Web Conferencing- Five Etiquette Tips

While etiquette may be struggling to regain its once prominent place in a society now inhabited by five generations and exploding morays, online manners are still in their infancy. Just understanding the new acronyms can be a challenge. You may know that LOL means lots of laughs or laugh out loud but what does QT or HOAS mean? (Answers at the end.)

While a lapse in social etiquette may only cause some confusion, a business on line etiquette snafu can cost money.

If you're one of the many companies taking advantage of the convenient web conferencing services on the web, you know they're good for business. They bring you and your customers together, save on travel costs and can even increase sales.

So, if you want to avoid any snarky situations that can cause a less than favorable opinion of you and your business, consider these five pointers.

• Stay in the moment - Most of us think we’re born listeners just because our ears work. That’s like saying you are a born pianist because your family had a piano in the house. --Linda Eve Diamond

  It's no wonder listening is hard when we speak at 125 to 250 words per minute but think at 1000 to 3000 words per minute. And in a web or audio conference, we think we can multitask because no one sees us.

  Refrain from taking calls, answering emails or speaking with someone else during a web conference. Remember, you're in a meeting.

  Stay in the moment with all of the participants, all of the time. The simple fact you can't see everyone means you'll lose up to 55 percent of the total meaning (8 percent is the spoken word and 38 percent the tone). So, you have to remain alert.

  Listen. The simple, quiet act of listening will make you uniquely valued in the world. --Linda Eve Diamond

• Ask specific questions- For example, refrain from asking, "Does anyone have a question?" You might say, "What are your thoughts on xxx?" or Please give me your comments about xxx.
• Engage your audience- As a speaker, it's tougher holding a remote audience. (It's hard enough when they're in front of you!). So, if you have visuals, intersperse relevant cartoons, quotes, or pictures with your presentation, Your audience will thank you for it.
• Sync audio and visual- You want to avoid being in a situation where you're discussing a new offering but the visual is showing your company mission statement. Make sure that any visuals match the topic being discussed.
• Reassure- While web conferences are becoming more commonplace, and you've sent invitations with all of the pertinent information, still do the following:
  • State which meeting everyone is in
  • Let the participants know how to connect
  • Let them know how to reconnect
  • Let them know the expected length of the session
  • Review the objective of the meeting

If you can master these five web conferencing rules, you'll get the most from this cost effective and efficient feature.

BTW (by the way), QT means (cutie) and HOAS means (hold on a second).

Smart planning for training through web conferencing

A recent article by Darlene Christopher, written for the American Society of Training and Development* and featured on her blog, discusses the PREP model for delivering training through web conferencing. The approach helps ensure a smoother, more successful delivery through good planning and preparation.

Ms. Christopher defines PREP as Planning, Rehearsal, Execution and Post Mortem. This last step, for the uninitiated, means that you review what you did to determine its effectiveness. The approach helps a company transition from traditional live instructor-led classroom training to training via web conferencing. The cost savings have resulted in a steep increase in the number of companies employing this method.

The essay points out that the folks in your company’s training department, or those tasked with training, need to avoid the temptation to simply convert their training slides to a web conferencing tool. There is a certain amount of preparation, beyond this simple approach, that will increase the effectiveness and success of the web conference training session.

The components of the PREP approach

The author suggests that trainers begin by becoming intimately familiar with their web conferencing platform. She proposes that having a thorough knowledge of the technology will allow the presenter to focus solely on the presentation and not the features of their conferencing platform.

Next, she covers logistics. If the web conference-based training is going out to participants in other time zones, or even other countries, the trainer should be aware of the time of day at each location. In the case of participants who span several countries, she suggests that the trainer consider holidays or days that participants may be away from work.

Logistical considerations extend to how your participants will receive the audio transmission. Will participants require headphones? Ms Christopher suggests that you test the audio equipment and the bandwidth capabilities at each location first.

Content should be kept succinct and engaging and opportunities for interaction should be inserted to keep the audience alert and connected. A script should be prepared for the facilitator and should include a timeline for each slide used during the training exercise. Delegate the primary roles for the training session including the facilitator, the subject matter expert and the producer.

Get it right before the actual session

The next step in the process is to get all key members of the facilitator team together and rehearse. This helps coordinate the roles of each member and provides for a smoother delivery. After rehearsing, the author has several suggestions for the actual execution of the event. She states that the facilitation team wants to log in a half hour early. Be punctual with your start and end times.

Displaying the dial-in number and audio information on the participant’s screen aids them with this key information. Provide instructions to participants about how they can interact during the training session and have an additional computer near you, logged in as a participant, so you can share their experience.

Ms. Christopher urges facilitators to do a post-mortem or a review of how the training session went. This involves feedback from both the participants and the facilitators. Participants can complete an online evaluation at the completion of the training exercise. Feedback from both groups aids in adjusting and tweaking the training to make instant improvements.

*PREP for Web Conferencing Success by Darlene Christopher. http://www.astd.org/lc/2009/1009_christopher.html

Web Conferencing: The Secret Weapon of Marketers

A successful web marketer uses all the available web technologies at his or her disposal to communicate about a product, service or company. By using Power Point presentations with your web conferences, you supercharge your marketing efforts.

A smart PowerPoint Presentation presents an engaging communication tool for your web conference attendees. Web conferencing used with PowerPoint simply works. This web conferencing method will always deliver increased sales and leads when added to a promotional campaign.

PowerPoint has some amazing capabilities. It creates stunning visual imagery through various design templates and tools that add value to the audio of your web conference. These visuals engage audiences, making your message more readily absorbed and understood.

You can make slide shows or complex presentations with text, 3-D graphics, sound effects and animations. This livens the discussion and gives your presentation that "wow" factor needed to drive your point home.

It is easy to incorporate your brand messaging into PowerPoint presentations with graphics tools and templates. Presentations are highly customizable, making it a simple matter to present dynamic and exciting content that fits in with your overall marketing campaign.

If you are looking to convince buyers with facts and figures, PowerPoint graphs, charts and other reports make data presentation easy. You can add in slides with critical points from your data to reinforce the message as well.

Nearly everyone has heard of PowerPoint. This valuable tool makes your web conferences stand out as professional and well prepared. Sales professionals know that compelling PowerPoint presentations that include informative and useful content generate more leads and sales to an existing marketing campaign. They know that preparing a presentation and setting up a web conference is a vital part of their marketing success.

Conference on the Go with Fly!

Conferencing on the fly means being able to set up a meeting anytime and anywhere when time is of the essence. This is when you want a service like that offers reservation-less conference calling. This service lets you connect with multiple persons spontaneously to accomplish important business more quickly than your competitors.

Flexibility

Reservationless conference calls let you meet with anyone, anywhere, for as long as you need. Many services allow you to call out to a recipient, rather than asking the recipient to call into you. Other services provide you with a toll-free number that others can dial whenever you need to set up a conference. Just send a quick email with the toll free number and access code and you can begin the session.

Small Meetings

Some businesses use reservationless calling for smaller meetings only, because operator assistance is often unavailable on such calls, with fewer features than reserved conferencing. You do not need to be concerned about such restrictions with flyConferencing. Operators and full feature services are always available whether your call is reserved or not.

Reservation-less conferencing means you can still plan a meeting in advance. You simply assign a date and time for participants to call in or to expect your call. Those who call in will need an access code, which you supply, typically by email. Participants are connected digitally and bridged together as they call in.

When to use Reserved Conferencing

Higher profile calls with hundreds of attendees are often better left under a reserved system. Organizing such an endeavor would be trying for the moderator on a reservationless system.  Reserved conferencing is also preferable when distributing a conference code would be difficult or inconvenient for the meeting.

Brought to by FlyConferencing.com, the hassle free, no-contract conference calling service provider.

Organizing Your Conference Calls

Conference calls can become cluttered and confusing when there are more than three or four attendees. To keep things orderly and productive, the moderator needs to take a leadership role and lay down some ground rules. Introductions go a long way in keeping things running smoothly.

The first thing to do when moderating a conference call is to help members keep track of who is in the “conference room”. In person conferences allow meeting members to see each other’s faces. A similar means of identification can be accomplished in a conference call by setting up a “clock” in the beginning of the meeting and assigning locations to new arrivals as they enter the call.

“The Clock” is a well-known device for frequent conference call moderators. It allows the participants to create a visual representation of the other conference call members. Assign each attendee to a different time position on the clock. If you have more than twelve members, use ½-hour times as well. When each person is assigned, introduce yourself and then have the members introduce themselves in clockwise order.

If attendees are late entering the meeting, simply pause the meeting and assign a position to the new attendee so that those already in the meeting can assign a visual location to the new person. Ask the new member to give a short introduction and quickly state his or her purpose in the meeting. In order to minimize the disruption, simply allow to call to continue rather than going through introductions again.

For more information on affordable conference calls visit FlyConferencing.com

Recording Conference Calls

Conference calls are an important communication tool for your business. They allow you to hold important discussions with coworkers across the globe, meet with clients no matter where they are located and conduct training for staff. The usefulness of conference calls can be further expanded by recording them for your clients.

Recording conference calls does several things that make them good tools as a client service. Firstly, when attendees know the meeting is being recorded, they are more likely to keep their remarks civil and to the point. This keeps the meeting professional and saves time, since those who know they are being recorded are much less likely to ramble on about a topic.

Not only does recording meetings keep them civil and professional, it makes them more productive. Because attendees can listen to the meeting again at any time, they will spend less time taking notes and more time paying attention to the meeting.

All this works to make a top-notch session that you can share with your clients. These meetings demonstrate your company’s expertise and serve as vital educational tools to teach clients about your products and services. Instead of scheduling meetings with a client, you can offer them a recording of the meeting that they can watch on their own schedule.

Recording conference calls also offers more flexibility for your clients. If an important person from a client organization cannot attend, the meeting will not need to be rescheduled. It can simply be played back later for anyone who missed the meeting.

For more information on conference calls visit FlyConferencing.com

Conference Call Etiquette Tips and Ideas

As more and more people begin using conferencing as part of the standard way to conduct business---the question is poised, what are the do's and do not's of conducting a conference call?  Yes, I do mean conference call etiquette. We seem to have business etiquette for introductions, making presentations---but for those who are venturing into webinars and demos via web conferencing---how can I ensure a professional call and experience?

Like any meeting the key is to practice and prepare ahead of time.  If you are using a new audio or web service for the first time-make sure to test out your dial-in number and passcode, check your equipment (speaker phone, handset or web cam) and of course make sure that you have all your documents or presentation materials ready (if you are conducting a demo or sharing). 

Here are our first official 5 tips (we will post another 5 tips tomorrow before the holiday weekend).

1. Plan ahead for an efficient and effective meeting. In the conference invitation, inform participants of the purpose, agenda and time limit for your meeting.
2. Forward the Audience Invitation to each individual invited to attend. This will provide them all the information they need to quickly and easily enter you're audio and web conferences.
3. Dial in to your conference 5 to 10 minutes before the start of your meeting to prepare yourself and to prevent your guests from waiting for you on hold.
4. Start the conference with a roll call to confirm attendance and inform all participants of who is on the conference.
5. Advise participants who are not actively speaking to mute their phones in order to eliminate background noise.

Please email or comment to provide your top tips and suggestions for ensuring a professional audio or web conference call.  We will work on assembling this list over the next few weeks and share our top 25 list both on our website and blog.  Please visit www.flyconferencing.com for more information.

How to Make a Conference Call: Are you being efficient with your time?

Ever find yourself in a meeting where you don't really need to be there?   This is no reflection on the people who have called the meeting, but it could be a meeting that has some aspect of the agenda that you really do not need to be present for.   This happens to anyone who is involved in business, with the many departments and projects that are taking place at any one time.   This variance means that, inevitably, at some point you will find yourself effectively redundant to the agenda.   This means that your time is being wasted.

Imagine being able to cut out this time wasting.   Imagine being able to ensure that any time the meeting becomes irrelevant to you, you can drop out for a few minutes without this being awkward, and check your email or make a call.  Then when the meeting becomes relevant to you again, you drop right back in and get involved.

This is exactly what web conferencing is like.   On the web, a conference call involves a web cam and/or a web connection with microphone.   If at any point the meeting becomes something that is nothing to do with you, you can simply log out and get on with the important stuff.   When it comes back to you, or it is your turn to contribute, for example, log back on after an alert, and get down to business.

There are a number of web conference providers in your area.   Investigate them, and find the right package for you and your business.  We also ask you to visit our website, www.flyconferencing.com for more information.