Hosting International Conference Calls in Taiwan

Whether you need to host a single conference call in Taiwan or plan on using the global conferencing service on a regular basis, our plans are as flexible as you need them to be.

You’re in Taiwan on a business trip when it dawns on you that you need to host a group audio call with partners in Taiwan, other parts of Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

Normally hosting a conference call wouldn’t cause you much stress, but because you have participants around the world, you realize that this international conference call in Taiwan could be challenging.

Plus, you’re staying at a hotel where it costs a small fortune just to call your office back home — and your regular conference calling plan won’t work in Taiwan. What do you do?

As challenging as this scenario appears at first glance, it’s actually not all that difficult to host international conference calls in Taiwan — if you use the right international conferencing service, that is.

Our Taiwan global conference calling plans are the answer. With a pay-as-you-go international conference calling plan, you can use the service as needed and let it expire without penalty when you no longer need it. Meanwhile, our Taiwan conference calling service will allow you to:

Connect with participants around the world at low per minute rates
Use fiber optic PSTN telecommunication networks for the best call quality
Enjoy advanced conference calling features like MP3 call recording and moderator dial out
Host global conference calls in Taiwan on the fly (no reservations required)

In addition, your callers will be able to:

Dial into your global conference call in Taiwan by dialing a local phone number, or a toll free phone number, for their own countries
Access your Taiwan conference call from any type of phone including landlines, VoIP, and mobile phones

With our Taiwan conference call service, only those located in Taiwan will ever need to dial a Taiwan phone number. As the host of the call located inside Taiwan, you’ll immediately reduce your personal access costs by dialing a local, rather than international, access number. Therefore, you can bypass your hotel’s excessively priced international long distance service.

At the same time, your attendees in other parts of Asia will be issued local numbers for their countries as will callers from Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. They, too, will avoid international access fees. Not only does this reduce, or eliminate, their costs, it also reduces confusion related to dialing foreign access numbers. There’s no need for them to figure out their country’s exit codes or request an operator’s assistance.

Our pay-as-you-go international conferencing service is easy to use for everyone involved, and it’s an affordable choice with its competitive per minute rates for countries around the world. Whether you need to host a single conference call in Taiwan or plan on using the global conferencing service on a regular basis, our plans are as flexible as you need them to be — and the quality is exceptional.

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GEORGIA Global Conference Calls

For example, if you’re located in the United States and would like to host a Georgia conference call, our extended global conference calling service allows you to do just that.

The country of Georgia has been recognized by the World Bank, since 2003, as one of the world’s fastest-reforming economies and as a leader in fighting corruption.

As of 2012, the World Bank has ranked Georgia as the ninth in the world in terms of ease of doing business. Whether you’re already doing business in Georgia or exploring the possibility, you may find it necessary to use a Georgia global conference call service from time to time.

What You Need to Host a Georgia Global Conference Call
In most countries, holding a domestic conference call is fairly straightforward. For example, your PBX system may have the ability to join multiple callers into a conference call.

If not, domestic conference calling services are readily available in many countries. However, once your conference call involves international participants, it immediately becomes more complicated.

For example, if you’re in the United States but need to have a conference call with attendees in Georgia, will you expect them to call your main phone number and incur all of the long distance costs associated with the call?

This is a major barrier that can adversely affect attendance. Some international attendees will not participate because of cost concerns. Others will have trouble dialing an international number. Giving them your toll free number won’t help matters because toll free numbers only work domestically.

The best approach is to use a global conference call service that supports the countries involved. International conference calling service providers offer services that address the unique needs of global conference calls.

For example, if you’re located in the United States and would like to host a Georgia conference call, our expanded global conference calling service allows you to do just that.

Georgia Conference Call Rates

Toll Free access from Georgia = $0.28 /minute
Dial-out to Georgia = $0.22 /minute

(get the same $0.22 rate using the included free Connect App)
View Connect App details here

US toll free access = 2.6¢ /minute

View all worldwide conferencing rates here

For your attendees (and yourself) in the United States, you can issue US access numbers just as you would for any other domestic conference calls. For your attendees in Georgia, however, you would issue toll free access numbers specific to Georgia. They’ll dial a toll free number, thereby eliminating any concerns about cost or operator assistance, and be connected to your global conference call at no cost to your participant.

Your Georgia conference calls can also include participants from other countries. For example, if you need to host a global conference call with participants from the U.S., Georgia, France, Ireland, Australia, and Hong Kong, you can easily accommodate all of these participants from around the world.

The hardest part of hosting Georgia international conference calls with our service is dealing with time zone differences, and that’s beyond any of our control.

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Greece Global Conferencing

For example, your participants in France will dial a number local to Paris or France toll free number while your participants in Denmark might dial a number local to Copenhagen.

Not sure what you need to conduct a global conference call while in Greece?

Global conferencing is a bit trickier than hosting a conference call with attendees residing in the same country, but it’s quite easy once you have the right service provider.

Here’s what you need for successful international conference calls from Greece:

A reliable, high quality Greece global conferencing service provider. While it may be fine to use VoIP, Google Hangouts, or Skype to communicate with loved ones overseas, you’ve likely encountered a few glitches and sound quality problems along the way. These are undesirable when hosting business conference calls. Our Greece global conferencing plan utilizes fiber optic PSTN networks for the best sound quality and reliable available — and our rates are highly competitive.

Any type of phone. There’s no software to download or hardware to buy. In fact, you can use virtually any type of phone including landlines, mobile phones, or VoIP phones. So can your Greece global conference call participants.

Is it really that easy to host conference calls in Greece? For the most part it is. Once you’ve signed up for a pay-as-you-go international conference calling plan, you can begin hosting conference calls in Greece and around the world. Here’s where it gets tricky: your attendees will need access phone numbers in order to join the call.

With traditional, domestic calls, everyone dials the same access number so setting up the call is a simple matter of scheduling it and sharing the start time and access number with the group.

With Greece global conference calls, you’ll have participants around the world. If you were to give them a Greek access number, many won’t join the call. Some will join, but with reservations and potential resentment about having to pay international long distance charges. Others will try to join but have trouble dialing out of their countries.

That’s where having an international conferencing plan proves invaluable. With our Greece global conferencing solution, you can host the call in Greece and issue international toll free and local access numbers to your participants.

For example, your participants in France will dial a number local to Paris or toll free while your participants in Denmark might dial a number local to Copenhagen. With each participant having a local or toll free option, your call participation rate should be much higher than if you had issued a Greece access number for the conference call.

We’re proud of our Greece global conferencing plan. It’s flexible, affordable, high quality, easy to use, and loaded with premium features such as 24/7 US-based operators, MP3 audio recording, moderator dial-out, and a free Connect App.

We offer international conferencing plans on a no-contract, pay-as-you-go basis with no cancellation penalties.

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Denmark Conference Calls

Our international conferencing plans have no contracts and no cancellation fees.

Denmark’s economy has transitioned from largely agricultural to a highly service-based and export-oriented one. Among Denmark’s export offerings are: furniture, clothing, pharmaceuticals, industrial equipment, and, yes, windmills.

Whether you find yourself in Denmark on business or for pleasure, staying in touch with your team back home — and around the globe — is possible via Denmark global conference calls.

Here’s what you need to know about using our global conferencing service when in Denmark:

• You can host global conference calls from anywhere in Denmark. Whether you’re in Copenhagen or a smaller community like Ringsted or Skive, all you need is an active phone and our pay-as-you-go international conferencing service.

• Your conference call attendees can participate in your global call from virtually anywhere in the world. Again, as long as they have active phones, they can join your call. They do not need to have an account with us. They can use landlines, mobile phones, and VoIP connections to join your Denmark conference calls.

• You control how participants join your global conference call. Rates vary by connection type (mobile, landline, or dial out), country, and access number (toll free or regional). For example, you could choose to provide toll free access for everyone around the globe (where available) or you might choose a combination of toll free, local access numbers, and direct dial out as a means of reducing your conference call’s total cost.

• You can schedule conference calls in Denmark at a moment’s notice or well in advance. There’s no need to make a “reservation” with our international conferencing service. Thus, if you have an urgent need, you can quickly gather your colleagues into a Denmark conference call. On the other hand, you can schedule your global conference calls in advance, allowing plenty of time to plan a successful meeting.

• Operators are available to assist 24/7. Our US-based operators can help you with your conference call at any time, day or night. Whether you need technical assistance or would like an operator to patch in a caller from another country, you can count on us to make it happen.

• You have access to premium calling features. Our Denmark conference calling service has both budget-friendly rates and premium features such as superior audio quality via fiber optic networks, MP3 call recording, a live event viewer, and a mobile app. Our premium calling features are included at no extra cost.

• You can hold has many Denmark conference calls as you’d like — or as few. We don’t hold you to a predetermined usage requirement. Whether you want to hold conference calls every day, once a month, once a year, or once in a blue moon is completely up to you. You’ll pay only for the minutes you use. If you don’t use any minutes, you don’t pay.

• You can host conference calls outside of Denmark, too. You’re not limited to a single country and can use your international conferencing account to host conference calls from virtually any country in the world. If you’re a world traveler, a single account opens the doors to international conferencing no matter where you may happen to be.

• Our international conferencing plans have no contracts and no cancellation fees.

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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.

Have you been invited to an international conference call for the first time?

An international conference call is similar to a domestic one in that the conference takes place over the telephone.

However, with participants located around the globe, international conference calls tend to have a few more challenges. Here’s what you need to know before participating in your first global teleconference.

What time is the international conference call in local time? Though most international conference call hosts clearly list the time of the call, it’s not always obvious when the call starts in your specific time zone.

For international conference calls with a large number of participants, it’s impractical for the host to break down the call’s start time in each country. In this case, the host will likely express the call’s time using Greenwich Mean Time or Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). From there, it will be your responsibility to figure out the call’s actual start time in your time zone. Use an online time and date converter if needed.

What language will be spoken? It’s easy to assume your native language will be spoken, but that’s not necessarily the case with international teleconferences. For example, what language might be used between a Japanese electronics company and its operators in Mexico, USA, and Brazil? With four possible languages, it’s important to find out for sure. If you do not speak the language, find out if there will be another call in your language or if a translation will be made available after the call. If you must participate in a call where language is a barrier, it may be smart to have a translator join you.

What will your role be? Will you be expected to actively contribute to the conversation or is the call more informational in nature? If the call will take place at an inconvenient time, is not urgent, and you are not expected to actively contribute, it may be possible to listen to an MP3 recording of the international conference call after the fact.

Who else will be participating in the call? Because of the international nature of a global teleconference, it’s also helpful to know which other countries will be involved so that you can be sensitive to any cultural differences.

Prepare to be patient. It’s often difficult to communicate with people from other countries. Not only is there the issue of language, heavy accents can interfere even when everyone speaks the same language. With an audio call, you don’t have the benefit of visual cues, so listen carefully and patiently. When it’s your turn to speak, speak clearly and slowly and avoid using slang which can cause confusion.

Ask for an MP3 recording or transcript of the call. Many international conference call hosts record their calls and distribute recordings afterward. Others will transcribe the call as well. If you had difficulty understanding portions of the call due to language barriers, a recording or transcript could be beneficial.

As with any conference call, you’ll want to mute your phone line any time you are not speaking. This ensures that any background noise at your location does not interfere with the international conference call.

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Dealing with Language Barriers During an International Conference Call

If you intend to hold two or more versions of the international conference call in different languages, make sure to include the details for those calls in the invitation.

It’s common for language barriers to arise during an international conference call. The nature of a global teleconference virtually guarantees that participants come from different backgrounds and speak different languages.

While it’s impossible to completely erase language barriers amongst a geographically diverse audience, you can do your part to be an effective communicator. Below are a few tips to help overcome potential language problems.

Include language details in your international conference call’s invitation. By stating clearly in the invitation which language will be spoken, your audience will be better able to decide if attending the international conference call makes sense. If you intend to hold two or more versions of the call in different languages, make sure to include the details for those calls in the invitation. For example, you could say something like, “This call will be conducted in English. A Portuguese version will take place on (date/time) followed by a Spanish conference call on (date/time).”

Request that we give you voice prompts in another language. Currently, we offer multi language system prompts in the following languages: French/English dual prompt, English/German dual prompts, Spanish/Portuguese dual prompts, English/Japanese dual prompts, Mandarin Chinese/English bi-lingual dual prompt. Visit our Expanded Global Conferencing service here.

Speak slowly. Non-native speakers will appreciate the slower pace which helps them to process what’s been said.

Avoid slang, cliches, and colloquialisms. They simply do not translate well. In fact, they probably won’t make sense whatsoever. For example, if you intend to start a project right away, saying “let’s get this ball rolling” could confuse non-native speakers and have them wondering what a ball has to do with anything. Instead, be clear and say “I want to start this project immediately.”

Send out a detailed agenda. The more you can fill in the blanks in advance, the better. By having a detailed agenda in place, each participant can quickly determine the general topic of discussion which provides extra context to the conversation.

Consider using an interpreter. Interpreters may be necessary in some situations. Due to the nature of an international conference call, you can use a “virtual” interpreter located in any country. Just as regular participants dial into the teleconference from their phones, the same is true of an interpreter.

Consider allowing personal interpreters. Some participants may want to use their own personal interpreters or even a trusted family member to help them understand what has just been said. If the content of the call is not proprietary or confidential, this can be helpful to individuals. If you’re concerned about confidentiality, it may be necessary to require a non-disclosure agreement. If personal interpreters will be used by participants, make sure to instruct those individuals how to mute their lines so the interpretation remains private.

Record the international conference call and make the recording available to participants after the fact. Some participants may appreciate being able to go back and listen to the teleconference afterwards to ensure that they didn’t miss anything.

Have the recording transcribed. Sending a transcription of the international conference call is another way to help non-native speakers get more out of the call. In addition to sending a word-for-word transcription, or as an alternative, you could also send a synopsis that summarizes the key points.

Have the recording or transcription translated. Another option is to translate the recording or transcription. For example, if the primary languages of participants are English and Portuguese, you could conduct the call in English, record it, and then have it translated into Portuguese.

Encourage questions. Another option is to recognize potential language barriers from the beginning and encourage participants to “raise their hands” or interrupt you if something doesn’t quite make sense. By alerting you to sections that don’t make sense, you have the opportunity to rephrase your statements or clarify. This can also help you improve your presentation as you learn more about what trips up your audience. For example, you may realize that you use cliches far too often. With this realization, you can then pay more attention to your own speak patterns and habits.

Issue a post-teleconference survey. Have participants fill out an anonymous survey after the global teleconference. This can alert you to communications issues that participants may have been hesitant to raise during the call. One of the questions you might include on the survey is this: Describe anything that you feel was unclear during the call? From there, use this feedback to write up a short letter clarifying any key points that may have been misunderstood.

International conference calls bring with them the potential for communications problems due to language differences.

It’s not easy, but it is possible to communicate despite language barriers.

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11 Reasons to use International Conference Calls

You can even record the international conference call to refer to later or for training purposes.

International conference calling is a fast, cost-efficient, and easy-to-use method of communicating with a group of people from around the world.

Commonly used to conduct business, an international conference call can be used for any number of purposes and from virtually any phone in the world. How will you use your next teleconference? Below are a few ideas to get you started.

1. Sales

Need to build relationships with clients from around the world? An international conference call is a great way to stay in touch with new, prospective, and existing clients. Whether you want to introduce the client to a local account representative or the company’s CEO, a group phone call is a good choice for introducing various representatives to clients and helping clients get their questions answered. You can also use a global teleconference to introduce a new product or service.

2. Negotiations

Preliminary negotiations can be handled over the phone using an international conference call. Once connected, all parties can state their objectives, discuss the contract’s finer points, ask questions, and present counteroffers. You can even record the international conference call to refer to later or for training purposes.

3. Investigations

Need to gather information from witnesses located around the world. Depending on the nature of the investigation, you may be able to do much of the groundwork over the phone using a global conference call.

4. Recruiting

Recruiting talent from around the globe can quickly become cost prohibitive, especially if you must fly candidates in from other countries for job interviews. Using international conference calls in the early, prescreening process can drastically cut your costs while simultaneously allowing human resources and regional managers the opportunity to speak with job candidates in a group phone call. Again, the international conference call can be recorded for later reference or for sharing with others involved in the final hiring decision. As you narrow the field of candidates down, you can conduct secondary interviews using a international conference call and then fly in only your top choices.

5. Team building

Managing a geographically diverse team is challenging as each team member may feel isolated from the group. Holding frequent international conference calls with the entire team provides a greater sense of community and it allows everyone the opportunity to get to know each other. Being able to speak with one another, brainstorm, solve problems, share ideas, and even talk about the weather can improve morale as well as accomplish other goals you have set for the conference call.

6. Training

From customer service and sales to sexual harassment prevention and time management training, many types of training courses can be effectively delivered using audio only. With an international conference call, the trainer can deliver the training to trainees located around the world in real-time. Not only that, you can record the conference call and use the MP3 file for future trainees. With a recorded international conference call, you can also ensure that all trainees, both current and future ones, receive the exact same instruction.

7. Family celebrations and reunions

Global teleconferences aren’t just for business. In fact, if you have family members located around the world, you can use an international conference call to bring the entire family together to share news or plan the next family reunion.

8. Event planning

Whether you need to coordinate a corporate retreat, charity fundraiser, or small wedding, if various partners are located outside of your country, holding an international conference call is an excellent option. By using a low-cost international conference calling service, each partner can dial into the teleconference and participate in the planning. Make sure everyone is on the same page by using group conference calls to plan the event.

9. Coaching

Many consultants and coaches use international conference calls to share their messages with a global audience. A global teleconference can be conducted in real-time, allowing participants to call in, listen to the lecture, and then ask questions. In addition, the teleconference can be recorded and sold as an informational coaching product or distributed as a free gift.

10. Tutoring

Many tutors conduct “virtual” tutoring sessions using teleconferences. This can be particularly helpful to international students who need extra help in a country where live tutors are scarce. You could use an international conference call for one-on-one or group tutoring.

11. Expert witnesses

Many lawyers use international conference calls to interview expert witnesses located around the world. With a global conference call, the lawyer, a court reporter, a paralegal, and the expert witness can all be located in different countries, yet the conversation can efficiently take place. You can use an international conference call to gather information, conduct a disposition, or get a better sense of how the expert witness responds under pressure.

These are but a few of the many different ways you can use an international conference call to connect with other people from around the world. How will you use your next global teleconference?

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Improve the Efficiency of Your Next International Conference Call

In addition, many decisions will be made. Make sure someone is responsible for taking notes so that these items are not neglected on your global conference call.

Hosting an international conference call requires coordinating the schedules of multiple participants from around the world.

Just as you likely have a busy schedule, the same is true of your global teleconference participants. By running the most efficient conference call possible, you can accomplish the call’s mission while respecting everyone’s time.

This, in turn, lays the groundwork for the participation of future international conference calls.

Use the tips below to improve the efficiency of your next international conference call.

1. Define the call’s mission. Have you ever attended a teleconference that rambled on with no clear agenda? The conference call probably did not have a clearly defined mission. Thus, the moderator “winged it” and efficiency suffered as a result. Before you schedule your next international conference call, make sure you know exactly what you want to accomplish. Write down the call’s mission in one or two sentences.

2. Define who needs to attend the international conference call. Have you ever attended a teleconference that had little relevance to your job role?

If so, your presence may not have been essential and you likely felt as though the conference call was a waste of your time.

Think about your call’s mission before you start inviting participants. Who is critical to the mission? Who needs to attend the call? Is it necessary for all participants to attend the entire call? Is it possible to excuse some of the participants after the main portion of the call is over? Would it be better to allow some participants to listen to a recording of the call after the fact at their leisure?

3. Plan your call’s talking points. Whether you work off of a formal agenda or a rough outline, you should know exactly what topics should be discussed as well as for how long.

As you finalize your call’s agenda, make sure to share it with key participants – especially those who have been assigned to speak about a given topic. Let speakers know how much time you’ve allotted for their presentation along with any other pertinent details so that they can arrive well prepared.

4. Schedule the call and share the call’s details in local time. With an international conference call, participants will appreciate receiving the call’s details in their own local times.

By telling them exactly what time to call in local time, you can avoid missed calls and unnecessary confusion.

5. Provide international participants with a local access number. Use an international conference calling service that offers toll free or local access numbers that are local to the countries that your participants are in.

This ensures that each caller can dial a local phone number in order to participate in the teleconference. It can also eliminate confusion and concerns about international dialing.

6. Distribute any pre-call handouts you may have. If you would like participants to be able to refer to sales report, product literature, or other materials during the teleconference, distribute those items in advance so that participants can have them available during the call. You could also distribute the call’s agenda with links to these items.

7. Actively moderate the call. An international conference call can quickly get off track if it is not actively moderated. Use your agenda and a stopwatch to ensure that no single topic exceeds its time limit.

If a topic runs shorter than expected, keep track of how much “bonus” time is available. At the end of the teleconference, you could then use that bonus time to address topics that need more feedback.

8. Assign someone take notes. During the international conference call, many questions will come up that need to be researched before they can be answered.

In addition, many decisions will be made. Make sure someone is responsible for taking notes so that these items are not neglected.

9. Recap the discussion and what needs to happen next. At the end of the call, refer to the call’s notes and do a quick recap of the key points of the discussion.

Let everyone know what the next steps are and reiterate any specific action steps that were defined during the call. Thank everyone for their participation.

10. Send each participant a recording or transcript of the teleconference as well as a copy of the call’s notes and action steps. You may want to create a follow-up document based on the notes that details the decisions made and any specific action steps each participant is expected to take.

11. Finally, create a lessons learned document. Did you accomplish the call’s mission? What would you do differently? What worked? What didn’t work?

Use this time to critically evaluate the success of your international conference call so that you can avoid making the same mistakes and make your next call even better.

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Mind Your International Conference Call Manners

If you are the moderator of the call, you will have more features available to you; make sure to learn them before the international conference call and not during it.

When it comes to participating in an international conference call, it’s important to follow basic rules of phone and professional protocol.

After all, you want to come across as polite and professional, right? An international conference call brings with it a few additional challenges including some that are unique to the medium such as muting and unmuting the line as needed.

Use the tips below to mind your international conference call manners.

1. Learn how to use the international conference calling system in advance. In general, international conference calling involves using regular and mobile phones, a telephone number, and an access code or PIN.

You don’t need any fancy software or equipment. However, you should be familiar with how to mute and unmute your phone line so that you can block out any distracting noises from your environment while someone else is speaking. If you are the moderator of the call, you will have more features available to you; make sure to learn them before the international conference call and not during it.

2. Remember that you represent your entire organization. Whether you are hosting an international conference call or participating in one, you may be the only person representing your organization.

Your demeanor reflects the entire organization. Even if your role in the call is minor, how you present yourself is of utmost importance.

3. Use professional, clear language. One of the biggest problems associated with international conference calls involves language. After all, participants come from around the globe.

Not only should you use professional language and avoid profanity and slang, you should also try to be as clear as possible. Your international colleagues may not be familiar with expressions and colloquialisms common to your culture.

4. Avoid humor and controversial topics. Humor is hard enough to pull off with participants from within your own country, and even more so with an international crowd.

It is too easy for a seemingly harmless joke to turn offensive or insulting. Politics and religion are also extremely touchy subjects and should be avoided.

5. Be on time – if not early. Being on time shows other participants that you are prompt, reliable, and respectful of their time. Ideally, you should be dialed in, connected, and ready to begin several minutes before the official start time.

Go ahead and dial in five minutes before the conference begins and enjoy some light reading while you wait. This ensures that you’re on time and ready. In addition, you may have the opportunity to chat with other participants before the international conference call officially begins.

This is a great way to build rapport with other participants with whom you may not have the opportunity to speak with one-on-one.

Another reason to be on time is that you don’t want to miss anything. If you’re a participant, the international conference call will start with or without you and you’ll miss out.

On the other hand, of you’re the call’s moderator and you’re not on time, your participants are likely to be upset and unlikely to hang around for more than a minute or two for you to arrive. They may not give you another chance to coordinate a global teleconference. Even worse, they may question your ability to meet deadlines or serve their needs.

6. Be prepared. If you’re the moderator of the international conference call, then you should have an agenda prepared and you should be prepared to keep the call on track. As a participant, you should know what your role is in the call and prepare accordingly. For example, if you’ve been asked to share feedback about a certain process or product, you should gather information well in advance of the call and outline the key points that you’d like to discuss.

7. Use mute and unmute. Teleconferences have multiple participants, each calling in from their own potentially noisy environments.

When you’re not speaking, make sure to mute your line. That way, any background noise will not interfere with the international conference call. When you need to contribute to the conversation, simply unmute your line and speak freely.

8. Pay attention to the clock. If you are the teleconference moderator, it’s up to you to manage the clock and moderate the discussion as needed to ensure that the teleconference stays within its scheduled time allotment.

If you are a participant who has been allocated a certain amount of time to speak, you’ll also want to be mindful of the clock. For example, if you’ve been allotted 5 minutes and you’ve already spoken for 10 minutes, you may need to wrap up your presentation or ask the moderator if it’s okay to speak a little longer.

Moderating or participating in an international conference call requires advanced preparation

Hosting or attending an international conference call needs some advanced thought, professionalism, and attention to detail. Be prepared, polite, and mindful of others and your next international conference call is sure to be a success.

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International Conference Calls for Import Export Businesses

When you use an international conference calling service provider, your calls are routed over a high quality PSTN telecommunications network.

Several types of businesses make up the import / export industry ranging from merchants who sell products and services in foreign and domestic markets and export trading brokers to export management companies. No matter where you fall in the import / export spectrum, your business relies on your ability to communicate with people both inside of and outside of your country. International conferencing call can play an important role in facilitating communication with your suppliers, clients, and partners around the globe.

The Difference between Domestic and International Conferencing

While you may be familiar with making conference calls domestically, adding international callers to a teleconference adds a new layer of complexity to the mix. With most domestic conference calling plans, callers are given either a local or toll free number to call to enter the conference call. Unfortunately, international callers may be shut out of these domestic calls.

For example, if the access number is not a toll free number, international dialing costs could be a significant barrier; at the same time, domestic toll free numbers do not work internationally. Even if you gave out a toll free number to international participants, they would not be able to connect to the call. For this reason, you need an international conferencing plan designed specifically for a group of geographically diverse participants.

With an international conference calling plan, each participant is given a local or toll free access number that is specific to their own country. For example, if you have one supplier based in Hong Kong, another in Malaysia, another in Mexico, and a partner in Singapore, each participant would receive a country-specific access number to use to connect to your teleconference. In addition to overcoming connectivity problems, local phone numbers are familiar and comfortable to dial. As the international conference call host, you can even opt to give out toll free numbers to your participants which eliminates concerns about the cost of the call.

Why Use International Conference Calling Instead of Other Options

Using international conference calls to communicate with suppliers, manufacturers, vendors, customers, trade officials, and partners is an easy way to hold a group discussion. While other options, including email and Web conferencing do exist, international conference calling is one of the easiest communications available for groups. After all, all of your business contacts have easy access to a phone. There’s no special equipment to buy or configure. Each participant simply dials a local number and an access code.

That said, a few challenges can arise due to time zone differences. Fortunately, most of these challenges can be solved. For example, if it is not possible for a vendor to attend your international conference call in person, you could still hold the conference call with other participants and record the call. After the conference call is complete, you could then email the absent participant an MP3 recording of the call to listen to later.

Benefits of Using an International Conference Calling Provider

Using an international conference calling service provider to host international conference calls allows you to connect with your import / export contacts in a group environment. Whether you need to coordinate manufacturing, arrange a shipment, or provide bidders with background information, a global teleconference can bring all interested parties together in a voice environment.

International conference calls can also be an inexpensive choice. Plans vary by provider but are typically extremely competitive. For example, if you opt for a pay-as-you-go international conference calling plan, you would pay a competitive per minute rate for each minute of the call (per participant). These rates are often significantly lower than traditional long distance calling rates – even for toll free access. When compared to coordinating a live meeting or adding in travel expenses, international conference calling is a real bargain.

Additional bargains can be found if desired. For example, if you would like to cut the overall cost of your global conference call, you could set up automatic dialing. With this option, you would need to preprogram each participant’s phone number into the software. When the scheduled time arrives, the software then dials each participant automatically. This usually results in lower per minute rates for each participant.

When you use an international conference calling service provider, your calls are routed over a high quality PSTN telecommunications network. This means that callers from countries with poor telecommunications networks can bypass their local, substandard networks and experience crystal clear audio calls.

You can also hold either scheduled or impromptu conference calls. Need to coordinate an emergency shipment with multiple suppliers and logistics companies? An international conference call could be the perfect medium to getting it done. This could result in less fingerprinting and greater accountability.

When everyone must work together no matter where in the world they may be, international conference calls can help facilitate that collaboration. Signing up with a no-contract international conference calling service plan is an excellent choice for any import / export business.

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International Conference Calls and Emergency Preparedness

Whether you’re concerned about an earthquake in Haiti, a super typhoon in the Philippines, or an epidemic in Africa, global disasters are a fact of life. Some strike without warning while others are predictable. In either case, emergency preparedness can save lives and reduce losses. Whether you are involved in a non-profit organization or are serving on an international emergency preparedness planning committee, international conference calling can be used to communicate with others around the world before, during, and after an event.

Using International Conference Calls Before an Emergency

As with any major undertaking, a successful emergency response often results from extensive pre-emergency planning. While you have many communication and collaboration tools available in the emergency preparedness planning phase, global conference calls are an affordable, real-time choice that do not require any special technology or equipment. In fact, you can get no contract, pay-as-you-go access to exceptional international conference calling services.

Once you’ve signed up for an international conference calling plan, collaborating with other emergency response coordinators around the globe is a simple matter of dialing into a “conference room.” Each participant dials a phone number that’s local to their specific countries to access the global conference call. Depending on how your particular international conference calling plan works and your preferences, these international access numbers might even be toll free numbers. From there, each participant is prompted to enter the conference’s PIN number which then connects them to the call.

One of the benefits of using international conference calling is that you can record the calls and make them available to other participants afterward. For example, if a key team member can’t attend the call at the time, he could listen to it after the fact and receive the same information the rest of the team received earlier.

During the planning phase, you can use global conference calls for any number of purposes including:

Committee meetings
Volunteer orientation and training sessions
Coordinating shipments of supplies before an emergency
Conferencing with government officials
Conferencing with first responders
Conferencing with nonprofit organizations

Using International Conference Calls During an Emergency

While high winds, driving rain, floodwaters, and other perils wreak havoc on an area, it soon becomes apparent that it’s time to implement your plan. Unless you’re in the midst of the catastrophe, you can begin to mobilize your team by using international conference calling services.

In the case of a hurricane or typhoon where there’s usually a few days’ warning, you may want to schedule your global conference calls in advance to check in with the team periodically and start taking action.

In other cases, your global conference calls will need to take place on an impromptu basis. This is where an international conference calling service’s “moderator dial out” or automated dialing feature comes in handy. These features allow you to preprogram a group of participants and their phone numbers into the international conference calling system. When you need to hold an emergency conference call, there’s no need to send out email invitations and hope your participants receive the message and are able to dial into the call at the last minute. Instead, you initiate the global conference call and the system automatically dials each participant at the phone number you’ve already programmed in.

As with your earlier global conference calls, you can record your teleconference and make the recording available to other team members who missed the live call. Use international conference calling during an emergency to:

Inform your team that an emergency has occurred
Share information
Strategize
Delegate tasks
Coordinate relief efforts with other first responders, nonprofits, or governmental agencies

Using International Conference Calls After an Emergency

Global conference calls are also useful in the aftermath of an emergency as many of your team members will be traveling to and from the disaster site. In fact, some of your team members may find themselves in countries with substandard telecommunications networks or excessive international long distance costs during an airport layover. Not only can you issue these team members local or toll free numbers to use to access your global conference call from these countries, their calls will be routed over your international conference calling service provider’s reliable, high quality telecommunications network.

Use international conference calls after an emergency to:

Stay in touch with your team
Share new information
Coordinate shipments
Hold global press conferences
Connect international experts to locals on the ground

It’s important to note that international conference calling works with all types of phones including satellite phones. If the local telecommunications infrastructure is damaged, as it often is, satellite phones are a must. If you are on a humanitarian mission, you may even want to use your satellite phone in conjunction with international conference calling to help local survivors call their family members around the world.

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Coaching Calls Using International Conferencing

If you intend to share the conference call recording with others, keep confidentiality in mind. For example, if the call is between you and an employee who is struggling, that call should not be shared.

Coaching employees or counseling clients who have hired you as a coach doesn’t always require face-to-face meetings.

In fact, you can use international conferencing to deliver some coaching sessions over the phone.

Not only can your international conference call sessions help others develop their skills immediately, you could even record your sessions and help others do the same in the future. Of course, you’ll need to respect the confidentiality of your coachees if you do so. If you’re thinking about using international conferencing for coaching, these tips are for you.

Integrating International Conferencing into Your Coaching or Counseling Program

First, determine which sessions lend themselves to an international conferencing environment. For example, you might hold several training sessions at a live event and then follow up with monthly coaching calls via international conferencing.

Another option is to offer access to international coaching calls as an upsell to attendees at a seminar. Some coaches use conference calls exclusively for delivering coaching classes.

What types of coaching sessions lend themselves to international conferencing? Any session that does not require physical interaction or visual demonstrations is a good candidate for international conferencing. For example, if you are a fitness coach who needs to demonstrate how to perform certain exercises or stretches, international conferencing isn’t a good choice. However, if you are coaching other personal trainers on how to grow their businesses, then holding an international conference call could be effective.

Corporate trainers can also deliver personal development coaching sessions to employees as a general group. Smaller private coaching groups are also an option. For example, you could hold a coaching call for all regional sales managers around the world or you might invite only newly promoted managers to a call. The possibilities are endless.

Recording a Coaching Call

Most international conferencing plans include a call recording feature, allowing you to record the call for later. If you intend to record a call, you’ll want to be aware of some privacy issues first. Make sure to announce that the call will be recorded. Do this both when inviting attendees as well as at the beginning of the call.

If you intend to share the recording with others, keep confidentiality in mind. For example, if the call is between you and an employee who is struggling, that call should not be shared. On the other hand, a call where you discuss the latest sales techniques to a passive audience wouldn’t infringe on anyone’s privacy.

Another potential issue can occur when you have a guest or co-host on the coaching call. If you will be distributing the recording or using it for any other purpose other than for personal uses, it’s wise to have the other person sign a release form.

Holding an International Coaching or Counseling Call

Whether you’re holding a coaching call with a group of international employees or clients who have signed up to receive expert coaching from you, if you will be holding a coaching call using international conferencing, you’ll need to set up and plan the call.

Setting up international conferencing requires signing up with an international conferencing service provider. International conferencing plans make it easy for all participants to join the conference using phone numbers that are local to their countries. You can also set up the teleconference so that callers dial a toll free phone number that’s local to their countries. This eliminates confusion and concerns about calling internationally.

Since the coaching call will take place with participants from around the world, scheduling is going to be tricky. Use world time zone maps to figure out which times would work best for most participants. When you communicate the date and time of the coaching call, include the date in time in each participant’s local time to minimize confusion. If you have a small group, you could communicate this information with participants individually. For larger groups, you might include a master list of times by country and instruct participants to refer to the list for local call-in times.

Next, prepare a detailed agenda for the coaching call and distribute it to attendees. This is another opportunity to remind participants of the call’s time and date, access numbers, and other details. It is also a great way to reinforce your value as a coach and help your participants prepare for the call. By sending an agenda, they’ll know what to expect and how much time to allot for the conference.

Finally, hold the coaching session. Remember to remind participants if the call is being recorded and then follow your agenda. Do your absolute best to keep the call within its allotted time so that your coachees will realize that you respect their time. They’ll be more likely to participate in future coaching sessions via international conferencing if they know that your sessions are well-run.

International conferencing is a terrific medium for communicating with others around the world. It’s also a cost-effective alternative to holding face-to-face sessions.

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International Conference Calling Best Practices

International conferencing is notoriously difficult to coordinate, and you may be asked to call in at an unusual time of day.

International Conferencing Best Practices — International Conferencing

International Conference Calling Best Practices

Whether you will be hosting international conferencing calls or have been invited to one, an international conference call’s success depends in large part on how it’s been planned and organized as well as on the etiquette of its attendees. If you are a host, avoid holding a poorly planned teleconference by following these best practices for international conferencing hosts. If you are a participant, use the best practices tips for international conferencing attendees to ensure that you can contribute to the call’s success.

Best Practices for International Conferencing Hosts

Choose a high quality international conferencing service provider. Not all international conferencing services use high quality telecommunications networks. Poor connections, noise on the line, echoes, and other sound quality issues will adversely affect your global conference call. If the sound quality is bad enough, attendees will struggle to hear, or worse, abandon the meeting.

Schedule the international conferencing with convenience in mind. This isn’t always possible, but it should be attempted when possible. Use a world time zone map or world meeting planning tool to determine which block of time falls within business hours for most attendees.

Determine who needs to attend the call in real time. Not all international conferencing participants need to actively participate in real time. Consider who will be asked to speak and whether there will be an opportunity for questions and answers or other interactive exchanges. For example, you may decide that you want your regional sales managers present so that they can provide input and get their questions answered; however, their sales teams may not need to participate in the live call and could benefit by listening to a recording at their leisure. By limiting the call this way, you could reduce the number of participants on the call while offering them a more convenient means of obtaining the information that was discussed. This also reduces the overall cost of the call.

Treat international conferencing as you would treat a meeting. It’s helpful to create an agenda for the call and to actively monitor the call as it progresses. If you’ve allotted ten minutes to discuss a new regulation, for example, and fifteen minutes have passed, your call will likely run longer than expected unless you take action to keep the meeting on track. As the host of the call, it is your duty to keep the meeting on track.

Get familiar with the international conferencing tools available to you. For example, do you know how to mute a noisy phone line if the participant is unaware of the excess noise being blasted to the group? Do you know how to quickly and discreetly get operator assistance while running an international conference call? Do you know how to record your conference call? You may even want to practice using your international conferencing plan with a friend or colleague before you go live for the first time.

Best Practices for International Conferencing Attendees

As a conference call attendee, your duties are less involved than that of the host. However, you do play a role in the success of the call. Below are a few best practices for participants.

Prepare for the conference call. If the host has distributed an agenda or outline for the call, take a look at it a few days in advance. Think about the topic and how it applies to you. What do you expect to learn from the call? What ideas do you have that you might be able to contribute? What questions do you want to ask if the host doesn’t address them? If you’ve been asked to speak during the call, gather any supporting documents you may need (such as sales reports, study results, customer satisfaction ratings, etc.) and prepare your statements. Ask for clarification if you are unsure about what’s expected. For example, if you’ve been asked to discuss customer satisfaction ratings but weren’t told how much time you’ve been allotted to speak, ask the host how much time you have.

Be on time. International conferencing is notoriously difficult to coordinate, and you may be asked to call in at an unusual time of day. Even if you’re expected to call in at midnight, you should be prompt and ready to contribute.

Use a landline if possible. In some countries, the per minute cost of a call is dramatically higher for calls made using mobile phones. While the host may provide you with a toll free number, if you have access to a landline, using it instead of a mobile phone is a courteous gesture that can reduce the cost of the call for the host.

Find out how to mute and unmute your phone line. With potentially dozens of participants on an international conference call at once, background noise is a major problem. Each participant is expected to know how to mute their phone line when not speaking and then unmute it when it’s their turn to speak. It’s usually a simple matter of pressing *6 on your phone’s keypad.

Be respectful of the group. Most international conference calls are scheduled with an agenda that leaves room for questions at the end of the call. Write your questions down and wait until the end to ask them. While it would be nice to be able to go through your list of questions one after another, make sure to give other people the chance to ask their questions as well. Because time is limited and you may not be able to ask all of your questions, determine which questions are the most urgent and ask those questions first.

International conferencing is a group effort. Whether you’re the host or an attendee, do your part to make the call a success.

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Tips for Better Communication during an International Conference Call

Conference Call Tips for the Moderator — Conference Call Tips

International collaboration using a conference call is a cost effective choice that allows you to accomplish many tasks without the high cost of travel. For example, you can negotiate deals, conduct training, conduct creative brainstorming sessions, get feedback, conduct research, and much more with an international conference call. Just about anything you can do face-to-face, you can do on a teleconference. However, with audio-only conference calls, you may miss non-verbal cues such as facial expressions. In addition, not all callers will recognize one another’s voices. Use these tips to enhance communications during an international conference call.

Ask each participant to announce their names and departments before speaking – While you may recognize Glen from accounting’s voice, other participants might not. Asking each participant to quickly say their name and department or job role before they speak helps give context to their comments.

Use active listening techniques – Some participants may be difficult to hear or understand for any number of reasons. As the moderator of the international conference call, part of your job is to ensure that everyone is heard and understood. If the sound is muffled or a person’s accent heavy, it’s helpful to repeat what you believe was said and ask the speaker to confirm. For example, you might say, “Barbara from our San Diego logistics office just said our freight contract expires in two weeks. Did I hear that correctly Barbara?”

Allow a few minutes for questions and answers at the end – At the end of the international conference call, open up the meeting for questions and answers. As you wrap up the call, thank participants. You might even leave the lines unmuted for a few minutes, allowing for a little friendly banter which builds a sense of camaraderie.

Many international conference calls suffer needlessly because of telephone system quality issues. Many communications problems can be avoided by choosing an international conference calling plan known for quality connections.

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Using Conference Calling to Communicate with Teams

Whether you’re forming a committee, organizing a team of service providers, or need to communicate with managers from branch offices, conference calling is a cost-effective means of communication.

All you need is a conference calling plan and the desire to hold group meetings over the phone. With the right calling plan, you can hold impromptu and scheduled conferences with minimal fuss.

Why Use Conference Calling

Any time you have three or more individuals working on a team from different locations, phone communications become more difficult. Rather than holding multiple phone calls, use a conference call to keep everyone informed and engaged.

Conference calling allows you to:

Hold group meetings over the phone – Why hold a meeting in the office or a conference center when your entire team can collaborate over the phone?
Eliminate costly meeting room rentals – If you usually rent meeting space, a conference calling plan can quickly save your business a substantial amount.
Record group conversations for later review – Some conference calling plans feature MP3 recording. You can then email the MP3 file to team members who were unable to attend the teleconference.
Eliminate travel expenses – Need to meet with team members from across the country or around the world? Instead of booking flights, rental cars, and hotel rooms, plan a conference call. Just about any topic can be discussed in a teleconference.
Improve productivity – Conference calling requires much less time than physical meetings. There’s no commuting, no need to take anyone on a grand office tour, and no need for small talk before and after the meeting. Simply host the conference and begin at the appointed time.
Hold impromptu meetings – Conference calling can be used on the spur of the moment, allowing you to hold meetings with key team members during times of crisis or inspiration.

How Conference Calling Works

When you think of conference calls, what comes to mind? Complicated phone systems and speakerphones are no longer the norm.

Today, conference calling service providers make conference calling a simple process that can be carried out on any phone including mobile phones and smartphones.

Here’s how it works:

Sign up for an international or domestic conference calling plan, ideally one with low per minute rates and no monthly fees, contracts, or penalties.
Notify your participants when the call will take place.
Share the conference call’s details including scheduled time, phone number, and “PIN” number with attendees.
At the appointed time, everyone dials the phone number, enters the PIN number, and the conference begins.
As the conference moderator, you may have several tools available to you in an online dashboard. For example, you should be able to mute and unmute callers, dial participants, and start MP3 recording.
Once the conference is over, everyone hangs up. Depending on your conference calling plan, you will most likely be billed per minute, per participant.

Conference calling is a low-cost alternative to holding live meetings.

The more you use your conference calling plan, the more indispensable it will become.

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An In-depth Look At Conference Calling

conf-call — An in-depth look at conference calling

Any successful business will usually agree that communication is crucial to the attainment of business goals and objectives especially for business entities that are global.

Advancement in technology has led to the development of conference call features that enables collaborative meetings over the phone without requiring physically being together in a boardroom.

However, it is recommended to plan well for this event so as to ensure that everything takes place as planned.

Below are some tips on how to plan a conference call like a professional.

Set the date and time:

Just like face-to-face meetings, you have so set a date and time that you intend to hold the meeting. If some of the participants are located in different time zones, ensure that you facter in their local time so as to avoid any conveniences. Bottom line is, the set date and time should be convenient for all the participants, if possible.

Communicate with the attendees:

It is important to send an agenda and communicate it all the associates so as to keep them informed on the specific topics that will be discussed during the meeting. This will help them prepare and save time. In addition, it will provide them with all the relevant information such as dialing instructions as well as Pin Numbers so as to ensure that the meeting takes place smoothly. In addition, you should develop a criterion that will be used to ask and answer questions so as to foster attainment of the meeting objectives.

The Agenda:

The agenda should encompass all the topics to be discussed. Be sure to allocate enough time to each task so as to achieve the expected results. Remember to send the final agenda document to all the members to avoid any confusing during the meeting.

You may want to contact the attendees just to be sure that they received the agenda.

Let us proceed and look at some of the major benefits that can be derived from this form of communication.

Economics:

Conference calls are more economical on time and money since participants do not have to travel to the designated conference area. Instead, all they need to do is ensure that their telephone line or internet connection is working. This in turn helps businesses save thousands of dollars that could have would have been spent on housing and transport costs.

Convenience:

Most conferences calling services can be accessed from virtually all online platforms. Hence, businesses are able to still hold meetings and carry on with their daily business activities conveniently. In addition, it is possible to re-organize or re-schedule the meetings in case of any unforeseen occurrence easily. It is also important to note that this mode of communication is not prone to various problems such as traffic jams, flight delays and a long list of other items associated with meetings in another city or country.

Secure:

Virtually all businesses have strict confidentiality rules. These calls are totally safe and secure since only the participants have access to the system. All attendees will have their caller ID’s visible to the host who uses the free online roster feature.

Conference call is indeed the most convenient and modern way of holding corporate meetings especially the international conference call.

We offer the best conference call services at very affordable rates. In order to meet diverse client needs, we have tailored out services into different packages hence no matter your specific needs we have a solution for you.

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