I am preparing to give a talk by telepresence! Lisette Sutherland has arranged for us to speak together via a BeamPro at Spark the Change, a new management conference in London.
Yesterday the Suitable Tech crew in Lyon, France invited me in for a practice session. Here are some pictures of my jaunt through their headquarters.
They kindly set me up to practice in front of a mirror. The theory we will test is that the BeamPro offers the ability to move around on stage, turning slightly to the right and left to connect with the audience, surpassing the human features of most “head on a screen” video presentations.
You can see by the blue lines on the bottom that the device tells you which way you’re heading and enables you to scan the floor for obstacles which might be in your path.
After practice I went roaming and stumbled upon the guys playing foozball. They assured me this was just a regular day at the office, receiving guests beaming in!
We chatted about a few things, including the World Cup. They congratulated me on the US team’s valiant efforts on the field all the way up to their defeat by Belgium in overtime. You can see I was still a bit tender on the subject.
Then I tried to go back to the docking station. In the world of telepresence, this is only polite to ensure that it’s charged up for the next person. Unfortunately, I got lost in the hallways of Suitabletech. Anyone who knows me understands that navigation is not my specialty. It was not far at all and the guys had directed me. However, still this disorientation was fairly predictable.
Luckily, a friendly face saw me wandering around and decided to help!
Ah, finally I made it back to civilization. Roaming around an unfamiliar office is something I have done a million times, but never remotely.
I like the way in which occupying physical space helps to order one’s experiences. My roaming had a beginning, middle and end. Each stage required reflection and some introspection on what I wanted to accomplish, how things were going and what I was prepared to do next.
I always recommend a walk to clear the head and get centered. Now I am ready to present my talk in London!
Verge Arts Group 
You go, Girl! Lee
It’s a marvelous game, but wouldn’t a trip to London have been more fun?
It sounds like the challenge is to stay oriented in inner space even when your outer space is so volatile. Why not practice giving the talk blindfolded . . . so that outward orientation is lost or degraded, and the inward clarity is what comes through.
So often in cases like this, the new technology becomes the focus, and the clearly felt passionate message never gets quite delivered. Just stay in touch, and remember to look right before crossing the street!
Funny! THANKS, Lee. And Arthur I agree that orientation on one’s inner axis is about the most important thing in roaming the world remotely. I will deliver the talk in London in person in October. Would have had to send regrets in this case as I was visiting my father in rehab post-surgery. So it does make things possible…These are important questions to navigate.