February 3rd, 2010
I have spent a lot of time talking about how to host an effective conference call. But what should you do if you are a participant? In order to have a godd conference call it takes a well prepared host and it also takes participants who know how to behave on a conference call. Here are a few tips if you are a participant on a conference call that will help you get the most out of the conference call.
- Be On Time - The first thing you can do as a participant is show up for the conference call on time. When you don’t show up on time you are showing a lack of consideration for the Host and the other participants alike. Because even if the Host starts the conference call on time wihtout you or not you are causing a delay and/or an interruption to the meeting. And you have to assume you were invited to the conference call because you are recognized as a valuable contributor to the conference call. Given that assumption you need to be on time to the meeting and ready to participate.
- Be Prepared - Hopefully the Host sent out an agenda for the conference call ahead of time. At the very least you should have an idea of what the conference call is meant to address and you have a responsibility to be prepared for the meeting. That could mean reviewing related documents or actually being prepared to present during the conference call.
- Mute Your Phone - This is not always necessary, but all participants should be aware that even if you are being quiet the other people on the conference call can hear you. Our conference call service equipment produces a very clear audio connection so even just the typing on your computer is easily picked up by the microphone on your phone and is transmitted across the conference call to all participants. It is always the best idea to simply mute your phone unless you are speaking. Most phones these days have a mute button and if not the conference call service should have a way to enter a command through the phone to mute your line.
- Identify Yourself - On a conference call there is no way for the Host or other participants to identify you unless you do it. The best practice is to state your name when you are going to speak so people know who is spoeaking.
- Participate - It is easy to get distracted on a conference cll because you are usually at your desk and still have access to computers, papers, etc. But you were invited to the meeting because your participation was deemed important and if you were in a face to face meeting you would not even consider answering emails while in the meeting. So on a conference call participate just like you would in a face to face meeting.
If you treat your participation on a conference call just like you would an in person meeting then your conference call participation will be a success.
www.zipconferencing.com
Tags: Address, Agenda, Ahead, Assumption, Conference Call Service, Contributor, Interruption, Lot, Microphone, Mute Button, Participant, Participants, People, Typing
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February 2nd, 2010
I think that everyone is intimidated by new technology a little bit, but depending on the technology and the known benefits we will tolerate the learning curve. Web Conferencing is no different. Web conferencing has been around as a service for about 15 years now and even though its use is now pretty widespread, many people are still afraid to take the plunge. But if you try a web conference once you will see that it is just not that hard to do.
Basically, anyone who can use a PC can do a web conference. When the web conferencing services first came out there were downloads and PC settings to worry about just to get the web conference off the ground. Today, however, starting a web conference is just a few clicks away. Many of the services, including Zip Conferencing’s, do not require any download as they simply use the software that is already on your computer. And the web conferencing service is usually integrated with an audio conferencing service, like Zip Conferencing does. This makes it very simple to hold a remote meeting with a web conference and a audio conference call.
To conduct a web conference as the Moderator all you have to do is open a browser, log into your web conferencing account, start a meeting by clicking on a start button and then click on Share your Desktop. The participants on the web conference now see whatever is on your PC. So to do a web conference presentation you simply need to be able to pull up your PowerPoint presentation, spreadsheet or whatever is part of your presentation and the audience will see it while you speak to them on the conference call. It really is that easy.
A presentation that has visual elements is more impactful than just a conference call where you only listen to the presenter. And in some cases you may need to share materials where without a web conference the only way to hold the meeting would be via a face to face meeting. A web conference saves time, money and increases your productivity. And it is REALLY easy to do! So what are you waiting for? Try a web conference today!
www.zipconferencing.com
Tags: Audio Conferencing Service, Browser Log, Computer Conferencing, Conference Call, Conference Presentation, Face To Face, Learning Curve, Little Bit, New Technology, Participants, Plunge, Powerpoint Presentation, Share Materials, Spreadsheet, Start Button, Time Money, Visual Elements, Web Conference, Web Conferencing Service, Web Conferencing Services
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January 22nd, 2010
There was a time when you would not even think about running an automated conference call for 20 or more participants. If you were going to run a conference call of that size you would run the conference call with the assistance of an operator. And even today, an Operator Assisted call might be the right conference call solution depending on your application, but the conference call technology has gotten to where running a large automated conference call is manageable if you know a few tricks.
The main problem with running a large conference call is the noise the audience can introduce during the call. It is bad enough when there are just 4 or 5 participants and one of them introduces noise because they are on a cell phone, rustling papers on their desk, talking to people in their room, etc. Just imagine having 100 people on the call. The odds that someone is going to make noise during the conference call are pretty good. In fact, virtually certain. So, what can you do to hold an orderly conference call with a large audience? Here are a few tips to make for a successful large conference call.
- Turn Off any Tones - Most conference call service companies provide tones on the conference clal so you know when a participant joins the call. This is fine when you have 5 people on the conference call, but can be more than a distraction when there are 20 or more.
- Mute All - The conference calling service should provide a way to mute all participants as the Moderator of the conference call.
- Use an online interface if offered - Some conference call service companies offer an online conference call interface that allows you to see the callers and control the audio portion of the conference call. This can be very helpful, especially if you intend to open up to questions from the audience. That way you can see the callers and manage the call easier.
- Use Web Conferencing - In addition to enhancing your conference call with visual presentations, a web conference can allow you to manage a Q&A session better than just using an audio conference. With a Web Conference you are giving your participants a way to raise their hand for questions and a way for you to open up an individual line to allow them to ask their question.
- Practice - The best thing you can do to insure your success with a large conference call is to run a practice session to make sure you are familiiar with all of the conference call controls and how to use them.
If you follow these tips you can run a large conference call successfully without the need to use an expensive Operator Assisted Conference Call.
www.zipconferencing.com
Tags: Audience, Audio Portion, Call Interface, Cell Phone, Conference Call Service, Conference Calling Service, Desk, Distraction, Odds, Operator Assisted Call, Participant, Participants, People, Running, Technology, Visual Presentations, Web Conferencing
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January 19th, 2010
If you are the organizer of a meeting, you are responsible for the meeting’s success. When the meeting is a conference call there are a few things you can do to make sure you have an effective meeting. Just like in a face to face meeting you need to establish control of the meeting right up front so that everyone knows you are in charge and what the ground rules are going to be. Here are some ways to take control of the conference call if you are the host.
- Be on Time - Especially as the Host of the conference call it is important that you are on time and that the participants know that the meeting will start on time. This is respectful of the time of your participants and you will find that over time you will get better participation if they know the conference call will start and end on time.
- Have an Agenda - Even if it is a skeletal outline of what is to be discussed, an agenda distributed ahead of the conference call will give the participants an opportunity to prepare for the meeting. Participants are much more likely to participate if they are comfortable with the material being discussed and are ready for the topics.
- Establish and Hold to a time frame - Make sure that you end the conference call on time. Many times participants have back to back meetings and ending on time or ahead of schedule will encourage ongoing participation on the conference call.
- Eliminate or reduce any noise - With so many conference call participants joining the conference call by using a cell phone these days it is almost impossible for someone to not introduce noise into the conference call. As a conference call Host you can mute all of the participants if there is no need for active participation in the beginning of your conference call and then open up all of the lines for discussion later in the conference call. This will eliminate the introduction of any noise into the conference call. Or you should make sure that participants know to mute themselves unless they are speaking in order to eliminate any introduction of noise into the conference call.
- Encourage orderly participation - Ask your participants to introduce themselves when they are speaking so that all of the participants on the conference call know who is speaking. And, as Host it is your job to act as gate keeper for who is speaking as well.
- Review the Action Items and Next Steps - At the end of the call you should review what was discussed, review any actions items and who is responsible for them and then make sure everyone knows when the next conference call is if necessary.
As Host of the conference call you can ensure your success by taking charge of your meetings.
www.zipconferencing.com
Tags: Agenda, Ahead, Cell Phone, Conference Call, Control, Effective Meeting, Hosting, Organizer, Participants, Participation, Skeletal Outline, Time Frame
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January 14th, 2010
First of all, let me offer my most sincere condolences to all in Haiti who have lost loved ones in this terrible earthquake. I know that the US and the rest of the world is working as fast as they can speed help to that country and I wish them all the best in this difficult time. Certainly in a disaster like this many resources have to be pulled together to muster the kind of support necessary to attack the problem. And a great deal of coordination needs to happen to have all of the resources work effectively together to speed the recovery process. Conference calls are an excellent way to pull together the various people and agencies to coordinate their efforts.
A major disaster like the one in Haiti does not happen every day, thankfully, but it is easy to see how communication is important to help provide the kind of coordination necessary between the various agencies. Conference calls allow people to connect without the need to be in person and in this case across the world. Since conference calls are accessible from around the world there is no limit to the where the people are located on the conference calls. Participants from various countries can even get together to help coordinate their efforts.
As a small business owner the ability to coordinate global efforts using conference calls probably won’t apply to you. But having a conference call service ready in case of a disaster for your company is a really good idea. Emergencies in your business could happen at any time and being able to communicate with the rest of your staff and do it quickly can sometimes mean the difference between a small inconvenience and a total disaster.
Take for example the case of the wrong price being put into a flyer for your business. You just figured out that the price that is about to be distributed says $9.99 when it should be $99.99. Pulling together the Marketing department, the printer and distributor on a conference call may give you an opportunity to head off the distribution before it goes out and determine a good course of action to rectify the situation. If you had to make separate phone calls instead of pulling together all the parties on a conference call you will lose valuable time. And in that time you might miss the window of opportunity to head off the distribution of the ad. This is but one example of an issue that could be dealt with more easily with a conference call.
Whatever business you are in you may at one point experience an emergency that you need to deal with. Being prepared for that emergency is key because time is short and dealing with the emergency expeditiously can mean the difference between a small issue and a huge emergency. It costs nothing to get a set of conference call information and keep it at hand for just such an emergency. Because when time is critical, a conference call can help reduce the time it takes to respond in an emergency situation.
www.zipconferencing.com
Tags: Conference Call Service, Coordination, Earthquake, Emergencies, Global Efforts, Haiti, Inconvenience, Major Disaster, Marketing Department, Participants, People, Rest Of The World, Sincere Condolences, Small Business Owner
Posted in Conference Calls | No Comments »
