Only the Mayes Center at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health in Chapel Hill and the Cooper Building site in Raleigh have full-time technical coordinators.

Technical coordinators at all other PHTIN sites have other duties and cannot remain in the room for the duration of a program. The technical coordinators at these sites will be on hand at the beginning of a program to set up the equipment, do a microphone check, and answer questions. The technical coordinator can also show the program facilitator, or a participant (who feels comfortable doing it), how to mute microphones and move the camera.

If no one in the room feels comfortable adjusting microphones or cameras, the technical coordinator will mute the microphones and leave the camera on a “wide shot” that shows all of the participants. This will unfortunately eliminate the option of participants at that site asking questions of the presenter.

Program Trainer Responsibilities

• Designate a program facilitator for each site. This may be an individual who has registered for that site. Be sure to contact this individual in advance.
• Provide the program facilitator with the name and phone number of the site contact, and instruct him/her to visit the site, if needed.
• Notify the technical coordinator at the site as soon as possible if you have difficulty finding a program facilitator.
• Send materials for participants early enough to arrive at the sites prior to the program. Send enough material for all participants, plus some extras.
• Make sure materials are clearly marked with the program facilitator’s name, program title, and program date.
• Notify the sites immediately of any changes or cancellations in the program.

Program Facilitator Responsibilities

Prior to the videoconference:

• Contact the technical coordinator at the site and make an appointment for a site visit.
• Provide the technical coordinator with a program agenda and anticipated attendance.
• Notify the technical coordinator if there will be a presenter at the site, and, if so, arrange for the presenter to visit the site.
• Notify the technical coordinator of any A/V needs.

On the day of the videoconference:

• Handle the participant registration.
• Distribute and collect materials.
• Administer tests.
• Facilitate group discussion and activities as necessary.

Following the videoconference:

• Collect any leftover program materials and recycle or dispose of them.

If you have never presented a program at the Mayes Center in Chapel Hill or at the Cooper Building in Raleigh, try to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to your start time. This will allow the Center staff time to familiarize you with the equipment and its use. You may also wish to schedule a rehearsal at the Mayes Center or Cooper site with the technical operator.

Presentation Tips

• Keep microphones muted, unless a participant has a question. This will avoid broadcasting the distracting noise of shuffling papers, coughing, whispering, etc.
• Seat participants front and center, as close together as possible, so that they will be on camera and not out of sight in the back row.
• Plan to use opaque printed materials, not transparencies, for on-camera display.
• Pring graphics or text on light blue, green, or beige paper with black ink (use colors for emphasis only). These combinations will show up most clearly on video.
• Print your graphics in landscape, i.e., horizontal, format. The TV screen is also horizontal, and landscape graphics best fit the TV screen..
• Use a large font size (30+ points) so that the text is easily legible. Small type cannot be read on the TV screen.
• Minimize the amount of information on each page. Keep your bullets or points to five or less per page, emphasizing the main points of your presentation. This will also allow you to use a larger size text.
• If you are going over forms, or a lot of text on a page, please provide handouts to participants at all sites, as they will not be able to read the small text on the screen.
• Call the roll at the beginning of the presentation and welcome each of the sites and participants to the program. This increases interactivity, and encourages the involvement of the participants at the remote sites. This can also be helpful later during the question and answer session.
• Discuss any “housekeeping duties” that each of the sites needs to perform (registration, evaluation, small group discussion, etc.) at the beginning of the program, to avoid later confusion.
• Request that participants arrive at the videoconferencing sites at least fifteen minutes prior to the start of the program, so that they will have time to get settled.

Dress Tips

• Wear solid colors. The camera best displays solid colors, except white, which tends to “wash out” the presenter. Blue, black, pink, purple, orange, and burgundy work nicely. Very bright reds and oranges tend to “bleed” a little, so you may want to avoid these as well.
• Avoid plaids, stripes, and busy prints, as the way that they display on the TV monitor screens at the remote sites can be distracting, as well as hard on the eyes of the participants.
• Avoid flashy, dangling jewelry. Simple jewelry works best.
• Avoid wearing any clothing or accessories that could distract from your presentation.
• Dress for the cool temperatures in the teleconference centers. The centers must be kept cool due to the large amount of electronic equipment there.