Online Video & Virtual Events Blog

The Perfect Business Handshake: How to Shake Hands Well & Why It’s So Important

7th October 2011 by Rachel Willis 232 comments

In my first role as an Account Executive I was taught one great skill by the MD at the time; the art of a good handshake.

I was asked to be part of a pitch team (I was asked to carry the bags actually, but you have to start somewhere!) As part of the team I would have to shake hands with the potential new client that we were pitching to. With the panic of dropping the bags and sitting on the edge of proceedings like a mute lemon, I thought the hand shake was the least of my worries – wrong!

How to change start time of YouTube videos using URL's & iframe embed codes

15th August 2011 by Simon Malone 44 comments

This post is all about changing the start times of your YouTube videos. It is possible to adjust the position at which YouTube videos start and finish by altering their URL and embed codes. With the explosion in the use of the web video viewers are becoming more selective about what they watch and how long they will view it for. It is more important than ever with video to get straight into key messages and points if you are to hold your audience’s attention. If a key point that is relevant to the person you are sharing the video with comes in at around 3 minutes into the video, it is far from guaranteed they will watch the previous 2:59 to get there!

Altering the start time of a YouTube video can be useful for a wide range of reasons and the good news is that it is easily done by changing the odd link and a few lines of simple code. I know just the mention of the word “code” might be enough to make you quit this page, but please stay with me! I will do my best to make these tips really easy to follow and implement, and if you do have any trouble with them, just give me a call and I will happily talk you through them.

How to deal with difficult people in business

29th July 2011 by Rachel Willis 3 comments

There are loads of A Team people in every industry. Typically A Team people make things look easy, work hard, prepare, never take anything for granted and perhaps, most importantly, they trust the people they work with.

The A Team isn’t the only team though. There is another; the “B Team”.

The B Team typically lack confidence, don’t prepare, take most things for granted and don’t trust anyone.

In simple terms the A Team’s objective is to complete the job in hand and in our case, make the show happen. The B Team spend their time and effort doing everything they can to stop that happening!

You will all have met B Team members, you might know them well, you might work with them; you might even be one!

5 Tips on how to write better business emails

6th July 2011 by Rachel Willis 23 comments

I really didn’t want this blog post to turn into a rant, but I can feel it going in that direction! I know we all receive endless e-mails but the difference between a good email and a bad one can have a huge impact on peoples’ moods, desire to complete a task on your behalf and the receiver’s general perception towards you, and your organisation. I always try to follow some simple guidelines when writing an e-mail and I thought I would share them with you to see if you think I am right to get on my high horse about email etiquette!

3 Useful YouTube tips for Businesses and Individuals

22nd June 2011 by Simon Malone 3 comments

I am a massive fan of YouTube and believe that it can be a real asset to businesses and individuals looking to raise awareness of their brand or organisation. I have collected 3 YouTube tips that anyone who has videos on YouTube, or is thinking of producing internet videos can use to their benefit. Wherever possible I have produced links to walkthrough videos to help explain each point and make it easier to implement each tip on your YouTube page. Some of the following you may know about already, and others may be new to you, but I hope you find them helpful.

Work experience opportunities in video production and media for young people in the Cambridge area

11th April 2011 by Simon Malone Be the first to comment

One thing that always bugged me was the demand for experience in many of the roles I looked at. I totally understand why recruiters would prefer candidates with experience, but quite where they are supposed to get this experience from is another issue. Most people have no idea exactly what they want to do, or what sectors they would like to work in when they finish school, college or University. This makes gaining experience in the sector you ultimately decide you would like to work in tough going.

With “industry experience” becoming a more important demand on young people looking to get their career off the ground, we would like to do our bit at VirtualStudio.TV to help out young people in the area.

Achieving a Work life balance is harder than I thought!

4th April 2011 by Rachel Willis 2 comments

The thing I’m struggling most with is going home and NOT looking at emails or a computer screen. (It’s just wrong the amount of hours I spend looking at a screen, be it my laptop, iPhone or iPad!) So I’ve been making a real effort to occupy my mind with other things and two things have really worked for me. One is Pilates and the other is gardening.

Maintaining a work life balance: An update….

9th March 2011 by Rachel Willis 1 comments

It is almost two weeks since I arrived home from my holiday and as I said in my previous post, that break prompted me to try out a new philosophy to work – I’m trying to get a better work life balance. (I’ll rephrase that, I’m trying to get a better life!)

Until today I was doing very well. I’ve been asleep before 11:00pm every night which is amazing for me, and I’ve been waking up feeling a lot brighter as a result. I’ve also cut out all the major caffeine rush I was hooked on and have been drinking Bush tea and de-caf coffee instead. (The tea is lovely but the coffee is an absolute con!)

If you want to get ahead in business, get a bike!

4th March 2011 by Sean Malone Be the first to comment

There’s nothing quite as irritating as the convert; who having discovered something which everybody else has known for ages, sets about boring the pants of everyone with their new found wisdom.

Here’s my new found wisdom and big business message: I bought a push bike and cycle to work and back every day.

So what? Who cares? And what’s that got to do with business success?

The challenge of maintaining a work life balance

25th February 2011 by Rachel Willis Be the first to comment

Like many people I tend to take work too seriously and all too often allow it to take over every element of my life. The fact that I run my own business also means that I struggle with ‘letting go’ and therefore find myself taking work home or in the very least, thinking about work, cash flow, clients and ‘to do’ lists well into the night!

I am determined to make an effort to separate work from and from now on I’m going to try and follow these simple rules:
■Work is work, it is NOT my life.
■Turn off the emails at the weekend.
■Have at least an hour during the day when I don’t look at my emails.
■Take a lunch break, even if it’s only a short one.

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