Carnival: Web Conferencing

Welcome to the August 15, 2007 edition of the business communications carnival, all about…web conferencing? Maybe bloggers can’t be choosers, but very few of the presented articles had anything to do with web conferencing or even distributed office or client relationships. So here’s what I’m going to do: today’s carnival features articles that relate to web conferencing, while tomorrow’s follow-up post will link to the other strong submissions, because there are a few that I just can’t pass up.

Pete Johnson presents How do you optimize remote teams? posted at Nerd Guru, saying, "This is an older article, but discusses some best practices I've found useful while working from home for 10 years for a large company."
There are some great tips in here that you can use for remote teams – or remote clients. Just because your medium is digital doesn’t mean your communication can’t be personal.

Maureen Farrell presents Ten Ways To Torpedo Your Sales Pitch posted at The Authentic Bartender Blog.
Beef up your sales skills with these tips – even some for PowerPoint.

Charles H. Green presents Deer in the Headlights Decison-Making > Trusted Advisor Associates > Trust Matters posted at Trust Matters, saying, "We've all been taken by surprise sometimes and frozen, unable to find a comeback or a response. But some people can. Why?"
Web Conferencing puts you in a sink or swim position because communication is instant. How will you handle tough situations?

Shawn Edwards presents Taking Care of Your Readers With Excellent Customer Service posted at Desty Online, saying, "Customer service is one of the most vital forms of communication a business came make: communication with its customers."
Keep these tips in mind when using web conferencing with your customers.

Luke Muehlhauser presents How to Make Ideas Stick posted at lukeprog.com, saying, ""Sticky" ideas tend to have several of 6 core features. Here they are."
Improve your presentations with some sticky ideas.

Louise Manning presents Are you a good facilitator? posted at The Human Imprint.
Improve your facilitator skills and watch your web meetings improve, too.

That wraps up this round!. Submit your blog article to the next edition of business communications (theme: Audio Conferencing – more info in an upcoming post, but please consider posting something relevant to audio conferencing!) using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Reservationless or Reserved?

I've been compiling a lot of new information in preparation for our updated company site, which has re-alerted me to a lot frequently asked questions about conferencing and business telecommunications in general. Today's topic: the difference between Reserved and Reservationless conference calls.

Reservationless conference calls can be planned in advance, or they can be launched ad hoc. In other words, the "reservationless" part doesn't have to refer to your planning style - it just has to do with the options and features that are available to you in the call. A reservationless call is connected automatically rather than via operator assistance, so it is usually a substantially cheaper option. In-call features are usually of the IVR variety (press #3 for something, #77 for something else, etc.), which is rarely limiting (especially since most of these features are available in reserved calls anyhow). The biggest deal is that the host of the call has to know what he or she is doing, or at least have a cheat sheet ready to remember the features. Participants will usually need the call's conference code to connect to the call - not a complicated piece of information, but information nonetheless. Also, because everything is connected digitally rather than manually, reservationless calls can only support a certain number of users (which varies between providers, but is usually no more than a few thousand).

Reserved conference calls are used for high-profile calls, calls that are somehow too complicated for the reservationless system to handle, or calls that need to serve large groups (3000+). They are more expensive, but some services even offer call managers (real people, not digital tools) who will take care of all of the technical details so that the host can just talk. Any time that distributing a conference code would be inconvenient, you are hosting a very large call, or you are hosting a call with clients who require the extra touch of operator assistance, reserved calls are the way to go. As their name implies, you must schedule reserved calls in advance.

In sum:
Reservationless calls: quick, cheaper, small to mid-size
Reserved: pre-scheduled, special services, large

Do you have a question about a common conferencing term or technology? Post it in a comment and I'll do my very best to answer it.

Carnival #1: Business Communications

Welcome to the very first edition of our business communications blog carnival. Our topic this time was very open-ended: as long as the article had something to do with business communications, it made the cut. A sincere "Thank you!" to everyone who submitted to this round. I definitely learned a lot from these posts - some great strategies and tips for meetings, general office communication, and even marketing!

When you’re done absorbing all of the tips, shorcuts, and advice from these articles, get your thinking cap on for the next round’s topic: web conferencing. How does your company use it? What works? What doesn’t?

Without further ado, may I present the submissions:

Adam Pieniazek presents Centralization vs. Decentralization | Adam Pieniazek posted at Adam Pieniazek, saying, "A post discussing the efficiencies gained from decentralized structures, and the control over communication gained from centralized structures."
**One of my favorites!

Andy Atkins presents Interaction Associates - Thought leadership and practical tools for collaboration. posted at Interaction Associates - Thought leadership and practical tools for collaboration., with some great tips on how to work together...better. Another one of my favorites from this round!

Renata Vincoletto presents Why Video Conferencing is good for business posted at A geek Family.

Krishna De presents Making a great impression with customers posted at Krishna De.

Tristan presents 15 Tactics for Handling Verbal Attacks posted at The Synergy Institute, saying, "This article by Personal Development Trainer, Tristan Loo, is one of the most comprehensive and practical conflict management articles on the web."

Louise Manning presents Are you a good advocate? posted at The Human Imprint.
**Still another aspect of team leading/project management - great information!

Jim presents There are times when features are better than benefits posted at Jim Logan, saying, "There are times where speaking in features is a better choice than speaking of benefits."

edithyeung presents 7 Phrases Successful People Would Never Say posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act..
**Another favorite! I was already attuned to a few of these, but I found a few more to work on! (I know, I just said "but".)

Alexandra Levit presents 5 Steps for Coping with Criticism posted at Water Cooler Wisdom.

Charles H. Green presents Top Ten Things Not to Say in a Sales Call posted at Trust Matters, saying, "Here's how to blow that sale in one easy step!"

Chris Denny of Lead Optimize presents Lead Optimize.com » Blog Archive » End-to-End Online Marketing posted at Lead Optimize . com, saying, "Tighten up all aspects of your online marketing to turn your visitors into customers."

Warren Wong presents The Gap Concept posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, "Why is it so important to be the first or the best in a market? Here's the why you should be the first AND the best."
Warren Wong also presents My Partner?s Not Doing Enough Work! posted at Personal Development for INTJs, saying, "Do you find that your partner's not doing enough work and are angry for having to pick up the slack? Here's how to handle it."
**Two great pieces from Warren, even though I'm an ENTP!

TherapyDoc presents The Cure for Self-Consciousness posted at Everyone Needs Therapy, saying, "Some of us have to get past this before there are going to be any communications."

Terry Dean presents How to Influence Others posted at Integrity Business Blog by Terry Dean.

Barry Welford presents Apple versus PC - Now For The Real Mobile Web posted at StayGoLinks, saying, "The biggest impact of Apple's iPhone is that it makes the Mobile Web a NOW reality. The simple One Web Principle is no longer adequate as different mobile devices adopt different style sheets and front ends."

rck@TheRoadtoCEO.com presents » Blog Archive » Get More Done with Activity Logs posted at Get More Done with Activity Logs, saying, "Get More Done with Activity Logs
Using activity logs as part of your time management strategy can significantly increase your productivity."

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Games People Play ... At Meetings posted at Mad Kane's Humor Blog.

Bhupendra Khanal presents Top 10 Mantra for Professional Success posted at Analytics Bhupe, saying, "Success is not luck, its a decision."

Jimson Lee presents 10 Reasons Why I Love Google posted at Speedendurance.com.

The Free Geek presents The Enormous Gmail Productivity List posted at Free Geekery.

Susan Borgas presents Bloglines and Google Reader posted at Arts & Stuff, saying, "Even though I mostly post art related posts this story is to help people to understand Feed Readers, especially for those that do not comprehend how to use them. Also there is information about a script that allows advanced users see short feeds in full."

That concludes this edition. Submit your blg article to the next edition of business communications (remember: web conferencing) using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

5 Fast Ways to Engage Your Audience in a Web Conference

The last thing you want is to get the feeling that the audience of your web conference has been spirited away to the lands of email, instant messenger, and YouTube in the middle of your presentation. Here are 5 attention-getting ideas:

1. Polls
This feature should be built in to your web conferencing platform. Make some polls ahead of time to see if your audience is grasping your key points, or make things up on the fly. Use polls to assess interest level (by seeing how many of your viewers respond), too. It's hard to shirk a question that's being asked of you directly.

2. Rewards
Incentives like gift certificates, a free consultation or other service, or other industry-appropriate gifts don't have to be expensive in order to grab your audience's attention. Whether you use them as sign-up bonuses, offer them randomly to participants who complete a meaningful (not just multiple choice) exit survey, or give them as prizes for the most insightful question or comment during a presentation, rewards are sure to keep everyone on task.

3. Live Q&A
This works for similar reasons as #1 - if your viewers know that you're presenting live and taking the time to answer questions during the presentation, they'll be more inclined to pay attention. After all, they may have questions, too!

4. Invite a Guest Speaker
...especially if you're doing a series of presentations. Even if you can't afford to invite someone of note, the change in voice and presentation style alone will wake up your audience. (This one requires some advance planning, but you could always just plan to split presenting duties with someone else in the office or an offsite colleague.)

5. Take a "Commercial Break"
Every 15 minutes or so, plan to take a quick break - maybe this is the time for a poll or Q&A, maybe it's a chance to show an appropriate comic panel or play a quick video clip. Maybe your break can be as simple as switching gears and going from presentation to live demonstration (or letting the group "test drive" your product using application sharing) - just make sure to offer something different from time to time.

Bonus: Liven Up your Presentation
This one isn't quite as quick to implement, but make sure to brush up on presentation skills, even though your audience will be virtual. A lively, upbeat tone and engaging, well-designed visuals make it very difficult to tune out on your presentation.

Bonus #2: Remember Your Audience
Write down the defining characteristics of your audience, like industry experience and/or demographics. Remember what time of day it will be for your participants, and what it's like to be at the office at that time of day. Then, run through your presentation as if you were an audience member, and be very honest about what you see. Don't be afraid to drastically reduce text on your slides or spend more time on demonstration and less on presentation.

Web Conferencing and the Sales Cycle

When do you use web conferencing in your sales cycle?

At the beginning, to generate leads? In the middle, to showcase product information and build excitement? At the end, to clarify details and collaborate on the final result? All of the above? (Feel free to let us know in the comments.)

In an article from ITBusiness.ca (Marketers are Coming Up Short on Web2.0), I found some good news and ...strange news. The article briefly analyzes trends from a recent Knowledgestorm study on B2B lead generation. The good: 20% of decision makers watch webinars every week. The strange: only 11% of those who responded to the study contribute webinar content on a weekly basis.

The result? "'Perhaps vendors need to put webinars up front in their sales cycle, and put more effort in increasing the frequency of their webinar offerings,' according to Anne Holland, content director for MarketingSherpa."

That's right, according to those statistics we need more webinars. Web presentations are an effective (and cost-effective) way to introduce your offerings to the global market. While you can use them any way you like, the stats featured in this article do suggest that the demand exists for early presentations - that probably means broad product overviews and demonstrations that are designed to create buzz and bring in leads, rather than more focused, detailed presentations that would fall more mid- to late-cycle.

Not sure where to get started to showcase your product with a webinar?

• Work with your marketing team to create an exciting slide presentation that covers all of the important facts about your product and allows you time to present sufficient detail. Be sure to include polls about important points or features to make sure your audience is following your ideas.
  
• Plan a product demonstration (consider sharing the presentation remotely if your audience could benefit from a "test drive") that goes along with the slides to engage your viewers
• Create a basic script for timing's sake, but be prepared to deviate from it as questions arise during the presentation (attendees are not shy about raising hands or initiating chat during most web presentations)
• Remember to leave time at the end for additional "test drives" and Q&A

Once you've got your presentation together (and you've tested it in a presentation-like situation to avoid embarrassment), get the promotion wheels turning! Send an email news bulletin, post information on your website, or create a press release to announce the upcoming demonstrations. Schedule your presentations based on demand - don't be afraid to add more sessions if your webinar is popular!

Let us know how it goes! Questions about improving your webinars? Leave a note in the comments - I'll do my best to help.

Business Communication Carnival!

We'll be hosting a business communication blog carnival, with the first edition arriving on August 1st. If you have any tips, tricks, or tools to share to improve business communication, whether they're for audio and web conferencing, meeting productivity, or any other aspect of business communication, we'd love to hear them! Just drop me a line at liz "at" universalcalling.com with a link to your article by midnight on July 30th.

Advanced Conferencing Features Now Available!

We've expanded our audio conferencing features to include many useful in-call functions for the moderator/host as well as the participants! Now the host can:

• Mute/unmute all participants
• Start "sidebar" or breakout conversations (call someone who's not participating in the call and speak to him privately or bring him into the conference call)
• Lock/unlock the conference

just by pressing a few digits, all without leaving the call!

Participants can also mute and unmute their own lines (though the host's controls override their unmute options) - a great feature for those calling in from cell phones or other phones without a built-in mute capability. Remember - not everyone wants to hear your typing or coffee drinking.

For more information on these options or other ConferenceCalls.com audio and web conferencing features, visit ConferenceCalls.com or leave a comment so I can get back to you. We're always working hard to add new features!