In preparation for next week's audio conferencing carnival, I've rounded up some more useful information on improving conference call productivity and quality.
Conference Call Etiquette (14+1 Tips) from Lyndsay Swinton
Ms. Swinton offers many useful tips here, including "Do start the meeting absolutely on time; don’t reward latecomers’ bad behaviour by waiting for them...." and her final note "Do not sit on a leather chair. Ever." Click over to her article to find out what to do with late arrivals or what conferencing dangers are presented by the leather chair
Anna Zelenka's 27 Tips for Teleconferencing at Web Worker Daily
This is one of my all-time favorite posts on teleconferencing. Although her tips are geared toward people working from home, they're applicable to any conferencing setting. High points: 8. Make it a podcast or just record it for your own use. (within legal boundaries, of course) 20. Have a ready-made excuse in case you do get distracted. (her info here is priceless!) 26. Follow up by email. A recommendation that I made as well, but she gives some other compelling reasons to follow up on a conference call.
Power Conference Calls offers a lot of sage advice, including a great story about why you should keep quiet if something has gone wrong with your conference call, as well as a great way NOT to start your conference call (though I hear it happen all the time).
And don't forget my original post on this topic - Seven Simple Ways to Improve Your Conference Calls. I look forward to seeing more tips and best practices in the upcoming audio conferencing carnival!
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Thursday, August 30, 2007
The Best Time for a Conference Call
How do you schedule your conference calls? Sometimes scheduling is easy, like when everyone is in the same time zone or only an hour apart. But what about bicoastal or international calls?
If your call just needs to link together offices that span North America, consider 10 or 11 AM PST (1 or 2 PM EST). This makes it a lunchtime call for those on Central Standard Time, but at least everyone can be in the office without worrying about arriving early or running late.
The frequently cited best time for an international conference call is 6 a.m. PST. At this time, the times around the world are:
Any other conference scheduling tips and tricks you'd like to share? Feel free to post them in the comments.
If your call just needs to link together offices that span North America, consider 10 or 11 AM PST (1 or 2 PM EST). This makes it a lunchtime call for those on Central Standard Time, but at least everyone can be in the office without worrying about arriving early or running late.
The frequently cited best time for an international conference call is 6 a.m. PST. At this time, the times around the world are:
- Americas - 6 AM Pacific (Seattle, Los Angeles), 8 AM Central (Chicago, Houston) 9 AM Eastern (New York, DC, Miami)
- Europe - 2 PM GMT
- South Africa - 3 PM
- Middle East - 4 PM (Riyadh)
- India - 6:30 PM
- Singapore - 9 PM
- Japan - 10 PM
- Australia - 11 PM (Canberra)
Any other conference scheduling tips and tricks you'd like to share? Feel free to post them in the comments.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Enterprise Collaboration
Michael Sampson has just delivered a great roundup in his Enterprise Collaboration and Virtual Teams Report. I was hooked after just the first entry, which is an article examining common workflows and when teams are and are not necessary. The report links to many other articles on the "people" side of collaboration, the technological trends, and other collaboration insights.
Now that enterprise-scale businesses have turned their attention more fully to collaboration, I'm sure that similar articles about the dangers of over-collaboration will surface. Effective collaboration can certainly boost productivity, but collaboration just for the sake of using the new software will probably have the opposite effect.
Enterprise-scale deployment of collaboration tools requires robust conferencing services that can handle the demands of larger, more complex, and more secure meetings. Personally, I've used web conferencing on an enterprise scale for training, sales demonstrations, and inter-office meetings (much better than standalone audio conferencing when software and design questions are being handled). My other enterprise-scale collaboration has been limited to instant messaging, intranet resources, and project management systems, both of which suffered much more from a lack of adoption than a lack of features. (Functionality definitely shared the blame with human issues for the lack of adoption.)
How does your large business use collaboration tools? Are they helping or hurting your productivity? What's your workflow like? If you care to, leave me a comment and let me know. A related survey may be coming soon.
Now that enterprise-scale businesses have turned their attention more fully to collaboration, I'm sure that similar articles about the dangers of over-collaboration will surface. Effective collaboration can certainly boost productivity, but collaboration just for the sake of using the new software will probably have the opposite effect.
Enterprise-scale deployment of collaboration tools requires robust conferencing services that can handle the demands of larger, more complex, and more secure meetings. Personally, I've used web conferencing on an enterprise scale for training, sales demonstrations, and inter-office meetings (much better than standalone audio conferencing when software and design questions are being handled). My other enterprise-scale collaboration has been limited to instant messaging, intranet resources, and project management systems, both of which suffered much more from a lack of adoption than a lack of features. (Functionality definitely shared the blame with human issues for the lack of adoption.)
How does your large business use collaboration tools? Are they helping or hurting your productivity? What's your workflow like? If you care to, leave me a comment and let me know. A related survey may be coming soon.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Presentation Tips (for Web Conferencing and Beyond)
Today's buzz seems to be all about presentation tips, so here are a few sites to help you start improving your PowerPoint presentations. Remember - web conferencing can seem impersonal enough to your participants who aren't accustomed to online communication, so do yourself a favor and make your presentation engaging.
Garr Reynolds (Presentation Zen) on the Takahashi Method
I appreciated the move toward simplicity and away from reading lists of bullet points, but when you get to a slide that's just a number (as with slides that are just images), what is the point of even having the slide? At extremes, I think this method makes the visual part of the presentation irrelevant. Takeaway: Be simple, be innovative, but don't leave your audience with nothing to anchor them.
How I Made My Presentations A Little Bit Better from 43 Folders
This is a great article. The presenter seems to have found an elegant, simple solution to slide content, and he makes a great point - "...consider sometimes showing images and text that make an orthogonal point to what you’re saying aloud to the audience at that moment." People learn and retain more when they discover information for themselves, not when it's told to them, and better still they learn it on their own terms, in their own language. Trust your audience to put two and two together. Lots of other great links and tips in this article.
An older but still relevant list of PowerPoint tips, how-to's, and don'ts from cazh1
Mostly links, but worth a visit...I'd have had to list most of these here separately if this list didn't exist :)
How do you plan for your presentations? Do you use PowerPoint? Keynote? Something else? Have you ever tried these presentation templates? (I've read good things about them but they're not in line with how I currently approach presentation content.) What works to keep your audience interested and get your point across?
Garr Reynolds (Presentation Zen) on the Takahashi Method
I appreciated the move toward simplicity and away from reading lists of bullet points, but when you get to a slide that's just a number (as with slides that are just images), what is the point of even having the slide? At extremes, I think this method makes the visual part of the presentation irrelevant. Takeaway: Be simple, be innovative, but don't leave your audience with nothing to anchor them.
How I Made My Presentations A Little Bit Better from 43 Folders
This is a great article. The presenter seems to have found an elegant, simple solution to slide content, and he makes a great point - "...consider sometimes showing images and text that make an orthogonal point to what you’re saying aloud to the audience at that moment." People learn and retain more when they discover information for themselves, not when it's told to them, and better still they learn it on their own terms, in their own language. Trust your audience to put two and two together. Lots of other great links and tips in this article.
An older but still relevant list of PowerPoint tips, how-to's, and don'ts from cazh1
Mostly links, but worth a visit...I'd have had to list most of these here separately if this list didn't exist :)
How do you plan for your presentations? Do you use PowerPoint? Keynote? Something else? Have you ever tried these presentation templates? (I've read good things about them but they're not in line with how I currently approach presentation content.) What works to keep your audience interested and get your point across?
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
The Cost of Free Conferencing
As a business, especially a small one, there are plenty of reasons to use some of the free tools that are available. If you're in an industry that promotes open source values and practices, you might have a reason to use only free and open access software packages and tools. If you're not, you might want to consider the following questions before you plan your next conference on a "free" platform.
1. Is the free conference call really going to be free?
Free conference calls can be legitimately free. To be free, though, these conference calls require that all participants dial one of a limited number of toll (potentially long-distance) access numbers in order to join a call. If your callers aren't local to the area of the free access number, each caller will pay for every minute of your free conference. Sometimes ok, but sometimes not.
2. What about toll-free access?
The host of a free conference call pays about 10 cents per minute for every participant who calls in using a toll-free access number. This is substantially higher than most standard (non-free) conference call providers' toll-free rates; those at ConferenceCalls.com begin at 3.7 cents per user per minute.
3. Will the free conference call support international users?
Probably, but each international user will have to pay for long-distance access to the call. International long-distance without calling cards or dial-arounds can cost upward of several dollars per minute (an expense that will be billed to each caller individually).
4. Will the free conference call have the features that I need?
Maybe. If you have fewer than 100-150 callers and don't need to do anything other than talk, probably. If you need recording, account records and live conference management, or roll call, entry/exit announcements, conference lock, and other in-call features, then probably not.
5. Will the free conference call service be available when I need it?
Not to scare you, but remember that free conference call providers across the country were recently blocked by several major carriers due to carrier billing conflicts. Is this something that you can risk when scheduling your conference call?
If your business depends on maintaining a seamlessly professional public face, you might want to go ahead and pay for your next conference call to best serve your clients and preserve your company's image. Even if you're just a tiny start-up, a professional conference call isn't beyond your budget (and it could well prove your business knowledge and dedication to your participants). Try our call cost calculator and see how much (or little) it would set you back.
1. Is the free conference call really going to be free?
Free conference calls can be legitimately free. To be free, though, these conference calls require that all participants dial one of a limited number of toll (potentially long-distance) access numbers in order to join a call. If your callers aren't local to the area of the free access number, each caller will pay for every minute of your free conference. Sometimes ok, but sometimes not.
2. What about toll-free access?
The host of a free conference call pays about 10 cents per minute for every participant who calls in using a toll-free access number. This is substantially higher than most standard (non-free) conference call providers' toll-free rates; those at ConferenceCalls.com begin at 3.7 cents per user per minute.
3. Will the free conference call support international users?
Probably, but each international user will have to pay for long-distance access to the call. International long-distance without calling cards or dial-arounds can cost upward of several dollars per minute (an expense that will be billed to each caller individually).
4. Will the free conference call have the features that I need?
Maybe. If you have fewer than 100-150 callers and don't need to do anything other than talk, probably. If you need recording, account records and live conference management, or roll call, entry/exit announcements, conference lock, and other in-call features, then probably not.
5. Will the free conference call service be available when I need it?
Not to scare you, but remember that free conference call providers across the country were recently blocked by several major carriers due to carrier billing conflicts. Is this something that you can risk when scheduling your conference call?
If your business depends on maintaining a seamlessly professional public face, you might want to go ahead and pay for your next conference call to best serve your clients and preserve your company's image. Even if you're just a tiny start-up, a professional conference call isn't beyond your budget (and it could well prove your business knowledge and dedication to your participants). Try our call cost calculator and see how much (or little) it would set you back.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Announcing Carnival #3: Audio Conferencing
The conference call. What can we do to improve it? How does your business use it? What about small businesses – is it worth it? VOIP or plan old telephones? Prepaid? Free? Submit anything you want – as long as it’s about Audio Conferencing.
There's a lot to be covered about this topic, so let's see what you've got!
There's a lot to be covered about this topic, so let's see what you've got!
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Carnival Part 2: Not About Web Conferencing
Here are the leftovers from yesterday’s blog carnival (things that I couldn’t relate directly to web conferencing). Lots to look through, so enjoy! Thanks to everyone who submitted.
Editor’s Picks:
Christine Scivicque presents 5 E-mail Etiquette Mistakes to Avoid posted at The Executive Assistant's Tool Box.
Professionalism isn’t dead, even online. Christine offers some excellent tips that will improve your e-mail communications (and might just keep you from losing that lead).
edithyeung presents Know How to Ask for What you Deserve and Break the Glass Ceiling posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act..
Everyone has to be his or her own cheerleader and PR team, all in one. Edith Yeung presents a great piece on getting where you need to go in your career.
Jack Yoest presents Watch For Upwarding Leaping Monkeys posted at Yoest.com, saying, "Managers, are there monkeys leaping up on your backs? The monkey is the next move after the boss and subordinate part after talking — all too often the boss has the next move. The staffer has ‘delegated’ a task up to the boss. An upward leaping monkey."
I’m sure you’ve seen this take place in your office – upward delegation. How can you avoid it?
FitBuff presents I Can Stand My Stand Up Desk | FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog posted at FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, "Anyone who spends most of their day sitting down, especially those working from home, should consider a stand up a desk. It's now been one month since I set mine up, and this article chronicles how it has improved my posture, productivity, and performance. Plus there is a short video to show you how to set one up yourself for free to try out."
This is way off-topic in some ways, but something that’s been of personal interest to me for quite some time. See how the stand up desk…well, stands up to its sit-down competition.
The Rest:
Jimmy Atkinson presents 14 Good Hosting Options for Hardcore Developers posted at Dedicated Hosting Guide.
rck@TheRoadtoCEO.com presents How to React to Criticism posted at Get More Done with Activity Logs, saying, "Receiving negative feedback is never easy. But when you understand how it can help you accelerate your career, you might begin to view criticism differently. One of the factors that distinguish expert performers from everyone else is how they interpret and use criticism. Instead of trying to avoid it, top performers welcome it and use it to significantly enhance their performance. In this issue we share a strategy you can use to benefit from criticism, rather than feel hurt by it."
Tom Stanley presents Finding The Right Information About Franchise Opportunities posted at Tom's Franchise Information Blog, saying, "If you are looking to buy a franchise business don't just jump right in. There are things you need research. This article will help you discover what to look for."
Jason Rakowski presents How To Deliver Technical Support That Delights The End User, Part Two posted at Learn Good Customer Service, saying, "For computer companies technical support can make or break you. If you are in high-tech this is a must read."
Matthew Paulson presents How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking posted at Getting Green.
Sagar Satapathy presents Startup Required Reading: Top 100 VC Bloggers posted at Bootstrapper.
Pushpa Sathish presents The Business Blogging Toolset: 100 Resources for Entrepreneur-Writers posted at Bootstrapper.
James Wong presents Make Money Online: Site Build It! posted at Online-ebiz.
Bhupendra Khanal presents Cost of Retention Vs cost of Acquisition posted at Analytics Bhupe, saying, "There is one cost, the cost to maintain quality of offerings and service. The terms like Acquisition and retention cost does not exist."
Moneywalks presents Ways to Avoid Procrastination posted at moneywalks.
Mike Harmon presents Planning an Business Trip posted at Basic Accounting, saying, "For Business Owners, a business trip can be a valuable tool and tax deduction. Typically however, the business owner gets to tax time and finds out there is a big tax liability due."
Matt Hanson presents Matt’s Creative Advertising Blog » Blog Archive » Custom Made Jingles, Commercials and Music for Television and Radio posted at Matt's Creative Advertising Blog, saying, "Looking for the right sound and company to produce that sound can be somewhat tricky, especially if this is your first run with TV or radio. There are a number of things to look out for in terms of getting the best price with a great sounding commercial."
Chris Tackett presents ITV Ventures Review - Honest Money Making Opportunity Or Scam? posted at Direct Marketing News, saying, "Do you realize that there are many more infomercials today as compared to 10 years ago? When you look at the television the commercials are aired in such a way to engage the viewer in their ‘wants’. My goal is to help you get the logical side before investing your hard earned cash into ITV Ventures."
Eric Hudin presents From iPhone to YouTube - The Viral Marketing Method posted at Everyday Marketing Ideas, saying, "Many businesses take advantage of the newest marketing method available: viral advertising. Different marketing strategies are employed by product and service providers, channeling popular and existing social networking communities online."
Chris Russell presents Enhancing Human Performance posted at Productivity Planner, saying, "Knowing why people behave the way they do on the job is the key to gaining commitment to continuous improvement. A manager must understand peoples needs in order to increase motivation and therefore meet the needs of the organization."
Stacey Derbinshire presents Leveling the Playing Fields posted at Starting a Small Home Business, saying, "The lifeplan of school, college, and get a job is the paradigm most are trained to follow. However, only a small percentage of those who follow this plan end up with any level of wealth or financial satisfaction in their secular life."
Editor’s Picks:
Christine Scivicque presents 5 E-mail Etiquette Mistakes to Avoid posted at The Executive Assistant's Tool Box.
Professionalism isn’t dead, even online. Christine offers some excellent tips that will improve your e-mail communications (and might just keep you from losing that lead).
edithyeung presents Know How to Ask for What you Deserve and Break the Glass Ceiling posted at Edith Yeung.Com: Dream. Think. Act..
Everyone has to be his or her own cheerleader and PR team, all in one. Edith Yeung presents a great piece on getting where you need to go in your career.
Jack Yoest presents Watch For Upwarding Leaping Monkeys posted at Yoest.com, saying, "Managers, are there monkeys leaping up on your backs? The monkey is the next move after the boss and subordinate part after talking — all too often the boss has the next move. The staffer has ‘delegated’ a task up to the boss. An upward leaping monkey."
I’m sure you’ve seen this take place in your office – upward delegation. How can you avoid it?
FitBuff presents I Can Stand My Stand Up Desk | FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog posted at FitBuff.com's Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog, saying, "Anyone who spends most of their day sitting down, especially those working from home, should consider a stand up a desk. It's now been one month since I set mine up, and this article chronicles how it has improved my posture, productivity, and performance. Plus there is a short video to show you how to set one up yourself for free to try out."
This is way off-topic in some ways, but something that’s been of personal interest to me for quite some time. See how the stand up desk…well, stands up to its sit-down competition.
The Rest:
Jimmy Atkinson presents 14 Good Hosting Options for Hardcore Developers posted at Dedicated Hosting Guide.
rck@TheRoadtoCEO.com presents How to React to Criticism posted at Get More Done with Activity Logs, saying, "Receiving negative feedback is never easy. But when you understand how it can help you accelerate your career, you might begin to view criticism differently. One of the factors that distinguish expert performers from everyone else is how they interpret and use criticism. Instead of trying to avoid it, top performers welcome it and use it to significantly enhance their performance. In this issue we share a strategy you can use to benefit from criticism, rather than feel hurt by it."
Tom Stanley presents Finding The Right Information About Franchise Opportunities posted at Tom's Franchise Information Blog, saying, "If you are looking to buy a franchise business don't just jump right in. There are things you need research. This article will help you discover what to look for."
Jason Rakowski presents How To Deliver Technical Support That Delights The End User, Part Two posted at Learn Good Customer Service, saying, "For computer companies technical support can make or break you. If you are in high-tech this is a must read."
Matthew Paulson presents How to Win People to Your Way of Thinking posted at Getting Green.
Sagar Satapathy presents Startup Required Reading: Top 100 VC Bloggers posted at Bootstrapper.
Pushpa Sathish presents The Business Blogging Toolset: 100 Resources for Entrepreneur-Writers posted at Bootstrapper.
James Wong presents Make Money Online: Site Build It! posted at Online-ebiz.
Bhupendra Khanal presents Cost of Retention Vs cost of Acquisition posted at Analytics Bhupe, saying, "There is one cost, the cost to maintain quality of offerings and service. The terms like Acquisition and retention cost does not exist."
Moneywalks presents Ways to Avoid Procrastination posted at moneywalks.
Mike Harmon presents Planning an Business Trip posted at Basic Accounting, saying, "For Business Owners, a business trip can be a valuable tool and tax deduction. Typically however, the business owner gets to tax time and finds out there is a big tax liability due."
Matt Hanson presents Matt’s Creative Advertising Blog » Blog Archive » Custom Made Jingles, Commercials and Music for Television and Radio posted at Matt's Creative Advertising Blog, saying, "Looking for the right sound and company to produce that sound can be somewhat tricky, especially if this is your first run with TV or radio. There are a number of things to look out for in terms of getting the best price with a great sounding commercial."
Chris Tackett presents ITV Ventures Review - Honest Money Making Opportunity Or Scam? posted at Direct Marketing News, saying, "Do you realize that there are many more infomercials today as compared to 10 years ago? When you look at the television the commercials are aired in such a way to engage the viewer in their ‘wants’. My goal is to help you get the logical side before investing your hard earned cash into ITV Ventures."
Eric Hudin presents From iPhone to YouTube - The Viral Marketing Method posted at Everyday Marketing Ideas, saying, "Many businesses take advantage of the newest marketing method available: viral advertising. Different marketing strategies are employed by product and service providers, channeling popular and existing social networking communities online."
Chris Russell presents Enhancing Human Performance posted at Productivity Planner, saying, "Knowing why people behave the way they do on the job is the key to gaining commitment to continuous improvement. A manager must understand peoples needs in order to increase motivation and therefore meet the needs of the organization."
Stacey Derbinshire presents Leveling the Playing Fields posted at Starting a Small Home Business, saying, "The lifeplan of school, college, and get a job is the paradigm most are trained to follow. However, only a small percentage of those who follow this plan end up with any level of wealth or financial satisfaction in their secular life."
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