Phone based meetings just aren’t the same as physical meetings.  You lose that connection you make by looking the other person in the eye.  You lose the ability to read the other persons body language and facial expressions, and you lack the visual ability to visually demonstrate or explain something.

Face to face meetings were not always practical depending on your budget, the nature of the meeting and obviously the distance involved, but now with current Internet connection speeds and video technologies, a virtual face to face is not only possible but it’s also practical.

If you have half a million dollars to drop on you video conferencing you can consider Cisco’s TelePrescense… but if you don’t, don’t dismay, there are a number of tools that can help you meet, communicate and collaborate in a virtual face to face video chat…

Ease of Entry: Google Video Chat

If you are thinking about implementing video calls/conferencing the easiest way to get going is Google’s new video chat, which launched last week as part of Gmail.  If you are already using Gmail or Google Apps in your business, Google Video Chat is a no-brainer.  There is no need for a separate program, with a simple plug-in, it is seamlessly integrated into your Gmail so all you have to do is click on the video chat button at the bottom of an email or text chat window to take your conversation “face to face.”   Another bonus… it’s free!

A Familiar Face: Skype Video

Skype Video has been around for a while but some have complained about the poor video quality.  Recently with the release of Skype 4, they have added Skype High Quality Video which allows you to go full screen with good picture quality.  If you are already using Skype for VOIP calls and chat, utilizing Skype Video is a good option.  Another bonus to Skype is that you don’t necessarily need a computer to use.  With some external hardware, you’ll be up and running making video calls without taking up your computers resources or valuable screen real estate.

Get the Whole Team On Board: TokBox

Need more than a face to face?  Need a face to face to face to face to… how about 25 faces?  Tokbox is a free browser base video chat service that provides excellent quality and extensibility.  The biggest bonus is the ability to add numerous people.  I’ve never been on a 25 person video conference, but I can imagine it’s a little confusing and chaotic, and I can’t imagine having to do one, but the option is nice to have.  Tokbox is very powerful and easy to use, the only disadvantages I see… it doesn’t go full screen and you can’t click to call, you have to set up a specific chat.

Extensibility: SightSpeed

SightSpeed is a free service that offers features similar to skype… free computer to computer calls with the option to call landlines at a per minute rate, instant messaging and of course video chat.  What SightSpeed has over Skype is it’s extensibility… but unlike TokBox the extra features are going to cost you.  The consumer Plus version allows you to conference with up to 4 people for about $10 a month.  If you want to get more than that you’ll have to get the business plan that can get pretty pricey, but offers a whole host of communications options.

Don’t Just Chat, Collaborate with Vsee

Probably my favorite, Vsee takes the video conference a step further by adding collaboration tools.  Vsee is a stand alone program that unfortunately for you Mac users only works on windows at the moment.  It allows you to conference with up to 4 people at once for free, or up to 8 people with the paid premium version.  The simple collaboration tools are what make this a killer solution.  If you want to share a file simply drag and drop it into the video window.  You can share your screen with others and even applications.  For example if the person you are conferencing with does not have, Photoshop installed on their computer, they can see your screen and even control it and make changes to the document you are working on if you allow it.

Ever have a short “Break Out Meeting” that descends into a long drawn out mind numbingly senseless production? At my old company, these types of meetings were so common I started scheduling for the run over. Usually we weren’t getting off topic but a few members of the team were able to draw out the meeting by asking inane questions and answering with overly redundant buzz words.

When I was appointed team leader on a new project, I tried something I had heard about years ago… I dragged all of the chairs out of the conference room and held the meeting standing up. It was surprisingly effective. People don’t want to stand for an hour, so everyone got straight to the point, cutting the meeting down to about 15 minutes while still hitting all the important points. After that we kept the chairs in the conference room, but pushed them back and stood for all of our short meetings.

Obviously you are not going to try this for a strategic planning meeting or a meeting with clients, but it is a great way to keep your short meetings short.