July

In formal contract negotiations and informal team discussions, international collaboration frequently requires negotiating and influencing across distances, time zones, language barriers, and cultural differences. The challenges are considerable. How do you reach agreement with a foreign client without giving away too much value? How do you steer your faraway project team’s decisions without burning bridges and losing allies? How can you overcome emotional barriers and pushback from a foreign colleague? And most importantly, how is any of this done when you cannot meet the person face to face?

In this call, author and international negotiation expert Lothar Katz (www.leadershipcrossroads.com) explores conceptual, cultural, ethical, and practical aspects of remote business negotiations. He also discusses the limitations of negotiating virtually, which with some cultures can be hard and even impossible to do successfully. Author of “Negotiating International Business”

Typical Feedback: I thought Lothar Katz was exceptionally inspiring and would like to hear him again. Lothar Katz with the intercultural hints was great to listen to.

Penny Pullan: Conference Calls Made Easy 8th July

Penny will give you a whole range of hints and tips to help you make your calls even more effective. Starting from the moment you decide to meet by conference call, right through to when the call is over and actions need to be done, you’ll hear horror stories from other people and how you can avoid the pitfalls they faced.

Typical Feedback: I found the session on practical conference calls very useful. I liked the specific practical tips provided.