Posts Tagged ‘Hard Time’

An Audio Conference Call Full of Features

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

Most people use the basics audio conference call and never access any of the features available.  It could just be that people are busy and learning anything new is more of a chore than they would like to deal with when they are simply trying to do a conference call.  I certainly understand that.  Every time I get a new cell phone it takes until I am ready to turn it in for a new one to learn all of the things you can do with it.  But the audio conference call features that Zip Conferencing offers can make your life easier in the end.  So instead of making you go somewhere to learn the audio conference call features yourself I thought I would list a few here and explain how they work.  All of these features are accessible during the conference call by using commands on your telephone keypad.

  • Volume Control – How many times have you been on a conference call and had a hard time hearing a participant?  Our audio conference call features enable you to increase and decrease the volume of the conference call.  You can also control the volume of your line into the conference call.  That way if you are too loud or soft you can also adjust the volume of your line.
  • Mute Control – As leader of the audio conference call you can mute all participants.  This is especially helpful if you have a large number of participants and you need to make a presentation or announcement.  You can also un-mute all participants to allow them to provide feedback.  Also, you and your participants can mute and un-mute yourselves during the conference call.
  • Dial Out Capability – Did someone forget to dial in to the conference call?  Instead of calling them and reminding them to join the audio conference call you can simply dial out to them and add them to the call.
  • Sub-Conferences – Many times during the conference call you may want to have a side conversation with one or more participants.  You can quickly and easily establish a sub-conference and have a private conversation with one or more participants and then rejoin the conference call.  
  • Conference Call Recording – If you would like to retain a copy of your conference call or have a participant who missed the call be able to dial in later to listen to it you can easily record the call.  You can start and stop the recording during the conference call as well.

You may not use the audio conference call features all the time but it is good to know they are there if you need them.

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Conference Call Features are Fabulous

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

For anyone who has done a conference call you probably just think that there is nothing much to it. You dial an access number to get tot he conference call and then put in a passcode and you are in the meeting. Don’t get me wrong, a conference call doesn’t need to be complicated. In fact, the reason conference calls are so popular is the fact that they are affordable and easy to use. But that doesn’t mean that having conference call features needs to be complicated or cumbersome either. Once you try some of the conference call features out there you may not know how you lived without them.  Here is a list of just some of the conference call features available with Zip Conferencing.

  • Mute/UnMute Lines – If you are the moderator of the conference call you can mute all of the participants in the meeting.  This is especially helpful if you are having a large conference call.  If you have 50 people in the conference call there would be too much noise if all their lines were open.  You and your participants can also mute and unmute their own line which helps if you are on a cell phone in your car for instance and you would impart noise into the conference call.
  • Volume Control – You and you participants can control the volume of the conference call coming into your phone and also the volume of your line into the conference call.  So if you find yourself in a situation where participants are having a hard time hearing you then you can turn up the volume of your line.
  • Roll Call – You can have participants record their name when they enter the conference call and then if you are the moderator you can play back a roll call when you join the conference call and hear everyone who is on the call.  That way you know exactly who is on the conference call without having to take a live conference call after you join the meeting.
  • SubConferencing - If you have something you want to discuss with some of the people on the conference call but not all then you can have a subconference with those participants and then rejoin the conference call.  This is used extensively by the legal community when they need to have a discussion with a client during a conference call between both sides of a case.
  • Conference Call Introduction – You can personalize your conference call by recording an introduction.  That way participants will hear your personal greeting when they join the conference call.
  • Post Conference Call Report – Would you like to know how many people were on your conference call?  When did they join the call?  How many minutes did the conference call generate?  You can receive an email containing all of the essential information of the conference call when it has ended.

All of these conference call features are free and part of the service at Zip Conferencing.  So why just have a conference call when you can have a fabulous conference call?

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Conference Calls and Vacation

Friday, August 27th, 2010

Okay, I know its summertime and the last thing you want to do on vacation is work.  And conference calls are usually about work in some way or another.  So why would someone want to do a conference call while on vacation?  Well some people have a hard time relaxing on vacation because their mind is on their work the whole time.  Maybe you own your own business or you are in charge of a group or a large project that just happens to be in a critical phase while you are on vacation.  You certainly don’t want to cancel your vacation or go into the office do you?  A conference call is a way to stay in touch remotely and take a minimum amount of time out of your day.  

Conference calls are easy to do and can be done from anywhere.  These days it is hard to find a spot where your cell phone doesn’t work.  To attend that critical meeting remotely you simply need to dial a toll free number and put in your pass code when prompted and you are on the conference call.  I had a friend visiting us and needed to stay close to the implementation of a large customer he was responsible for in his business.  Just being on vacation was not relaxing to him because this customer was very important to him.  Once I explained how easy it was to set up a conference call, however, he was able to relax knowing he could still attend the meeting without missing out on too much fun.  He did have to go to his car in the parking lot at the beach to dial into the conference call so he could participate in the conference call without any interruptinion, but it was much better than the alternative.  He only missed about 45 minutes on the beach with his family and was able to truly relax once he was able to participate in the meeting.  Without conference calls he would have been uncomfortable all vacation or had to stay home to attend the meeting.

So, I know conference calls are an extension of work and work on vacation is something we all try to avoid.  But isn’t it better than having to attend the meeting in person?  And in a lot of cases it is worth attending that meeting remotely while on vacation so that you can relax.  So, relax.  Go on vacation.  And if you really need to, do a conference call.

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Conference Calls can Help Gauge the Economy

Friday, November 6th, 2009

I heard that it is a good thing that the Yankees won the World Series because the stock market has an average gain of 10% in the year following a win by them in the World Series.  Well, as a Red Sox fan I have a hard time feeling good about them winning it all but at least there is a fringe benefit.  And we can’t win it all every year after all.  ;)  The point I wanted to talk about today was how you can get a read on the economy by the usage of conference calls as well.  And it is probably a little more reliable than the connection between a baseball game and the economy too. 

Over the eyars of being in the conference call industry I have noticed a couple of interesting things that can help indicate how my day is going to go.  The first thing I notice is the traffic on the way to work.  If it is a busy traffic morning there are going to be a lot of conference calls held that day.  Now, in some respects you would think just the opposite.  If people stay home they would need to hold meetings remotely and a conference call is a sure bet.  But actually, most of the conference calls are being attended by people in their place of business and when people are staying home they are probably on holiday and are not doing conference calls.  So, as business traffic picks up, so do the number of conference calls.

The other thing I notice is the type of businesses that sign up for a conference call service is a good indicator of the health of that segment of the business.  And when I see a greater number of sign ups than business in that area is probably picking up.  Lately I have seen a number of real estate offices and associations signing up for our service.  And after speaking to some Realtors I know it appears that the real estate market is picking up some steam after a tough couple of years.  That is good news for all of us since that is one of the leading indicators in the economy. 

Beyond the signing up for a conference call service I also notice the amount of conference calling done by my customers in general is a good indicator of the economy.  And certainly over the past year the financial sector has been especially hard hit.  So, companies that do mortgages for instance, just aren’t writing as many mortgages so they are not doing as many conference calls with their offices and vendors to talk about mortgages.  And so forth.  But again the good news is that the volume of conference calls is starting to pick up in a number of industries that have suffered over the past year or two.  It has a ways to go, but in general based on the number of conference calls being done it appears that the economy is on the mend.  Maybe we can thank the Yankees and conference calls for the good market over the next year!  

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