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Let us now speak about the audio and video. If videoconferences are on the agenda, maybe you should evaluate buying semi-professional microphones and webcams. Those supplied with your computer, desktop or portable, are almost never excellent as professional instruments. Try with trusted retailers or look at e-commerce sites: you will surely find something at an affordable price! So far we have illustrated some of the strategies that can help you provide your listener valid reasons to not get distracted and to stay focused during the videoconferences. We have said that light is a fundamental element, therefore a source of artificial light must be positioned best to prevent it from creating shadows. Better quality of audio and video guarantee better quality to our conference call. We see now together what additional tools and strategies can be to prove precise and professional during video conferences. As for the clothing, the rule that we always know and that was also valid for live meetings: dress in an adequate manner, be professional and avoid fancy clothes. Then avoid the striped prints or fantasies, choose plain colours. This last point is especially true for conference calls in the digital age: colourful or artistic fantasies could create annoying effects and distract your listener.   The general rule is therefore the following: avoid distractions. Even if you are at home and in Smart Working mode, you need to stay focussed. When you are in the middle of a video conference, try not to get distracted by other people or your pets. It is advisable to choose a personal room to adopt as a study throughout the Smart Working period. This will allow you to avoid possible distractions, but it will also allow you to make a good impression with your listeners, demonstrating your professionalism. So far we have therefore described what the best strategies are to guarantee a certain level of professionalism even when you work from home. We have reiterated that in any place you find yourself, if in the office or at home, during videoconferences, it is preferable to choose sober clothing, suitable for the situation. The time has come to talk about the main platforms that can be used for video conferences. The platforms are many and are all equally performing, but be attentive to updates. Some are on payment, but many others are also free and can serve your purpose. Keep track of the news of the moment, speak to colleagues and acquaintances and look for the platforms that best meet your needs. Learn the art of flexibility: you may have to use different platforms to interface with different listeners, and it is therefore necessary to adapt as quickly as possible to the different functions that each of them offers. Learn above all to use those platforms that allow you to participate in conferences, webinars and virtual classes and that include access for a large number of people: they are selected among others, because they are cheaper, flexible and professional. We will now try to understand how to catch the attention of the listener on the speech. Remember that you can't do much with the body language and with your looks, so let’s make very good use of our voice. If the body is missing, we must ensure that our listener, or our audience, pays attention to the words. They must therefore be carefully chosen, they must know how to convey the message to the best. The rules that apply to these particular situations are actually very similar to those that characterize any other public speaking speech. The US journalist and essayist Chris Anderson spoke about this in a video where he illustrated some simple tips on how to talk to the best. One of the best strategies to speak in public involving every single listener consists first in understanding how communication works. When we communicate, what we do is transmit our idea, one of our concepts, our thoughts to others. Communication concerns different aspects of human life, but video conferences are not so different from other types of speech. The bottom line is the same: the transmission of concepts and ideas. If you are a good speaker, then you will be able to convey your knowledge and mental schemes even to more people simultaneously. You will be able to create an environment made up of numerous interconnected minds, each of which he shares the same mental scheme, what was communicated and transmitted by the speaker.   Ideas consist of real neural connections in our mind. When we communicate our idea to other people, a mental and neural scheme equal to ours will form in their mind! There are countless different types of mental patterns that can be built on the same object: the purpose of communication is to ensure that each listener has the same identical mental scheme, therefore the same as that of all the others. Only in this way can a listener understand what we want to communicate. Once you have learned to communicate to the best, we will have a valid support to liaise with others in the absence of our body, always the best help of each speaker. Today, however, with our virtual relationships and digitization, the body has lost its ancient centrality.   First communicating something at a time, don't overload your text. Your goal is to be clear and linear, too much information communicated all together could distract and confuse those who listen to you. To better communicate your ideas, you can help with examples, but remember: these must serve your listener! Then choose only examples that your listener can easily understand and ignore metaphors. They may seem professional, they are actually not. A second advice is the following: try to involve the listener through curiosity. This is the key that will allow you to keep the listener's attention high. Make your speech intriguing, but communicate it clearly and without frills. Start from the simple to reach the complex, never do the opposite. Avoid communicating ideas or thoughts that are useful only for you. Communicate the necessary, what you really believe is interesting also for others or what can help them. We have described some of the problems that characterize our digital world, first of all the interpersonal distance which we experience almost every day. Smart working, for example, forces us to relate to colleagues and other listeners, combining the computer screen, video cameras and microphones among us. The body is in fact central in most of our communication exchanges: only a very small part of our communication is conveyed by the voice, most use instead of the so-called non-verbal or para-verbal communication. Thanks to this unit you have discovered some useful strategies to deal with the distance and absence of the body. You have learned how to make the attention of your listener focus on your speech and do not let yourself be distracted by objects in the background or noise in the background. Thanks to this unit you have then learned how to better manage your remote work relationship, which techniques to spend to be efficient and professional, how to talk to the best and effectively.