A Conference call is defined as a phone call that usually connects three or more people simultaneously. This service is often utilized by companies to communicate with one or more of their key personnel at the same time, usually to get input from all involved or to disseminate information needed by more than one person at the same instance. Conference calls have proven to be an effective and cost-effective mode of keeping in touch with multiple people around the world. With costs in travel being cut to a minimum and conferencing costs at a fraction of the amounts needed to fly to meetings and what-not, Call Conferencing has become the norm these days in terms of company cost efficiency.
Conference Calling was originally facilitated via a telephone. The most recent version of this is the internet based conference call that is done via internet telephony. These two means of conference calling can be facilitated by Conference Call Service companies. Usually, in call conferencing, some companies have to employ their own conference call service equipment, which can be pretty expensive. Employing a Conference Call Service Provider, whether it be telephone or internet based, also further reduces cost incurred by the company that uses this technology.
Conference Call Service companies provide the hardware and the services for the company who wishes to contract their help. In the older style conference call using the telephone as the medium of communication, there are two ways to get the conference call service, namely the reservationless and the operator-assisted services. The Operator-assisted service is, as the name denotes, facilitated through an operator. This is used mainly for interconnecting quite a number of participants to a conference call and is usually arranged or reserved a day ahead of the scheduled conference or meeting. The reservationless conference call service is oftentimes less expensive and subsequently, more popular than the operator assisted mode of tele-conferencing. This conference call service is reservationless due to a toll-free number that is assigned to your company which you can dial at anytime, without making any reservations or advance notice.
Telephone based conference call service providers also classify their services into two sub-services, the broadcasted conference and the question-and-answer conference. The broadcasted conference call is just as it is named, a broadcasted call that reaches multiple receivers who only get to listen to the caller talking and no interaction is possible or questions cannot be thrown at the speaker since the exchange is one way. The question and answer conference on the other hand is just that. A question and answer situation where the participants can lobby questions and answers at each other to come up with resolutions to certain topics that are being discussed. Traffic for this kind of conference call is controlled via a button that a participant presses to alert the others that a question or an answer is coming up.
The newer trend in Conference Call Services is the VoIP based services or Voice-over Internet Protocol based Conference Call Services. Also known by the term Web conferencing, VoIP based services makes use of an internet service provider and has quite a few options in the bag as compared to the original call conferencing choices afforded by the telephone based variety. This type of call conferencing is often useful when visual aids and projection charts need to be shared with the people on the other side of the line.
Some of the most common Web conferencing activities include slide presentations and application sharing. A person on the other side of the globe could present facts and figures with the help of this computer based program that is accessed via another program that enables the other parties to see the explanation as well as hear it over headphones or speakers. Application sharing can also be used by multiple parties, with the participants having the option to manipulate an open application, like a spreadsheet, on the presenter's unit utilizing software that allows this.
Call conferencing via VoIP is also useful for video-conferencing or a call conference enhanced with the use of web-cams. This can be useful for construction firms that are global. They can view the progress of a site that is far from headquarters by sending one person with a laptop and a web-cam to the site and broadcasting this to the people involved in the project along with voice commentaries and observations.
Conference Call Service Providers are multiplying in number, each one offering similar services to one another yet one or more presenting either an expansion or enhanced version of one or more services offered by the other. At times, the prices of these services becomes the point of contention for these rivals in business, where one company provides the same service at a lower price than its competitor.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Conference Call Manners
conference call rates
The curse of every hard working manager. Love or hate them, with geographically dispersed teams and travel restrictions, conference calls are here to stay as a communication medium in the workplace. If you want to stand out from your work colleauges, then follow these simple do’s and don’ts of effective conference calls.
Do get comfortable with the fact you will be talking in front of a group and receiving no visual cues or feedback.
Do use the right phone in a quiet, undisturbed room.
Don’t use cell phones or phones that pick up background noise. Calling from an open plan office is the equivalent of having a conversation in a nightclub. If you really can’t find a quiet room, use the mute button until you are required to speak.
Do learn to use the mute button and other phone technology. Your intelligent contributions mean nothing if no one can hear them.
Do set up the meeting in advance and communicate the dial in number, passcodes and other information.
Don’t work out time differences on your fingers – check on the internet or even phone a colleague in that country and ask what time it is!
Do start the meeting absolutely on time; don’t reward latecomers’ bad behaviour by waiting for them. Take a role call at the start of the meeting, highlighting the missing attendees. Go on, get tough, people will love you for it!
Do treat the conference call as if it were a meeting. You know the routine; prepare and circulate an agenda.
Do get each caller to say hello and introduce themselves. Even though you may never meet in person, it’s a good relationship builder and gets the shyest of people to at least say their name.
Don’t assume that everyone recognizes your voice. Unless you are dis-respecting the boss and want to stay incognito, say your name before you speak.
Do make use of guest speakers. Invite a special or important guest and get them to say a few words at the beginning of the meeting. No one will know they slipped out after five minutes and you’ll get the benefit of undivided attention and best behaviour.
Don’t allow the topic to wander. Be an iron fist in a velvet glove – polite but firm if people talk too long or over each other.
Do ask for input by using a person’s name. People will pay more attention to avoid the embarrassment of needing the question repeated.
Don’t shuffle papers; scrape chairs, pencil tap, hum or other distracting, noisy activities.
Do close the meeting formally, thanking everybody for their time. That little bit of recognition will make them feel good about talking to you again.
Don't sit on a leather chair. The problem is each time you move around, an embarrassing noise that’s at just the right frequency to carry well over the phone is emitted. If you only take one piece of advice make sure it’s this - do use fabric covered seats!
conference call rates
The curse of every hard working manager. Love or hate them, with geographically dispersed teams and travel restrictions, conference calls are here to stay as a communication medium in the workplace. If you want to stand out from your work colleauges, then follow these simple do’s and don’ts of effective conference calls.
Do get comfortable with the fact you will be talking in front of a group and receiving no visual cues or feedback.
Do use the right phone in a quiet, undisturbed room.
Don’t use cell phones or phones that pick up background noise. Calling from an open plan office is the equivalent of having a conversation in a nightclub. If you really can’t find a quiet room, use the mute button until you are required to speak.
Do learn to use the mute button and other phone technology. Your intelligent contributions mean nothing if no one can hear them.
Do set up the meeting in advance and communicate the dial in number, passcodes and other information.
Don’t work out time differences on your fingers – check on the internet or even phone a colleague in that country and ask what time it is!
Do start the meeting absolutely on time; don’t reward latecomers’ bad behaviour by waiting for them. Take a role call at the start of the meeting, highlighting the missing attendees. Go on, get tough, people will love you for it!
Do treat the conference call as if it were a meeting. You know the routine; prepare and circulate an agenda.
Do get each caller to say hello and introduce themselves. Even though you may never meet in person, it’s a good relationship builder and gets the shyest of people to at least say their name.
Don’t assume that everyone recognizes your voice. Unless you are dis-respecting the boss and want to stay incognito, say your name before you speak.
Do make use of guest speakers. Invite a special or important guest and get them to say a few words at the beginning of the meeting. No one will know they slipped out after five minutes and you’ll get the benefit of undivided attention and best behaviour.
Don’t allow the topic to wander. Be an iron fist in a velvet glove – polite but firm if people talk too long or over each other.
Do ask for input by using a person’s name. People will pay more attention to avoid the embarrassment of needing the question repeated.
Don’t shuffle papers; scrape chairs, pencil tap, hum or other distracting, noisy activities.
Do close the meeting formally, thanking everybody for their time. That little bit of recognition will make them feel good about talking to you again.
Don't sit on a leather chair. The problem is each time you move around, an embarrassing noise that’s at just the right frequency to carry well over the phone is emitted. If you only take one piece of advice make sure it’s this - do use fabric covered seats!
conference call rates
Monday, August 6, 2007
Conference Call Rates
Welcome to our blog about conference call rates. Here you will find out about the best conference call rates available.
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