international conference calling Archives - Page 2 of 4 - International Call Forwarding and Conferencing for Business & Personal Use

Jordan Conference Calls for Tourists and Business Collaboration

Jordan is one of the world’s leading destinations for medical tourism and has been a leader in this field since the mid-1970s.

Planning a trip to the country of Jordan? Plan on using Jordan conference calls, too.

Below are two examples of how having a Jordan conference calling service can help you plan a successful trip.

Using Jordan Conference Calls to Plan a Group Trip

Whether you’re holding a family reunion or a group trip with friends, the more people involved, the more you’ll need to collaborate. If some of your fellow travelers are in different countries, get a pay-as-you-go international conferencing plan.

That way, each individual could call a local access number in order to join your Jordan conference call. Your contacts in Jordan would dial a Jordan number, those in the US would dial a US number, those in Italy would dial an Italian number, and so on.

Are you going to Jordan for medical care? You can use Jordan conference calls to coordinate your care.

Coordinating Medical Tourism in Jordan with Conference Calls

Jordan is one of the world’s leading destinations for medical tourism and has been a leader in this field since the mid-1970s. Jordan actively markets its medical expertise to Europe, America, and former-Soviet states.

While traveling to another country for a medical procedure may seem costly, many patients have found that the lower costs of foreign healthcare offset the costs of travel — often dramatically so. However, a great deal of coordination is usually required when seeking medical care in Jordan. Conference calls are one tool that can help.

Several individuals, from your healthcare teams in both countries to a health tourism coordinator, may be involved in coordinating your procedure. Using group audio calls is a fantastic way for everyone involved to come together to discuss logistics, explain the process, and plan the best approach for your care.

For example, you may need to speak with representatives from the Jordan medical center as well as your own healthcare providers at the same time. Your loved ones at home may need to speak with your healthcare team or coordinate aftercare services after the procedure.

Using an international conference calling service allows your contacts in Jordan to dial a local or toll free number for Jordan to connect to the teleconference. Meanwhile, your local contacts would dial a domestic access number to connect to your conference calls.

You can also use your Jordan conference calling service to communicate with your loved ones while you’re in Jordan. For example, instead of calling everyone individually after the surgery to tell them that you are recovering, you could hold a post-operative conference call in Jordan from your hospital room or later when you’re back at your hotel.

Your contacts back home will dial a local or toll free number, thus avoiding a costly international long distance call. Since you’ll be hosting the call in Jordan, you’d dial a local access number to join the conference call supplied by AIT.

Alternately, you could use the dial-out feature to dial each of your loved ones directly at a slightly lower per minute rate.

Have you ever hosted a Jordan conference call?

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International Event Planning with Global Conference Calls and Virtual Phone Numbers

Let’s say that you will be planning upcoming trade shows taking place in Toronto, Canada; New York, New York; and Berlin, Germany.

Tasked with organizing an international event such as a conference or trade show? If so, you’ll likely need to coordinate with speakers, exhibitors, sponsors, and participants from around the world.

While project and task management tools will help you keep track of everything that needs to be done, you’ll need a reliable, convenient, and affordable communications method for making dozens of international and group calls.

Consider signing up for a pay-as-you-go international conferencing plan and getting international virtual phone numbers. Here’s how each can help you organize your next event.

Using Global Conference Calls for Event Planning

Let’s say that you will be planning upcoming trade shows taking place in Toronto, Canada; New York, New York; and Berlin, Germany. For each venue, you’ll need to hold conference calls with caterers, facilities managers, stage managers, public relations professionals, and other people both locally and within your own home country.

Holding a traditional conference call proves difficult because many participants can’t dial your country’s toll free number and may balk at dialing direct due to concerns about the potential cost.

[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”lifted-both” width=”300px” height=”” background_color=”#f6e68a” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]By using a pay-as-you-go global conferencing plan, you can hold international group calls as needed as well as issue local phone numbers for Toronto, New York City, and Berlin.[/dropshadowbox]

Everyone dials a local number, yet they’re connected to your global conference call. It’s that easy, and by using a pay-as-you-go global conferencing plan for your event planning calls, you pay only for the minutes you use. Once you no longer have a need for international conference calls, you can stop using the service with no worries about monthly fees or early termination penalties.

Using Virtual Phone Numbers for Event Planning

Many of your calls will be one-to-one, making it smart to also get virtual phone numbers for your contacts to call you. In this example, you could get a virtual phone number for Toronto, Canada; another virtual number for New York City; and another one for Berlin, Germany.

Create a convenient method for your contacts to reach you — Use these numbers to interact with local vendors, facilities managers, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, PR personnel, and others involved in planning or participating in your event.
Give prospective attendees a local number to call — Publish virtual phone numbers on your website and other marketing materials to give your international attendees a local means of contacting you, the event organizer. While you may be physically located in another country, participants from Canada, USA, and Germany will be able to call you using a local virtual number for the country they are in.
Use your virtual numbers to make low-cost international calls — Since you can change the ring to number of a virtual phone number to any phone, you could use your virtual phone number to make cheap international long distance phone calls. For example, while in Germany, you could change the ring to number of your Germany virtual number to your office in Singapore. Instead of risking your hotel’s service, simply dial a local number and take advantage of the low per minute rates from your international virtual phone number service.

These are but a few use cases for both global conference calls and virtual numbers.

We’d love to hear how you’ve put these services to work for you.

Repurposing Your International Conference Calls

You never know when a valuable discussion will arise on international conference calls. Be prepared by recording them.

Holding international conference calls is a fantastic way to interact with participants around the globe in real time. Not only can you connect using a group audio conference, you can also get more mileage out of your calls by repurposing them.

Ideas for repurposing group audio conference calls include:

• Distributing a full or partial recording to participants – Depending on the nature of the call, you might even charge for access to the recordings.

• Use audio clips in PowerPoint presentations – Did an important discussion take place that’s relevant to your next presentation? A short excerpt of that discussion could be a powerful soundtrack to your slides.

• Use audio clips in blog posts or podcasts – Your subscribers may enjoy a taste of the audio conference either in blog or podcast form. Use short excerpts as a teaser to download the full MP3 recording.

• Create an article around a discussion – Whether you interviewed an industry leader or discussed the pros and cons of adopting a new technology, you may have fodder for an in-depth article. Instead of starting completely from scratch, get out the transcript and build an article around the most engaging part of the discussion.

• Extract audio or text-based testimonials – If your international conference calls involve product feedback or training, participants may have some wonderful things to say about your products and services. The recording could be filled with potential testimonials. Extract a few choice testimonials, contact the original speakers, and ask if they’d mind if you used their comments as a testimonial on your website or marketing materials. Many will be more than willing to allow you to do so, and they’ll be relieved that they don’t have to do anything to make it happen.

Below are a few ways to get the most out of your international conference calls.

1. Record your international conference calls. Most international conference call service providers include an audio recording feature. Make sure to announce to the group that the call is being recorded. You may need to obtain permission from other speakers to reuse their talks. For example, if you intend to create an audio CD of a tele-seminar and you’ve invited a prominent industry leader to deliver the keynote, make sure that your intentions are clear and that you have the speaker’s permission to use the recording in any manner you see fit.

2. Have the recording transcribed into text. While editing an MP3 recording and packaging it as an informational product is easy enough, you may also want to have the discussion transcribed into text. Transcriptions add value to those who prefer to read and skim through content instead of listening to a lengthy discussion. Some people will listen but later refer to your transcript as a refresher. In addition, once you have the transcript, you have the building blocks in place for other text-based pieces. For example, with a little editing, sections of your international conference calls could become blog posts, special reports, or even eBook chapters.

3. Determine what can be shared and with whom. Obviously, if the call is intended for internal company use only or contains confidential information, you shouldn’t make it available to the general public. On the other hand, if you use international conference calls to educate, inform, or train customers and business prospects, then it may make sense to repurpose some of that content with other customers and business prospects. Use both the MP3 recording and the transcript to highlight key areas of the call that you may want to use later. Write down the location of the desired audio in hours, minutes, and seconds so that you can easily find it later.

4. Start reusing the content of your international conference calls. Once you’ve decided what to share and with whom, it’s time to start sharing (again, assuming you have permission and the use is appropriate).

You never know when a valuable discussion will arise on international conference calls. Be prepared by recording them.

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Making the Most of Team International Conference Calls

Should a crisis arise or a team member need immediate feedback from other members, it’s easy to initiate an overseas conference call.

Is your team scattered across the globe? While online communications tools allow for global collaboration, they are no substitute for team international conference calls.

After all, the ability to hear voice tone, inflection, and other verbal cues is lost in email, message threads, and social media. Not only that, team international conference calls take place in real time which allows your team to interact quickly and {tooltip}efficiently{end-texte}Predictably reliable international connections and audio quality{end-tooltip}.

At the same time, team international conference calls can be difficult to coordinate due to time zone differences. Depending on the number of participants and the countries involved, costs can also become a concern. Thus, you’ll want to make the most of team international conference calls. Use the tips below to plan an efficient group conference call.

1 Use a pay-as-you-go, no-contract international conference call service with low per minute rates for the countries involved. Pay-as-you-go plans are ideal for teams that may use the service irregularly.

With a pay-as-you-go plan, there are no monthly fees or minimum usage requirements. If you do not use the service one month, you don’t pay for it. If you have a busy month with multiple team international conference calls, you simply pay for the number of minutes per participant used. When the project ends and the team breaks up, you can stop using the international conference call service without incurring an early termination penalty.

2 Allow team members to host international conference calls on the fly. With a reservation-less scheduling system, your team can hold team international conference calls as needed. Should a crisis arise or a team member need immediate feedback from other members, it’s easy to initiate an overseas conference call.

3 Allow team members to take turns being the moderator of team international conference calls. By rotating duties, each team member has the opportunity to determine the best time for the call, schedule the call, create the agenda, lead the call, moderate questions and answers, and follow up with recordings and notes.

With shared duties, no single team member becomes overburdened with teleconferencing responsibilities. At the same time, each team member learns what’s involved and will be more likely to become a better participant as a result.

4 Encourage team members to follow a similar format for each group conference call. Using a standard format breeds familiarity and makes planning easier. Create a basic template for your calls’ agendas. Your team moderator will simply need to fill in the blanks and distribute the agenda and call details to participants prior to the call.

5 Encourage team members to stick to a strict time limit. Not only will this keep your team international conference calls within budget, it will also keep each call on track. Once the call begins, the moderator will be responsible for ensuring that each agenda item is covered within its allotted time.

6 Suggest the use of MP3 recordings. Recording each team international conference call is a simple matter of clicking a button. Doing so ensures that team members can go back and listen to the call later or share the call with business partners, new team members, or members who were unable to attend the call live.

Help your team communicate in real time with team international conference calls. With a pay-as-you-go global conference calling plan and the tips listed above, your team can make the most of their time together in a group audio conference.

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Best Rates for International Conference Calls regardless of Attendee Location

Using the dial-out feature also can reduce the cost of your call, you’ll also have fewer absentees and be able to call participants on demand without waiting for them to dial-in.

Want to reduce the cost of your international conference calls? If your international conference call service provider charges you per participant per minute, the best way to reduce your costs is to use the lower dial-out rates.

Why use the dial-out feature on a Global Conference Call?

There are two basic ways to connect international participants to a global conference call:

Let the participants dial in or use the leader dial out feature. International conference call services that support dial-out tend to charge lower per minute rates for dial-out calls than for toll-free inbound calls from international countries.

For example, if a caller dials in from a high cost country with rates of 50 cents per minute, a ten minute call for that participant would cost $5.00. However, if rates for dial out were just 10 cents per minute, that same call would cost just 50 cents. The savings could be dramatic, especially if you have multiple callers from high cost countries.

The same is true of callers using mobile phones in some countries. Rates for mobile access could be significantly higher than expected. In many countries, mobile phones are more widely used than landlines as well.

Pay attention to the various per minute and mobile rates listed for the countries your participants will be calling from and consider using the free dial-out option. This simple step could reduce the cost of your global conference call dramatically.

In addition, some countries do not have toll free access numbers. If this is the case, your participants will either have to dial an international phone number to reach the teleconference — and they will be stuck with the international long distance charges associated with doing so. Using the dial-out feature solves this problem. The system enables the chairperson to dial their international phone number through the conferencing bridge.

Moderator Dial-Out

If you have a single participant in a high cost country, you could use the moderator dial-out feature to call that person directly at the time of the call or add a participant at any time during the call.

Using the dial-out feature also can reduce the cost of your call, you’ll also have fewer absentees and be able to call participants on demand without waiting for them to dial-in.

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Conducting Your First International Group Audio Conference

With an international teleconference, it’s often difficult to schedule a time accommodates everyone due to time zone differences.

Holding a group audio conference is a fantastic way to communicate with a geographically diverse team or group.

Not only are group conference calls less expensive than meeting in person, they are much more convenient for everyone involved. If participants are located around the globe, you’ll appreciate the savings and convenience. However, holding international conference calls is a little different than holding domestic ones. Here’s what you need to know to make your first international group audio conference a success.

1. Start with an international conference call service provider. Since you’ll have participants calling from around the world, each will need a convenient method of reaching the conference. As you know, each country has its own dialing conventions. You want each participant to feel comfortable dialing your group audio conference. Working with a service provider who specializes in group international conferencing gives you access to local and toll free numbers for each of the countries involved.

2. Take advantage of “dial out” rates for high cost countries. Rates vary by country with some countries being dramatically more expensive per minute than others. For those with high costs, use the service provider’s “dial out” service to dial participants in those countries directly. You will almost always get a substantially lower rate per minute when you do this. In addition, you can preprogram these numbers so that the system automatically dials participants at the appointed time.

3. Familiarize yourself with moderator controls before the call. Invariably, someone on the call will leave his or her microphone unmuted, subjecting the entire group to distracting background noise. Fortunately, you can mute callers. Make sure you know how before the call begins.

4. Have an agenda. A group conference call is a cost effective alternative to other types of conferences. However, you will still be paying on a per minute, per participant basis in most cases. In order to ensure an efficient meeting, map out an agenda in advance and stick to it. Not only will this help you stick to your budget, your participants will appreciate a well-organized group conference call that respects their time.

5. Record your group audio conference call. With an international teleconference, it’s often difficult to schedule a time accommodates everyone due to time zone differences. However, if you record your call, you can later distribute the recording to those who were unable to attend in person.

Holding a group audio conference is relatively easy to set up and execute — if you choose the right international conference call service. Look for a provider that supports the countries involved, offers the best audio quality, and offers user-friendly calling features such as MP3 recording and automated dial out.

aitelephone.com does all of the above and more. With low calling rates, toll free support for over 100 countries, 24/7 operator assistance, and no contract, term requirement, or monthly fees, your next group audio conference is sure to be a resounding success!

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Managing a Large International Conference Call

The operator can assist participants with any technical issues while your co-moderator can help with any other issues that may arise.

The more participants involved in an international teleconference, the more difficult the call becomes to manage. For example, if you have just three or four participants, the “announce participant” feature is extremely helpful.

However, that same feature becomes a distraction when dozens of participants are involved. Use the tips below to minimize distractions and boost the success of your next large international conference call.

1. Send relevant call details to all participants. The success of your international conference call begins before the call actually takes place. Use the invitation to set the stage for your call by including all relevant call details including:

Time and date of the international conference call, ideally expressed in the participant’s local time.

Call-in details including local access number and the conference call’s PIN. Remember, with an international conference call, standard toll free numbers don’t work internationally and many participants will be reluctant to dial an out-of-country phone number due to concerns about potential costs. Thus, it’s smart to use an international conference call provider that provides local access numbers and local toll free numbers to the countries involved in the call.

Call details such as expected length of the call, general agenda items, and whether or not a recording of the call will be made available after the fact. This helps participants plan their days around the call as well as decide if their participation is warranted. You may also want to specify if participation in the international conference call is mandatory or optional.

Encourage the use of any easy connect tools if available. For example, if you have a plan that includes the “Connect App,” encourage participants to download and use it. Users of this particular app can set it up so that the conference call calls them at the scheduled time. Not only can this particular tool help callers ensure that they don’t miss the teleconference, the call appears as an inbound call on the participant’s phone rather than an outbound one which could use up their mobile minutes. It can also reduce the cost of your international conference calls because it uses the conference calling plan’s low dial-out rates.

2. Turn off any “announce participant” feature. This includes voice announcements (i.e., Bob Smith has just joined the conference) and join and leave tones. For large global teleconferences, it is common for participants to come and go, but it’s not necessary for everyone on the call to be informed as they do so. Not only is it distracting to hear all of those tones, hearing a lot of people leaving the international conference call could send negative messages to those remaining on the call. As the moderator of the teleconference, you can still keep a pulse on the call’s participation by using an online live teleconference viewer.

3. If the call is lecture-based, mute all phone lines other than the speaker’s. With a small group, if a single participant forgets to mute his or her line, the resulting background noise can be extremely distracting. Now imagine that multiplied times many un-muted phone lines! As the call’s moderator, you can mute and un-mute individual lines as well as all of those other than the designated speaker’s using your online conference viewer tools.

4. Designate a co-moderator. Make sure to use an international conference call provider with operator assistance as well as designate a co-moderator on any conference call with a large number of participants. The operator can assist participants with any technical issues while your co-moderator can help with any other issues that may arise.

5. Start small. The more familiar you are with your international conference calling plan, the better able you will be to manage a larger call. With that in mind, don’t start with a huge conference call! Start with smaller international conference calls. This allows you to become more comfortable with the system and the nuances involved with communicating with a global audience.

Large international conference calls have their challenges. These challenges can be overcome by choosing the right global teleconference provider, careful planning, and practice. Make sure to start small, learn how to use the call’s tools, and take advantage of operator assistance. Once you’re ready for a larger call, designate a co-moderator and turn off announcements during the call.

International Conference Calling for Human Resources

When an employee is transferred to a different region, international conference calls can aid in the transition at various stages including the interview stage as well as before, during, and after the move.

Whether you are part of a large organization or a small one, international conference calls can help you tap into an international talent pool as well as expand your knowledge without incurring excessive costs.

Below are just a few of the many ways that human resources managers are using international conference calls to their advantage.

1. Virtual job fairs

Virtual job fairs are online events where employers and job candidates come together to learn more about each other. While a virtual job fair typically starts in an online environment, several channels are commonly used in conjunction with the event itself including chat rooms, instant messaging, and teleconferencing. One option is to host an international conference call as part of the event and invite job seekers to call in to learn more about your company, its culture, and current opportunities. Depending on which countries are involved, you could order toll-free access numbers for each country you are targeting.

2. Prescreening recruitment calls

International conference calls are a cost-effective tool that you can use during the interview process. Early in the process, you could hold an international conference call with a job candidate and various decision makers located around the world. Each participant simply dials a local access number, enters a PIN, and joins the conference call. This is a fantastic way to get acquainted, learn more about the candidate, gauge how well the candidate responds under pressure, and share more about the job opening. The cost of international conference calls is minute compared to flying candidates to your headquarters at this stage of the process. As you narrow the field of candidates down through prescreening, you can then bring in only the most qualified.

3. Virtual orientation meetings

International conference calls are also a cost-effective choice once you’ve hired a group of new employees. Use an international conference call in conjunction with other tools to help your new hires get started. For example, you could hold an international conference call focused on your company’s employee assistance and wellness program or other benefits.

4. Training classes

International conference calls can also play an important role in your training program. For example, you could use an international conference call to deliver training or as a live enhancement to video courseware. Since you can record your international conference calls, you may be able to repurpose a single call multiple times.

5. Relocations and transfers

6. Exit interviews

When a key employee leaves the company, it may be useful to hold an international exit interview. This allows managers from various regions to get their questions answered even if they are located in different countries.

7. Virtual leadership retreats

You can also use international conference calls as virtual leadership retreats.

For example, instead of sending executives offsite for a few days of leadership training, schedule a series of international conference calls that cover the same topics. Again, these training sessions can be recorded and reused as you see fit.

These are but a few ways that international conference calls can be used in your human resources department. With budgets tighter than ever, using an international conference call allows you to accomplish the same thing but at a fraction of the cost.

International Conference Calling – A Team Collaboration Tool

If a team leader would prefer to preschedule an international conference call, this is easy to do.

When it comes to collaborating with international team members, you have a number of great choices including instant messaging, web conferencing, online file-sharing tools, interactive whiteboards, and more.

Teleconferencing has long been the gold standard for team collaboration, and it continues to deliver.

Teleconferencing is especially helpful when teams are geographically dispersed as the entire group can come together to brainstorm in a real-time, voice centric environment.

In a world filled with technological marvels and the latest apps, the humble international conference call may not have the wow factor of its competitors but it shines in its simplicity. For example:

Just about anyone can easily participate in an international conference call. All you need is a telephone, mobile or landline or even Skype. There’s no special software to download or equipment to buy.

With a voice call, you can hold dynamic group conversations and gain a deeper understanding based on verbal cues such as tone of voice, pauses, and pacing. With instant messaging, email, and threaded discussion boards, nuances are often difficult to catch and misunderstandings all too common.

You can call into the international conference call from virtually any location on earth. Whether you’re assigned to a remote outpost or traveling on business, a quick phone call immediately connects you to your team – even if you do not have Internet access or a computer.

As with other team collaboration tools, international conference calling is only effective if teams are empowered to use it.

With this in mind, many worldwide companies make it as easy as possible for team leaders to hold scheduled and impromptu global conference call. One way to do this is to set up easy-to-use international conference calling accounts for your teams.

Reservation-less conference calls can be held at the spur of the moment, allowing your team leaders to hold a group conference call any time the need arises. If a team leader would prefer to preschedule an international conference call, this is easy to do.

You can even set up the conference call so that the system automatically dials each participant if desired. Using automated dial-out is a great way to reduce the per minute cost of the call as well as help ensure that each participant is promptly connected. =

Many international conference call service plans are available including pay-as-you-go so no prepayment is required.

Help your team leaders choose the right collaborative tools for the task at hand by holding a basic collaboration training session. For example, your design team may find that using an online collaboration tool is best for task management and file sharing but cumbersome for requirements gathering, brainstorming, and problem-solving. You may find it helpful to create a matrix detailing the various collaboration tools available and when to use which one.

Finally, the golden rule of choosing a worldwide team collaboration tool for any given situation: When in doubt, you can’t go wrong with an international conference call!

Delegating International Conference Call Tasks

Planning an international conference call does not need to be a one-person job. Determine which tasks you can delegate to others and then seek help from your team.

Holding international conference calls on a regular basis can bring your global team together and improve collaboration.

However, coordinating international conference calls requires a great deal of work. Delegating some of this work can free up some of your time as well as improve participation. Use the tips below to improve your global team teleconferences.

1. Identify what tasks need to be done. Though task lists vary, some tasks are fairly common to all conference calls such as creating an agenda, scheduling the call, inviting participant’s and distributing the call’s details, recording the call and later sharing the recorded file, and keeping track of time and agenda items during the call.

Once you’ve identified each task, figure out which tasks can be automated, which ones you absolutely must handle yourself, and which tasks could be assigned to someone else.

2. Ask for volunteers. A few weeks before your next international conference call, ask for volunteers to help you coordinate it. Briefly explain what you need help with and what’s involved. For example, if you need a time keeper, explain that the time keeper will use a stopwatch to time each agenda item and will provide notice when the speaker has three minutes left to wrap up the discussion.

3. Assign a different “host” team each month. An alternative to asking for volunteers is to rotate responsibilities amongst different “host” teams each month. For example, you could put your Italian team in charge of scheduling and coordinating your team conference call in January and then have your Brazilian team do the same the following month.

By rotating responsibilities, each team could bring its own unique talents to the call and experience the various challenges involved in scheduling global teleconferences. With each team experiencing some of these challenges firsthand, you may find that teams become more accommodating and more invested in making the teleconference a success.

4. Ask for feedback. Efficient global teleconferences don’t happen by accident. They’re the result of careful planning and continuous improvement. Ask your delegates what they thought of the planning process. Ask them what they might do differently and why.

Planning an international conference call does not need to be a one-person job. Determine which tasks you can delegate to others and then seek help from your team. Doing so provides others with the opportunity to contribute to your team-building efforts and can improve participation.

It may also improve their own team communications and collaboration skills. Your team members may suggest some creative ideas that you can incorporate into your future calls as well.

Managing Time During an International Conference Call

Meetings, whether they take place in person or are held remotely, are notorious amongst participants for taking up too much time. Whether you’ve rented a conference room or are holding an international conference call, each participant likely has time constraints.

With an international conference call, each minute of your meeting impacts the meeting’s total cost as well. Plus, many participants will be calling in outside of their normal work hours, making the call an infringement on their own personal time.

Managing an international conference call’s time is respectful of your participants’ time as well as economically smart. Use the tips below to keep your next international conference call on track.

Hold shorter, more focused conference calls more frequently rather than “catch-all” conference calls at longer intervals. A tightly focused conference call often requires fewer participants and will have fewer agenda items. Thus, the meeting will be more relevant to those who attend, and it will take much less time than a more generalized international conference call. In addition, participants will appreciate short international conference calls that only take a few minutes each time instead of long, involved calls that require several hours of their time.

Limit the number of participants. The more participants on any given international conference call, the more difficult it becomes to manage both conversations and time. Consider inviting just a handful of leaders to each international conference call and then distributing a MP3 recording of the call to others who need to know the information that was presented.

Create a timed agenda. Holding short, tightly focused international conference calls requires staying on track. A timed agenda is a great way to ensure that your call doesn’t last longer than scheduled. If you’ve allotted 15 minutes to the call, then your agenda needs to reflect that. Write down each agenda item and assign a realistic time limit to each one. During the call, keep track of the time as you move through the agenda.

Share your agenda in advance. Each participant should know what to expect before the conference call so that they too can prepare. Email each participant a copy of the agenda and let everyone know what’s expected of them. For example, if you need input about a recent change, let them know that’s what you’re looking for so that they can gather their thoughts and ask their teams if they have any suggestions or feedback.

Start and end your international conference call on time. If you have a 15-minute teleconference scheduled and you wait five minutes for a latecomer to call in, your meeting just became a 20-minute meeting. Five minutes may not seem like much, but it is multiplied by the number of participants left waiting. Waiting for latecomers also sends a signal to those who were on time that the latecomers’ presence is valued more than theirs. Let the latecomers pay the consequence for their tardiness, not those who arrived on time. Again, you can record the call and let those who missed out catch up later.

Become comfortable with your international conference call service before you use it. You may want to hold a few practice calls with a co-worker before holding your first live international conference call. This can help you avoid any time-consuming mistakes.

Because conference calls are usually billed per minute and per participant, managing time can also keep your meeting within its budget. Keeping your meeting focused, following a timed agenda, being selective about who you invite, recording the call, and starting and ending your meeting on time are but a few easy steps you can take to improve your next global conference call.

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Audio International Conference Calls vs Web-based Conferencing

Today’s web-based conferencing tools may be newer and visually compelling, but they don’t always deliver on their promise.

International conference calls have been the communications method of choice for businesses for decades.

Today’s web-based conferencing tools may be newer and visually compelling, but they don’t always deliver on their promise.

When it comes to communicating with an international team, an audio international conference call remains a winning choice.

Here’s why:

You don’t need fancy equipment to participate in an international conference call.

In fact, all everyone needs is a telephone. Participants can call in on landlines, mobile phones, and VoIP without any issues. In contrast, web-based conferences require Internet access, a compatible device, a web camera, and a microphone; some even require the installation of software. Every participant must ensure that they are adequately equipped to participate.

International conference calls are easy to access and use.

In addition to bypassing all of the setup steps outlined above, international conference calls are simple. There’s no learning curve whatsoever. Participants simply dial the access number, enter the PIN number, and begin interacting with one another.

Participants do not need to appear on camera with an international conference call.

While web cameras make it possible to see others, not everyone is comfortable appearing on camera. In the case of an international conference, time differences mean that many participants must participate after normal business hours. With an international conference call, those who participate in the middle of the night can do so in their pajamas if desired – and no one will ever know. On the other hand, if they had to appear on camera, they’d need to change into professional attire.

It’s easier to connect participants to an international conference call.

A feature unique to audio conference calls is the “auto dial out” feature. You can preprogram each participant’s phone number into the auto dialer and let the international conference calling system automatically call all participants at the appointed time. This takes forgetfulness and tardiness out of the equation and can maximize participation.

In addition to the advantages listed above, international conference calls share many of the advantages that their web-based counterparts have. For example:

You can schedule international conference calls in advance. Not only do international conference calling plans include scheduling tools, you can use your existing meeting scheduling tools to invite and remind participants of an upcoming global teleconference.
You can record your international conference calls. MP3 recordings are usually a simply matter for the moderator of the call. Once recorded, the international conference call can be listened to by others at their convenience. You can use call recordings in any number of ways including historical documentation, training, or as a backup for those who were unable to attend the call at the time.
Anytime, anywhere access to the conference. Audio teleconferences may even have the edge here as Internet access is not required. Both technologies allow participants to participate in the conference from their homes, offices, or other locations (assuming that they have the appropriate equipment and access, that is).

Finally, audio international conference calls using well-established, high quality telephone networks deliver crystal clear sound quality. When every word counts, it’s important to choose a proven delivery method. Next time, choose the tried and true: an international conference call.

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7 Tips for International Conference Call Newbies

With an audio call, you don’t have the benefit of visual cues, so listen carefully and patiently.