1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,160 Speaker 1: Have you sat in a video meeting in the last 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: twenty four hours? Was it super enthralling? Did you not 3 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:11,280 Speaker 1: want it to end? I'm imagining that your answer is 4 00:00:11,440 --> 00:00:15,800 Speaker 1: probably a big, fat no. Let's face it, most of 5 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 1: us are suffering from death by zoom. And despite the 6 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:23,760 Speaker 1: fact that the average video meeting goes for forty five minutes, 7 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: research by Microsoft suggests that brain fatigue sets in at 8 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:32,160 Speaker 1: about the thirty minute mark. This is not ideal, especially 9 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: when our days are filled with back to back video meetings. 10 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:38,479 Speaker 1: So today I want to share with you some tools 11 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: for making video meetings suck a little bit less. My 12 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:50,280 Speaker 1: name is doctor Ramatha Inba. I'm an organizational psychologist and 13 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:54,600 Speaker 1: the founder of behavioral science consultancy Inventium, and this is 14 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: how I work, show about how to help you do 15 00:00:58,120 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: your best work. So let's get into my favorite tools 16 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:09,279 Speaker 1: for having better video meetings. My favorite app right now 17 00:01:09,440 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: for dramatically improving video meetings is mm hm. Yes that's 18 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:20,600 Speaker 1: right spelt mmmm slightly confusing. So mm hmm is a 19 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:24,480 Speaker 1: really easy to use version of OBS, which is something 20 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 1: that only the total nerds like me will have heard of. 21 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:31,039 Speaker 1: So on OBS with a lot of training, you can 22 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:34,200 Speaker 1: configure your video screen in a way that you can 23 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: resize yourself, add things into the background, and do things 24 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: like show slides while you're in the foreground and the 25 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,640 Speaker 1: slides are in the background. It's very cool, but it's 26 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,200 Speaker 1: very complicated, and personally I have not been able to 27 00:01:48,280 --> 00:01:51,160 Speaker 1: learn how to use it, not that I've dedicated much 28 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:53,400 Speaker 1: time to doing so, but my dad, who is a 29 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:57,440 Speaker 1: tech wizard, did, and I think because it was so complex, 30 00:01:57,640 --> 00:02:00,840 Speaker 1: I was never motivated enough to actually use regularly. But 31 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 1: when I discovered m HM, it's basically the idiot's version 32 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:09,079 Speaker 1: of OBS. So why I love it so much. One 33 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 1: of my pet hates about doing presentations in virtual meetings 34 00:02:12,600 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: or doing virtual keynotes, which I do almost every week, 35 00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: is that the slides end up taking up the whole 36 00:02:19,480 --> 00:02:22,920 Speaker 1: screen and the human in this case me ends up 37 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: being the size of a postage stamp. And when I 38 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: think about presentations, like you're connecting human to human, and 39 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,240 Speaker 1: when you can't really see the human that is talking 40 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:34,680 Speaker 1: to you and you can only see their slides, you 41 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,760 Speaker 1: lose a lot of that connection and that empathy and 42 00:02:37,880 --> 00:02:42,000 Speaker 1: report that comes from doing face to face presentations. So 43 00:02:42,080 --> 00:02:44,359 Speaker 1: the thing I like most about is that you can 44 00:02:44,440 --> 00:02:46,960 Speaker 1: have your slides in the background and you can be 45 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:51,080 Speaker 1: in the foreground on the same screen. So it says, 46 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: if you're just doing a normal presentation and you've got 47 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:56,359 Speaker 1: slides on the wall behind you, just like you would 48 00:02:56,400 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: in a real life scenario, and look, then there are 49 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:02,639 Speaker 1: these other fun things that you can do with m 50 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:06,840 Speaker 1: Like there are lots of different virtual backgrounds, some of 51 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: which are animated, which is kind of fun, although possibly distracting. 52 00:03:11,000 --> 00:03:14,399 Speaker 1: You can easily resize yourself, make yourself bigger or smaller, 53 00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 1: you can reposition yourself on the screen, and there are 54 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,760 Speaker 1: different visual effects that you can add in and it's 55 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: really really awesome. So it's something that I'm now planning 56 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:26,480 Speaker 1: on using whenever I do virtual keynote presentations, which is 57 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:28,960 Speaker 1: about once a week, and I'm also going to use 58 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:31,679 Speaker 1: it in meetings where I need to be sharing slides 59 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,359 Speaker 1: as well and still want to make sure there's that 60 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: human connection. So check out HM which is mm hmm 61 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:42,119 Speaker 1: dot app. I'll link to that in the show notes 62 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:45,240 Speaker 1: as well. Okay, something else that I've been loving for 63 00:03:45,280 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 1: doing better virtual presentations in meetings is using a combination 64 00:03:50,000 --> 00:03:53,800 Speaker 1: of Google slides and integrating that with slide o. So 65 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:59,240 Speaker 1: Slider you can find Slider at sli dot do and 66 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:03,320 Speaker 1: Google Slides you just google that and slider might be 67 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:06,360 Speaker 1: something that you've experienced in conferences, normally in the form 68 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: of a mobile app where you can vote on poles 69 00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:11,640 Speaker 1: or do q and eight all from me mobile phone. 70 00:04:11,920 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: And what I found is that Google Slides and Slider 71 00:04:15,360 --> 00:04:20,080 Speaker 1: integrate really, really well, and the combination creates an awesome 72 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:23,839 Speaker 1: way to make sure your presentations are super interactive. So, 73 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:26,800 Speaker 1: for example, if you want to integrate poles into a 74 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:29,760 Speaker 1: meeting with slider and Google slides, you can actually see 75 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:33,600 Speaker 1: the results coming up live on the screen that you're sharing. 76 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: So I reckon this is really fun, particularly for presentations 77 00:04:36,839 --> 00:04:39,720 Speaker 1: or larger meetings where you're looking for points of interaction 78 00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:43,599 Speaker 1: and engagement. And let's face it, any meeting could do 79 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:46,480 Speaker 1: with a little bit more interaction engagement, I think most 80 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:48,960 Speaker 1: of the time. So I strongly recommend checking that out. 81 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,559 Speaker 1: I know I've enjoyed that a lot. Now, a final 82 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:55,480 Speaker 1: thing that I'll recommend is really useful for making your 83 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:59,240 Speaker 1: virtual backgrounds look great, because let's face it, virtual backgrounds, 84 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 1: which so many people use, can look a bit rubbish. If, 85 00:05:03,160 --> 00:05:06,120 Speaker 1: for example, you have dark hair like I do, and 86 00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:08,159 Speaker 1: you have a chair that has a high back that 87 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: is also dark. Virtual backgrounds don't like this because it 88 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:14,840 Speaker 1: makes it hard to distinguish between what's the human and 89 00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,400 Speaker 1: what's the inanimate object or objects in the background that 90 00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:20,520 Speaker 1: you're trying to disguise with a virtual background. So I 91 00:05:20,680 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: found this really cool thing that is a green screen, 92 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:25,480 Speaker 1: but not your normal green screen, not one that's going 93 00:05:25,520 --> 00:05:28,560 Speaker 1: to take over your entire study. So essentially, if you 94 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:31,479 Speaker 1: imagine a big circle about two meters in diameter that 95 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:34,599 Speaker 1: literally attaches through velcrob onto the back of your office chair, 96 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 1: and if you're sitting close enough to your computer, which 97 00:05:37,120 --> 00:05:40,279 Speaker 1: you probably are based on how most people position themselves, 98 00:05:40,320 --> 00:05:42,920 Speaker 1: it actually acts as a green screen, which means there'll 99 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 1: be a high contrast between you as the human and 100 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:48,120 Speaker 1: the background. So if you're using virtual backgrounds in your meetings, 101 00:05:48,200 --> 00:05:51,360 Speaker 1: they're going to come up a whole lot clearer. And 102 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:53,880 Speaker 1: to take this a step further, if you're using the 103 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:57,400 Speaker 1: m app to share slides or deliver presentations and you 104 00:05:57,520 --> 00:06:00,920 Speaker 1: use the virtual backgrounds included in that as you should, 105 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:05,159 Speaker 1: it means that it looks super clean and professional. So 106 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:09,799 Speaker 1: those are three things that I have found to be really, 107 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:13,599 Speaker 1: really brilliant for creating better video meetings and presentations. And 108 00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:15,919 Speaker 1: you know, specifically when you are presenting slides in a 109 00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:18,080 Speaker 1: meeting or if you're doing a presentation to a group 110 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaker 1: of people, it makes for an infinitely better experience. That 111 00:06:22,760 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 1: is it for today's show. Now, if you've been loving 112 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:30,559 Speaker 1: How I Work and need something else for your podcast fix, 113 00:06:30,800 --> 00:06:35,760 Speaker 1: you might also enjoy Mum and MEA's podcast Lady Startup Stories. 114 00:06:36,400 --> 00:06:39,880 Speaker 1: Each week, Georgia Love, who you might remember from The Bachelorette, 115 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 1: sits down with female entrepreneurs to ask how they built 116 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 1: their businesses. Georgia was recently joined by Nicole lu the 117 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: founder of kin Fertility, which is an online service that 118 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:53,640 Speaker 1: brings the contraceptive pill to your door. 119 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 2: How call that? 120 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:59,599 Speaker 1: So they talk career pivots, disrupting a very regulated industry, 121 00:06:59,760 --> 00:07:03,159 Speaker 1: and what it's like being a female founder at twenty five. 122 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: Take a listen to this excerpt. 123 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:08,000 Speaker 2: I think one of the first main things I would 124 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 2: have loved to know and just like be mentally prepared for, 125 00:07:11,240 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 2: was that not everyone is gonna like you. I think 126 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:17,320 Speaker 2: growing up, I've always been a people pleaser, and I think, 127 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:19,800 Speaker 2: like I've always wanted to like get everyone to love me. 128 00:07:20,080 --> 00:07:22,160 Speaker 2: And I think like when you launch something out into 129 00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:24,239 Speaker 2: the wild, you actually just have to learn to accept 130 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:26,200 Speaker 2: that not everyone is going to be your customer or 131 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 2: not everyone is going to be the person that needs 132 00:07:28,520 --> 00:07:31,480 Speaker 2: your brand, especially when we launch the pill, Like no, 133 00:07:31,760 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 2: not everyone actually is even for the pill. But we're 134 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 2: not actually trying to sell the pill. We're just trying 135 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:37,800 Speaker 2: to so like a way to access it if you 136 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 2: need it. I guess what keeps me going is like 137 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:41,800 Speaker 2: seeing the reviews of like the lives were changing, and 138 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:45,000 Speaker 2: like how much it's impacting people, And that's what I 139 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 2: have to keep focusing on rather than the people who 140 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:50,400 Speaker 2: are like will just never actually need this. 141 00:07:51,040 --> 00:07:54,200 Speaker 1: You can listen to Ladies Startup Stories with Georgia Love 142 00:07:54,320 --> 00:07:58,000 Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts. So that is it for 143 00:07:58,040 --> 00:08:01,119 Speaker 1: today's show, and I will see you next time.