Guest Post: Pratik Chawla

Pratik is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon University. Here he writes about getting the job you want.

Why do you work? An obvious answer would be to earn money to meet your needs. So, what if you win a lottery? Would you immediately call up your manager to say that he can’t suck any more life out of you? And then you spend the rest of your life of leisure at your new beach house in Miami! I bet many of you would jump to grab this opportunity!

Well, for the rest of us (which accounts to 99.99% of the people), the good news is that a job can be FUN! How? Let’s find out. First of all, you really need to know what you are good at. And knowing your strength to, what kind of job you would want to apply your strengths. Imagine if Zidane had used his feet for tap dancing rather than playing football! Sounds scary! Isn’t it? So, in any case, make sure you do not land up this way! List the companies with expertise in your field of interest. Reach out to people working at the company, through personal contacts or through social networking sites, and check how well you fit into the job and the culture of a company.

Now that you have aimed your target, it’s time to shoot. But hold on, do you have the right bullets? That is when a strong resume plays its role. A resume should be strong enough to pierce through the multiple filters that HR guys apply to select candidates for interview round. How to get that? Well, make sure your resume reflects the perfect fit for the desired role. Highlight all your skills and accomplishments, and most importantly get it reviewed by an expert. All set? Now find the best way to get your resume across. If you know someone in the company, tell him to refer you. If not, then try to find a person through networking. If you can’t get to know anyone in the company, only then post the resume directly on the website of the company.

Did you get the email saying “you have been shortlisted for the interview”? Leave your computer, get out of bed and get your best suit to dry cleaners. You cannot afford to wear a wrinkled shirt on your D-day. On the interview day, dress neatly, do not put a lot of cologne; make sure you carry many copies of your resume and that you reach at least 15 minutes before the interview. Use this time to fix your dress and redo your hair.

At the time of interview, be confident and relax. I remember one of my friends was so terrified at his interview, that he actually asked the interviewer if he could go for a piss! So, empty your tanks well before. Try to turn the interview into more of a conversation. How? Ask questions!

Lastly, thank the interviewer for giving you the opportunity and if possible, acknowledge the interviewer over an email, when you reach home. Well, you have done it all. Congratulate yourself for a good interview, and learn from the bad ones.

Hope you do not have to wait long to hear the golden word, “Congratulations!” from the company. All the best!

Guest Post: Nithin Betegeri

Nithin is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students. Here he writes about getting the job you want.

Riding the Job Search Boat

“You can describe Michelangelo in detail but do you know what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel? You can describe a Shakespeare’s sonnet about love but do you know what it is to look in a woman’s eye and be totally vulnerable?” When Robin Williams asked these questions to Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting, I wondered how will it be to work at #1, Infinite Loop, Cupertino; the place where Apple Inc. is located. We all know that the story of one person, one computer, changing the world is an inspiring read. But does it quench the thirst to create the next best innovation after bread came sliced?

It does not matter what books or others say until we experience this beautiful world ourselves. The same philosophy is true with a job search as well. A job review site may highly rank a company for its work culture but can you really be sure until you work there? Of course, you can’t be. I believe that one’s search for a job should begin from oneself. We question our interests and passion. The answers to those questions should indicate the company that we should look for.

I am an artist who likes experimenting with colors on a palette. I love technology for the wonders we can create out of it. Combine both of them, and you will know what I am passionate about. I do not like Apple because of the ratings in the latest Wired magazine but because it works on products that I am passionate about, products that I would love to develop as an engineer. From my experience, introspection is always the first step of one’s job search.

Once we have a list of companies, we should research on their work culture, products and history. We should understand what it takes to work 9 to 5, five days a week for them. We should understand their value system, and know what makes someone a best employee at that company. These analyses will not only help us in our interview, but stoke our passions further. It will help us refine our choices as well. Last but not the least; we should research the recent trends in those industries and companies that are available ubiquitously over the internet.

Once our background work is done, we should apply to these companies in every possible medium. Apply over their websites, call them, mail them, and finally, contact friends and alumni working in those companies. No medium is bad enough for us to give opportunities to express our interests and passion. We should express our interests and talk about benefits to the company from hiring us. We can match our skill sets to those required with that of the job posted. That’s what it takes to follow our passion. We should repeat this entire process until we land interviews. It does not matter if it’s a recession or a honeymoon period for the market, persistence and hard work will surely bring results. After all, as Adidas puts it, “Impossible is nothing.” Isn’t it?

Guest Post: Nisha Balasubramanian

Nisha is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students at Carnegie Mellon University. Here she writes about getting the job you want.

How many times have we had a feeling of “Oh my Gosh!!!” after an interview? Well almost every time!!! What is it that went wrong? I thought I was the best fit for the job, but I feel lost now. What was I thinking? All these are very common feelings one has after an interview. How do we overcome this? How do we find ‘the right job’? What does it take to crack an interview? These are some questions that I will try to answer here and I am sure it will help you be better prepared for your next interview.

The first and the foremost task at hand is to find out what interests you. Before you begin your job search, you need to know what kind of job drives you the most, which job makes you hit the office with full enthusiasm day after day. Most of the time people fail to understand the need to identify their area of interest. As a result they just follow the crowd and finally end up in a job that leaves them not only unsatisfied but also frustrated to the core. Finding the right job is like finding your true love. In order to do that go back to your childhood days and remember what did you always wanted to become, identify the subjects that used to interest you the most during your undergraduate studies, talk to your best friends/mentors/colleagues who may help you identify the things you like to do the most. If you have had prior work experience, think about what you liked the most and what you disliked about the job. This would give you a sense of direction for your career path. Yes, that is the word- CAREER. The secret of having an excellent job is that it should fall in line with your career path.

Once you have identified your area of interest, the next step is to look out for opportunities that match your interests. List the companies with profiles that interest you. Do thorough research on the companies you may want to work with- their core competencies, their product and services, their target market, the work environment, your role in the company, the compensation, etc. Talk to current and former employees about their experiences with the company. Once you have all these details, check if it matches your career interests and if you would you really like to work for the company. Often people just look out for things that they are missing in their current job. They forget to see what they like in the current profile which they might miss in the new job. Most importantly, one has to see where the new job will take them in their career, in the long run. Alas, finding the right company is as important as choosing a life partner!

So, you have defined your interests, short listed the companies you want to join and have applied for the job. The next big thing and I would say the most important is to crack the interview. One fact you need to register in your mind while preparing for the interview is – “Be well prepared and be yourself.” So what does an interviewer look for in a potential employee? Are they just looking for a bunch of people, who can do any task assigned to them within minutes but are afraid to communicate with the person sitting next to them at work? Sometimes you really need to think from an interviewer’s perspective. Below are some of the aspects which MUST be considered while preparing for the interview:

1. Do extensive research on the company. Try to find minute details of the company as well as your job profile. Prepare several intelligent questions to ask your interviewer. This shows that you have really done your research well and that you are genuinely interested in working for the company.
2. Prepare specific examples from your past work, which may help showcase your skills and experience and how they will be of great help to the company you intend to join. Having your PAR (Problem-Action-Result) stories in place, about your experience, your education, and specific skills goes a great deal in portraying you as a serious candidate for the job.
3. Take out sufficient time to review your resume. It is the first thing which the interviewers look at and that one page resume says a lot about your personality and goals.
4. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Try to find out what you are good at: consult your co-workers or trusted friends to get feedback on your work. List down all the skills which you think might help you fit it to the kind of job you are looking for. You don’t need to just focus from a work perspective, but what kind of a person you are, what is that one thing that differentiates you from the others, how the company will be benefitted from hiring you. Highlight them during the interview. At the same time, it is very important that you get genuine feedback on your weaknesses, so that you may be aware of tough situations that you may encounter in your new job and think of ways to overcome them. Find a way to frame the weaknesses positively, so that the prospective employer knows that you are aware and working on your weaknesses.
5. Find out your market value as per the industry standards. The company hiring you would like to know whether they can really afford you. Let them give you an offer first, but if you know what you are worth, do let them know. The employer will surely appreciate your honesty and confidence.
6. On the D-day, it is most important for you to look confident. I know it is very difficult to stay calm on the D day and it is perfectly fine to be a little nervous. But the important thing is how confidently you portray yourself to the interviewer. Put on your best suit and make sure that you are well groomed. They generally look for people who will take control of a crisis situation confidently.
7. Print out a few extra copies of your resume and cover letter. This will help you tackle a multiple interviewer situation.
8. Arrive on time for the interview. Arriving early gives an impression that you want this job at any cost. At the same time, arriving late gives an impression of being careless. Smile and shake hands when you meet the interviewer for the first time. Do the same, when you leave after the interview.
9. Last but not least, send a ‘Thank You’ message to the person who interviewed you. A handwritten note will go a long way in creating a favorable impression.
   

Phew!!! I know that was an extensive list of “Things to remember” but the most important thing is to RELAX and SMILE. After all, the company needs people who are pleasant to work with. All the best for your interview!!

Guest Post: Nikolaos Kagkalos

Nikolaos is one of Chris' 2010 Professional Speaking MISM students at Carnegie Mellon University. Here he writes about the art of interviewing.

I still remember a teacher of mine during the undergraduate school years repeating and almost yelling at my class: "You, guys, when you have free time in the future, just go to interviews. Not one or two. Not even three or four. GO TO MANY! Tens, twenties...go to as many as you can! If you can do a hundred, it's awesome!" What a wise advice for future graduates...

The crucial question for everyone who seeks a job is: "What does a company wants to know about someone who wants to hire?" The pyramid of the information the company wants to gather has many levels; company wants to know about the knowledge of the candidate, his/her personality, confidence and trust, sincerity and probably thousands of others. A little bit above all these is the value of the person, that is, how much the company can get from him/her. But above all is the question "Is he/she a pleasant person?" or "Does he/she fit?"

From the candidate's view, what company should we choose to work for? Everyone has a bunch of companies they would like to work for. We see people saying: "I want to work for Google so bad! I have seen pictures from their offices and they are so cool!" Yeah! But this is not a good reason to apply there. And just the name of the company does not mean too much sometimes. Before applying, do RESEARCH; what is the history of the company? What is the culture fostered in there? How do they treat employees and how much do they pay? What are the prospects of promotions? All these enquiries lead us to clarify whether the company is the right pick for us. And how do we get the answers? Ask! Google it! There are many ways to find out. As long as you really want it, you can find the way to get it. Remember: the more information you get, the less are the chances to be hired by a company that does not fit you.

From the time you pick your target and before you arrange an interview, you should be able to answer convincingly questions like:

Why you are here?
What kind of person are you?
What can you offer to our company?
What differentiates you from the rest?
Desired salary?

In addition, be prepared for "hypothetical, real situation questions". For example, "what would you do if..." or "let's say the company...how would you act?" Depending on the position you seek, build working scenarios and answer them. As an inference, organize your thought, write down your answers, practice on them like it was a performance. Make mock interviews with experts from your school or teachers or even with yourself in front of the mirror! It is very important to know everything by heart.

After all this preparation, hit the target. Go for the company and seek an interview. You cannot do much here. If they want to hire people, you will be called - and this will be based on your solid resume (or in other words, your personal...flyer). Put much effort into this and remember: make it short and accurate, demonstrate results, and use keywords. Once you are called, also figure out the following tips to get the most out of it- which is getting the job:

• Try to know the company - again, it is very important
• Prepare your answers and pick interesting life stories that describe yourself
• At the time of the conversation: perform like an actor, be relaxed, be natural, make the interview look like a CONVERSATION by asking questions!
• Express in a diplomatic way how passionate you are for the job
• Be polite. Support your opinions in a good manner BUT never go beyond the limits

Interview is mostly actions; get your act together, practice, perform. Many words sometimes do not count - actions do. So go out, walk and get what you want!

This content is based on my personal experience and the lectures of Professor Labash.

Guest Post: Nidhu Nalin

Nidhu is one of Chris' 2010 Professional Speaking students at Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University. Here she writes about getting your dream job.

When you wait impatiently for your turn to face your job interview, what is the only thing that is going on in your head? Most of you would agree with me when I say that the question is whether I will be able to crack this interview or not? Likewise, the things concerning Mr. John are will you be able to fit in the organization? Will you be adding value to the organization? Will you be able to do the job? And yes, you are right! Mr. John is indeed the interviewer.

When you stand outside that door to meet Mr. John, you should remember that the even though you have the right skills, education and experience for the job, so do those 90 people who have applied for the same job. So, what will make you that unanimous choice? Of course, the interview which you are about to give. Let’s explore further into developing the right interview skills.

As noted by Malcolm Gladwell, author of Blink, “When you meet someone for the first time . . . your mind takes about two seconds to jump to a series of conclusions.” Hence it is very important to create a positive first impression. Greet your interviewer with a firm handshake and a pleasant smile. Dress appropriately. Personal grooming and hygiene are important. Do not wear anything which is too distracting. For example, your interviewer might get distracted with that green eye-shadow of yours instead of focusing on what you are talking. Having said all of that, it is equally important that you are comfortable in whatever you are wearing.

Throughout the interview, maintain positive eye-contact. Speak in a polite manner. While responding, do not be too slow or too fast. This is your chance to present yourself as a best fit for the role, hence talk about things which describe you as a person capable of doing the job. Repetition of information already present in your resume should be avoided. Once in an interview, my interviewer asked me not to repeat the things which are not there in my resume.

Do research about the company and the position for which you have applied. In today’s information rich world, it would not go down too well with the interviewer, if you appear to be ignorant towards some big recent event associated with the company. Having the right information about the company shows your true interest in the company and more importantly will support your answer to the question “why do you want to join our company?”

While talking about yourself, do not be abstract. Always corroborate your statements with a relevant story from your experience. For example, if I simply say that I am a good problem solver, I am being too abstract. However when I say that once in an award function which I was anchoring, the certificates got delayed by 30 minutes, and to make up for the time delay, I started asking random fun questions to the audience. The audience enjoyed the fun-question event and we could smoothly continue with the function once the certificates arrived. This depicts strongly that you are a good problem solver in addition to being quick and creative.

Engage in conversation instead of a question answer session. What could be the best possible way to engage in a conversation? Ask questions. Look for natural pauses or just excuse and ask for any relevant question. By saying relevant, I am indicating that you would obviously not interrupt Mr. John to ask whether dogs are better than cats as pets. However, if Mr. John says that he also used to play football in his college and loves the game just like you, then it is not inappropriate to ask which team he supports for FIFA world cup 2010.

The way you end an interview is very important. It could be as simple as saying “Thank you for your time” or extend to something more elaborate. According to Shawn Graham, the author of Courting Your Career: Match Yourself with the Perfect Job, the job interview close is the equivalent of the “call me” moment at the end of a good date.

Research done by CareerPlaybook indicates that about 65% of the time, the hired employee meets fewer than 50% of the job qualifications. Hence, in addition to having a powerful resume you need to have the right interview skills in place to get that dream job.

Guest Post: Lulu Chen

Lulu is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students. Here she writes about real-world oral communication.

‘We have satellite offices all around the world, and each office only comprises a few people. While we want to support staffs’ basic IT needs, we can’t justify spending too much money on a few people in each site. How can you help us? ‘

‘Well, our product is the most comprehensive one in the industry now, it assemblies all the features of similar products and it is ranked number 1 in the Gartner Magic Quadrant!’

I’ve been hearing a lot of sales talks in my work, and the above conversation happens regularly. It is funny. More than 70% of business proposals for IT don’t meet the requirements in full. While there’s so much pressure on the sales people to close deals with us, they usually don’t listen to our specific requirements and our concerns. Instead, they go on and on with their prepared sales pitch. Normally these people don’t get the deal with us at the end.

Sales is an art that needs persuasion, negotiation and intimacy in relationship. But most importantly, it takes good listening skills and good knowledge for the sales person to be flexible and relax enough to swing the conversation.

For those good sales people I meet, they start the presentation by asking our requirements and concerns. They listen for the ideas and interpret between the lines. After they get the idea, they respond directly to our requirements or concerns – accurately, no zigzag, no avoidance. The prepared slides would just serve as an aid whenever the speaker needed. This is how typically good sales people capture our hearts. We trust that this is the guy we can speak with – responsive, sharp and knowledgeable. Good knowledge plays a part in the sales process, and more important is a good listening attitude.

The good listening attitude is powerful in any oral communication, be it a negotiation, a persuasion, or just a simple chit chat. Listening not only makes the other party (who is speaking) feel better, it also make ourselves look significantly smarter if we respond exactly with what the other one want to know; and surprisingly, they do tell us what they want to know if we listen carefully.

Guest Post: Anuj Gupta

Anuj is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students. Here he writes about real-world oral communication.

Can you imagine a world without any sort of communication in it? Not really. It has become an integral part of our lives and is as critical as breathing. Although there are many forms of communication, one of the most influential ways is ‘oral communication.’ This is because we can convey our message blend with real emotions. We can express grief, anger or happiness, which is really hard in other forms of communication like written.

Most of the communication we do is done verbally. This makes oral communication all the more important. It is used for various purposes like presentation, persuasion, conversation, etc. But differences in culture, accent and language make the whole process of communicating verbally difficult. Moreover with the ever increasing knowledge base it is getting tougher and tougher to keep the communication concise. In such a scenario, it is important to understand your audience and keep them in mind while communicating. This can make a big difference in the effectiveness of your communication.

It is also important to understand the fact that speaking and listening both are integral part of communication. Generally people tend to forget the listening part and concentrate only on speaking which adds to clutter. Unlike speaking and writing, we are never trained on listening which makes it all the more essential to enhance our listening skills. This can be done by creating a desire to listen, getting rid of both mental and physical distractions, reinforcing the speaker and giving him feedback in the form of questions. This actually makes the overall experience better for both speaker and listener and leads to an effective conversation.

In my previous work experience, I used to converse with people from the UK on a regular basis. The first few days were really difficult for me as instead of listening to them during meetings, I used to concentrate more on what I would be saying next. But as I started to know more about my audience and started focusing more on the listening part, life became so much simpler. The conversations became meaningful and we were able to get some action points out of every meeting which is an essential feature of effective communication.

Guest Post: Adhvitheey Gouri Shankar

Adhvitheey is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students. Here he writes about oral communication.

Did you know that the term “infant” derives from the Latin word “in-fans,” meaning “unable to speak”? Research suggests that 55% of the information we trust is visual and only 45% is vocal and verbal [1]. However, it is interesting to note that our first form of communication is still vocal. This interaction, albeit unintelligible, suggests the importance of oral communication as a means of expression for humans.

Communicating orally firstly involves gathering thoughts. This can prove to be quite a challenge with the constantly increasing clutter and distractions in this digital age we live in. We then organize these thoughts into a form that the receiver understands. With globalization and ever-increasing cultural interaction, understanding the receiver’s perspective entails significant interaction. Finally, we use intonation, pronunciation, inflection, pitch, volume and tone to express the thought. Although we are programmed to perform these tasks genetically and improve on our skills with increased interaction and time, there are specific cases where our ability to orally communicate is pushed to its limits.

Persuasion, preaching, teaching and negotiation involve significant oral communication prowess. It requires a deep understanding of the audience and the communication medium. This depth could well be the difference between harmony and discord or a deal and a standoff. I have noticed how a major part of being a good leader involves convincing people to accept orders rather than forcing them to serve a cause. I believe that using oral communication to convince and cause action is a skill of paramount importance for any leader.

We can classify effective speakers into those who use reasoning to appeal and those who speak from the heart. A speaker who uses reasoning uses the first part of communication, “gathering thoughts,” effectively, explains ideas, and presents facts & figures. With adequate understanding of the audience, he/she speaks in a way such that listeners automatically draw the correct conclusions. In comparison, a speaker who speaks from the heart focuses on the second part, “understanding the audience”. He/she relates to the audience and their feelings and convinces them to act a certain way. In summary, I believe that the best oral communicators use a combination of both. They understand their audience, use reasoning & facts as tools to strengthen their credibility, and present information in a form that empowers listeners to act.

Guest Post: Aravind Bharadwaj

Aravind is one of Chris Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students, and writes here about oral communication.

Have you ever played this party game? About 5-6 people sit in a circle and a message is passed around by whispering to the person sitting next to you. The original message turns to gibberish by the time it goes around once. Oral communication arguably has the largest proportion of information loss among all means of communication. Several statistics have shown that less than 7% of what is said orally is remembered. However, in a world inundated by bits strewn all over the place, oral communication still holds its ground as a very personal mode of communication. Oral and face-to-face communication is predominant in instances which tickle the human emotion.

I remember the day when I got my first job. It was the 4th round of interviews and I was speaking with a senior MD of the firm. Since the previous rounds were not nearly smooth sailing, I had to convince the interviewer that I was the best fit for the position. I believe it was the harmony of oral communication and body language that helped me express my candidature and land the job. The power of oral communication as a tool for persuasion is immense. From a parent having ‘the talk’ with her teenager to great leaders sparking revolutions, oral communication can influence people like no other form of communication.

The personal touch of oral communication is clearly evident when it comes to difficult conversations. In the movie ‘Up in the Air,’ George Clooney’s character (Bingham) works for a firm that fires people. Bingham and several other consultants are successful solely on their abilities to communicate and convince laid off employees about the ‘bright future’ ahead of them. A new technology that promises to lay off people from a remote location fails miserably resulting in the return of the good old technique. The personal touch of oral communication is key in holding difficult conversations such as laying off an employee or breaking up with your lover.

Oral communication provides us with subtle hints to determine the personality type of the speaker. As Professor Labash mentioned, the tone, choice of words and sentence structure can help us determine if the speaker is a sensor, an intuitor, a thinker or a feeler. Recognizing the personality of the speaker will let us alter our communication style quickly and align it with theirs. While other modes of communication will let us gauge the personalities over time, oral communication gives us a heads up from the very first sentence.

While oral communication has its disadvantages, I believe it is irreplaceable by another form when it comes to connecting at a personal level. There may be instances of couples breaking up over a text message. But the day when it becomes a norm is still far away.

Guest Post: Kumar Kunal

Kumar is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students at Heinz. Here he writes about real-world oral communication.

Communication is exchange of information. It is the key in binding different worlds around us. Various fields like Arts and Science, Technology, Music and Literature have evolved by the exchange of ideas. It enables awareness and a level of understanding. Since time unknown, man has adopted and evolved the technique of communication. Communication varies from simple greetings, ‘Hi’ or ‘Hello,’ to complex information exchange in various languages. However, communication is not only about languages and greetings.

What was different in the orators from freedom struggle? What is different in the CEOs, the business magnets and the inventors? It has to be something more than just mere talk.

Power of convincing, techniques of putting forth your ideas, conviction in the ideas which are being promoted, and ability to virtually demonstrate futuristic proposals are all key abilities which are crucial for communication. To achieve effective communication, it is also important to know your audience and the subject. There is a lot more to learn from motivators and innovators like Steve Jobs than what meets inexperienced eye. The zeal, the enthusiasm and the passion in the belief and the strength of their ideas is reflected in their talks and promotions.

Oral communication is a very powerful tool. This can help make or break views and perceptions. On a positive note, it helps to build the future. On the other hand, one should also be aware of its negative impact and not get veiled with the wrong ideas. All the terror pockets are also a result of this tool.

Good communication always widens the scope of learning. The architecture of social beings depends on information exchange. It is rightly said, “The art of communication is the language of leadership.”-James Humes. The only caution should be the choice of leaders. It goes without saying, “Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.”- Anne Morrow Lindbergh.

Guest Post: Rocky Kurien

Rocky is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students. Here he writes about virtual communication.

“The world is a smaller place.” This is a phrase all of us use in our daily lives. But have we ever wondered what it is that has made this world a smaller place? Apart from the improvements in transportation the innovations in communication have played the biggest role in bringing all of us closer. Virtual communication is now widely regarded as the next big wave.

So what is virtual communication? Virtual communication refers to all means of communication which happen in virtual reality (computer media). This involves a plethora of technologies from a series of communication technologies which enable users to communicate real-time and range from synchronous methods to recent trends in Web 2.0-blogs, wikis, etc. which are classified as asynchronous.

Synchronous virtual communications range from VoIP calls, internet chat and video conferencing to some technologies which we only imagined in the realms of science fiction. Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP phones have tremendously impacted the communications industry. It involves routing of audio calls via the internet instead of traditional phone lines. This service has drastically brought down the costs of audio calls. Initially starting off as a means of personal communication through providers like Skype, this technology has scaled up and is now leveraged by major corporate organizations for their business communication. Despite its benefits, audio communication has its limitations, the most important being the miscommunication which occurs due to lack of face-to-face conversation. Video conferencing is a revolutionary virtual communication technology which overcomes this limitation. It enables users to see each other via computer screens while conversing. Cisco Telepresence is the most well known video conferencing technology, has widely been adopted by industry, and enables teams from far flung corners of the world to work efficiently and collaboratively without any of the traditional travel costs and inconveniences. Another rising virtual communication technology is holographic communication. Something we have so far seen only in the Star Wars movies, it is fast becoming reality. It involves projecting a real-life hologram of the person you are communicating to giving the feeling that she/he is right there in the room with you.

Asynchronous virtual communication involves technologies like wikis, blogs, online journals, social networking sites, etc., which have drastically impacted our daily lives. Initially starting off as social media, it has enabled people to express their views, share ideas and communicate with others on a much global scale. The Facebook revolution and rise of Wikipedia and online blogs are examples. Businesses have also started adopting these technologies in the form of corporate blogs, wikis, etc., to enable collaboration and sharing of knowledge.

Virtual communication technologies have truly transformed our daily lives. It is an exciting field and we can hope for many more innovations which will further shape our lives in the future.

Guest Post: Ranjani Kumar

Ranjani is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students. Here she writes about virtual communication.

Virtual communication- An introduction

Virtual communication denotes a broad spectrum of concepts, technologies and practices in using communication with the aid of cutting-edge technologies. The proliferation of information and communication tools, like e-mail, instant messaging and internet telephony has revolutionized the way we work and live. Virtual communications facilitates the ability to know and understand how to access and share information electronically and is a portal through which a world of limitless learning opportunities exist.

Our lives have never been the same
Virtual communication is implicit communication, where clicks translate into electronic signals to communicate intentions, values, and beliefs. Therefore, they may come to be of great importance in affecting people’s attitudes toward each other and toward society creating friendships across globalized world. The most prominent feature of the "information society" is increasingly intense and mobile communication, based on a multitude of media and forms of expression - speech, text, pictures, and multimedia. Sometimes the communication is direct: human-to-human; sometimes it is faceless but warm messages on the PC screen.

Organizations scale-up productivity

Organizations today have been transformed not only by effective use of virtual communication technologies, which are flowing thick and fast. Virtual communication has enabled group projects, from working alone to working with many others, both inside and outside the office, and from routine processes to creative, knowledge-based processes. Employees in organizations work non-traditional hours, work from home, travel to other locations, and perform many tasks at one time. Virtual communication is one of the greatest productivity discoveries of this century.

What the future beckons?

The future would be wireless for all forms of virtual communication. Wired communication would be passé. 4G wireless technology would bring drastic data transfer speed, enhanced security in virtual communication, use of IP addresses, reduced blips across networks and seamless video conferences. Efficient algorithms and digital technology would enhance quality of service

The road to virtual communication is endless with technology leading the way all the way.

REFERENCES:

1) Bjorn Bengtsson - Virtual communication paper

2) An introduction to virtual communication