Adobe Connect Community

Planning an Adobe Connect (Breeze) Meeting with Some Participants Face-to-Face and Some at a Distance

Holding a meeting where part of the audience will be together in the same room and part of the audience will be joining the meeting from a distance through an Adobe Connect meeting room is the most complex type of meeting you can hold using Adobe Connect. The larger the groups are, the more complex the task. Running this type of meeting requires an expert knowledge of Adobe Connect as well as time to plan, prepare. and practice. Depending on the size of the groups and the size of the physical meeting room, you might also need extensive knowledge of audio and video equipment and setup.

NOTE: Broadcasting a large event over Adobe Connect to a remote audience that will be interacting with the face-to-face audience involves planning, preparing, and practicing. It is not the equivalent of setting up a video camera and recording an event.

Why Use Adobe Connect for Multi-Site (and/or) Large Group Meetings?

By allowing group members at a distance to attend a meeting using Adobe Connect, you reduce travel time and costs, giving group members who might not otherwise be able to attend the opportunity to not only watch and listen, but to actually participate in the meeting. This active participation is the major difference between using Adobe Connect and providing a live streaming video Webcast, although some groups are also using Adobe Connect as a substitute technology for Webcasting.

A recorded Adobe Connect meeting is similar to a video tape recorded meeting. All of the activities in the Adobe Connect meeting room are recorded and available for playback, including audio, video, PowerPoint presentations, and public chat.

So what's the catch? Planning and holding an Adobe Connect meeting takes a lot more time, practice, and team work than just setting up a video camera and microphone and recording a face-to-face meeting. Unlike videoconferencing using PolyCom where someone else is responsible for maintaining and setting up the equipment, with Adobe Connect you are responsible for making sure you have the right parts and pieces of technology and hardware and have them connected and configured correctly. You also have to plan for how everyone attending the meeting will interact and communicate.

Before Planning the Event

Before even deciding to hold a mixed, large group type meeting using Adobe Connect, there are a number of things to consider:

1. Define the goals and objectives for the meeting.
2. Identify the audience for the meeting. Specifically consider if the audience at a distance has the technology and skills necessary to join the meeting using Adobe Connect.
3. Identify the activities most likely to take place during the meeting to achieve the goals and objectives.

Based on your audience, goals, objectives, and activities, determine first if Adobe Connect is the best tool to use for your meeting. Consider if other communication tools, like PolyCom or just a phone conference, would work better.

If you think Adobe Connect is the best tool to use, continue your evaluation with the following steps:

1. Review the list of skills and knowledge about Adobe Connect you will need in order to run this type of meeting. Acquire the skills and knowledge that you lack. (See Levels of Hosting Expertise under Hosting Meetings.)
2. Define a strategy for broadcasting audio and for communication between the face-to-face group and the group assembled in the Adobe Connect meeting room.
3. Define a strategy for broadcasting video and displaying visuals like PowerPoint slides, graphics, and applications, and showing any other presenter activities to the group assembled in the Adobe Connect meeting room.
4. Define a strategy for projecting the Adobe Connect meeting room and presenter materials for the face-to-face audience and displaying files and pods to the Adobe Connect audience.
5. (For the above strategies, see Developing Strategies under this section.)
6. Identify skills guest presenters will have and skills they might need to acquire. (See Tips for Guest Speakers under Hosting Meetings.)
7. Create an Adobe Connect meeting room with customized layouts based on the activities that will take place during the meeting. Use a custom URL if the meeting room will be used for recurring meetings.
8. Set up a laptop computer with the equipment you will need to accomplish your audio and video broadcast strategies.
9. Take this computer to the assigned meeting room to test the audio/video setup you have identified.
10. Decide if Adobe Connect will work in the assigned meeting room to achieve the goals and objectives of the meeting.
11. (For the above steps, see Before the Meeting under this section.)