Even though many prefer face-to-face meetings, virtual meetings are a common part of today’s business environment. It is critical, however, to consider certain things when you’re conducting these meetings.

Etiquette is important during virtual meetings and should be taken into consideration, as it would be in any face-to-face meeting. This may seem obvious, but many people think of virtual meetings as more informal and laid-back than face-to-face ones, which is not always the case.

Here are a few more tips that can help your virtual meetings to be more efficient and professional.

1. Be prepared

Preparedness is significant for any meeting, virtual or not. When you’re conducting a virtual meeting, it can be easy to forget who your audience is. You want to make sure that the information you’re presenting is appropriate for each participant.

Make certain that everyone will be able to easily access the meeting by providing them with the correct access codes, URLs and call-in numbers. After all, a meeting without attendees is really no meeting at all.

2. Engage participants

Many people are in the habit of leaping right into the meat of the presentation, which isn’t always best during virtual meetings. If you and your participants aren’t familiar with each other, building some sort of relationship is necessary. Try giving everybody the opportunity to introduce themselves.

Although it may feel like freshman orientation all over again, having everyone go around and share the highlight of his or her weekend or some other little tidbit, can serve as a huge icebreaker.

3. No side conversations

Although it may be tempting to hold side conversations when you’re not the one on screen, it can seem unprofessional and is often very distracting. Since virtual meetings often don’t hold people’s attention as well as face-to-face meetings, the last thing you want is to distract people from the task at hand.

There are many things you can do to produce a more effective and productive virtual meeting, and these are just a few of those. For more ideas, check out this Inc. article.

E-readers are an incredible convenience that plenty of people swear by. You can have all of your books in one place and they are extremely portable. Sometimes there’s nothing more painful than having to haul around a bunch of large books, however, they’re not ideal for everyone. Continue reading to learn about some of the pros and cons of e-readers.

What are the options?

The Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader and Barnes & Noble Nook are among the most popular of the e-readers. Although some e-readers have Internet capabilities, their main purpose is to display e-books.

Tablet owners frequently use their tablets to read e-books as well. Most tablets, however, do much more than just display e-books, so that is not their key purpose.

Pros

• E-readers are extremely portable, which is ideal for anybody who likes to read during vacation or a business trip
• Another travel perk – if you are in a foreign country, you may still download an e-book in the language you choose, instead of looking for an accommodating bookstore.
• Books are often more affordable than you will find in standard bookstores.
• Privacy – you almost certainly don’t want everyone to know if you’re reading a self-help book. If you’re using an e-reader, they won’t be able to tell.
• All of your books are in one place.

Cons

• Depending on the type of e-reader or tablet, you might not be able to read in direct sunlight because of screen glare.
• Cost – even though you might pay less for books than you normally would, e-readers typically cost more than $140.
• If you’re used to shopping in used bookstores, these books will cost a great deal more than you’re used to spending.
• Lending books isn’t always a possibility.
• All of your books are in one spot – if you lose your e-reader, you’re losing all of your books unless you buy a replacement.

As with any technology, the decision between an e-reader and a book comes down to personal preference. While some people want to be able to showcase their books on a bookshelf and share them with the world, others prefer the portable convenience that comes with an e-reader.

For more insight into the debate between e-readers and traditional books check out this article.

It can often be difficult to inspire employees when you’re running a small business. Funds are limited, and time is extremely valuable. Incentives are necessary when it comes to motivation, however; finding cheap and easy incentives is imperative.

There are plenty of ways to motivate employees that don’t include things like big bonuses or costly benefits. A hand-written thank you letter can go a long way when it comes to showing employee appreciation. Here are a few other ideas:

1. Ask for input

By encouraging input from employees you are letting them know that their opinions are appreciated. This goes a long way in making them feel like a part of the team, which then inspires them to work hard for the good of the team.

2. Change it up

Sometimes repetition can lead to a lack of motivation. When this happens, it’s essential to remember the cause for the waning motivation and mix things up a little. If you know an employee is willing to exercise a certain skill, try giving him or her a project that allows for that.

3. Focus on a great company culture

People enjoy working for companies that they feel are different from the rest. Setting your company apart by integrating unique ideas into the company culture can help you find and retain great, motivated employees. Things like complimentary professional massages once a month can go a long way in developing a unique company culture.

4. Recognize people for a job well done

One of the biggest possible motivators is recognizing your employees for doing a good job. When you’re working away at something and feel like nobody appreciates it, it can make your effort seem entirely pointless – regardless of its effect on the company.

Something as simple as a company-wide email highlighting their accomplishments can re-ignite motivation and make employees want to continue working hard. Although the attention may embarrass some, most people like to know that others recognize their effort.

All of these ideas are great, affordable options for motivating employees when you don’t have a ton of resources. Trying out a few of these ideas could do wonders for employee motivation and keep morale high.

Check out this article to see a few more methods for motivating employees.

Smartpens are an awesome office trend whose possibilities are always growing.  They’re still pretty new to the scene, but so far, they are full of practical features to make office life a little more efficient.

Smartpens essentially keep track of what you’re writing and transfer those notes onto your computer. Each smartpen has different abilities, however, some of which are more useful than others.

IOGEAR Mobile Digital Scribe

This was the first smartpen on the market and, because of that, it comes without some of the bells and whistles that are available on newer pens.

It does, however, do plenty of interesting things that make it a fantastic business tool. The Mobile Digital Scribe captures and stores all of your notes for later review. It doesn’t require you to write on a certain surface – a simple piece of paper will do. Also, if you connect the smartpen to your computer, it can display your notes on the screen as you write them.

Logitech IO2 Digital Pen

The Logitech IO2 Digital Pen is also a more simple model, like the IOGEAR version. It lets you save your notes in a variety of different file types and formats.

You can then search for words and phrases by date, file type, or file name. You can add items to your calendar simply by writing them down. The Logitech IO2 Digital Pen doesn’t work on any surface like the IOGEAR pen, but it works with Post-It notes and Franklin Covey’s iScribe software and digital planning pages.

Livescribe Echo

The Livescribe Echo smartpen is by far the most technologically advanced of all the smartpens available. It not only transcribes everything you write down, it also records audio and converts the recording into a number of different audio file types.

The coolest feature that you’ll find on the Echo is the Pencast functionality. A Pencast lets you play back the audio and synchronize it with your notes, making it much less complicated to keep a detailed record of your thoughts without writing down everything. Apple has also built a free app that allows for easy sharing and replaying.

These pens are pretty interesting tools that can be helpful for just about anyone. They take a great deal of time out of transcription and make remembering details of a meeting or conversation much easier.

To check out a review of the Livescribe Echo, click here.

Everybody has been talking today about the newest feature to be revealed by Google. It is called Gmail Motion and it lets users perform standard email commands with simple gestures.

Standard actions such as reply all, search and archive can now be completed with simple gestures, instead of a keyboard and mouse. This advancement will most likely make users feel more in sync with their computers and enjoy their email experiences even more.

How does it work?

The technology works with your computer’s webcam – most of which are built in to your computer nowadays. Google’s patented spatial tracking technology detects your movements and translates them into Gmail-specific commands.

How to use Gmail Motion safely

As with any physical activity, it is important to take certain safety precautions in order to avoid injury. First, clear the area around you. It is easy to get excited about the technology, which can result in sudden movements. If the area is not clear, you could easily hit something and injure yourself or damage property.

It is also recommended that you take regular breaks, just as you would if you were doing any other sort of work on the computer. Intermittent stretching is ideal as well. It will prevent your muscles from cramping and feeling overworked.

If this technology interests you, try taking a look at the Gmail Motion website, which profiles how-to videos and a printable Motion Guide that contains all of the possible gestures. If you are a business user who is wondering when you will be able to take advantage of this technology, have no fear – you will soon be seeing Google Docs Motion.

This spatial tracking technology from Google is outstanding – it could potentially change the way we all work and interact with our computers on a regular basis. To some people, this announcement may seem kind of silly, and it is. Gmail Motion is just the latest of Google’s yearly April Fools’ jokes.

Happy April Fools’ Day!