Posts Tagged ‘Ahead’

No Web Conference Software Necessary

Thursday, August 11th, 2011

Web conference software has been around since the beginning of web conferencing. In fact in the beginning everyone needed the same web conference software on their PCs in order to have a web conference. Not really practical when you think about inviting people who are new participants to a web conference. What are you supposed to do send them the software ahead of time? It is easy to see how a service provider that made it easy could gain so much ground in the providing of web conferencing. But even service providers of web conferencing require that you download web conference software in order to use their service. Zip Conferencing has a web conferencing service that requires no web conference software for the participants which makes it easier on everyone. Here are some of the advantages of using a service provider and not using web conference software.

  • No Up Front Cost – If you buy web conference software there is going to be the up front cost associated with buying the software.  You then need to spend valuable time installing the software on the PCs you intend to conduct your web conferences with as well.
  • No Maintenance Cost – In order to keep your web conference software up to date you will need to buy regular maintenance updates on the software. 
  • Any Participants can Join – If you use a service provider instead of web conference software the participants can join a web conference without having to install software.  Participants generally are going to join your web conference last minute and you don’t want any delays while your participants are downloading software.
  • Full Support – If you purchase web conference software you are not going to get the kind of support you get with a service provider.  With Zip Conferencing you get support 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.  You can even get support while in your conference call by simply pressing the star key followed by zero on your telephone.

These days with any number of web conferencing service providers out there that provide services at very reasonable rates you really have no reason to go out and purchase web conference software.  And the way that the service works with Zip Conferencing you and your participants don’t even have to download any software.  Since our service was built on a Flash platform you just need to have Flash on your PC.  These days anyone that surfs the Internet has Flash on their PC.  So anyone can join our web conferencing service without having to download any web conference software.

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How to Participate on a Conference Call

Wednesday, 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

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Conference Call Hosting – Take Control of your Meetings

Tuesday, 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

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