Category: conference calling

Conference Call International ASAP With Toll-Free Access

Two international conferencing bridges with alternate access numbers and rates to choose from.

Conference Call InternationalConference Call International ASAP

Conference Call International and crises and unforeseen events often require a global response.

Whether you must assemble a team of experts from around the world or need to quickly communicate with key personnel from various countries, the ability to host a Conference Call International on a moment’s notice is crucial.

A crisis situation isn’t the time to shop around for the best per minute rates or to demo various conferencing calling apps. It’s certainly not the time to find out that regular conference calling plans might not work internationally. With that in mind, here’s what you need to know now, long before you need to host an emergency global conference call.

  1. Our high quality expanded global conference call plan offers 150 global access numbers. Participants can call using toll-free or local phone numbers native to their home countries. This makes dialing into an emergency conference call far less stressful. There’s no need to try to remember a country’s exit code or deal with an international operator. There’s no worry about the potential toll charges. If a participant is located in one of the few countries lacking an access number, the moderator or one of our live operators can dial the participant’s phone number directly and connect the line to the conference call. Audio quality is exceptional, too, thanks to modern fiber-optic PSTN telecommunications networks.
  1. Our rates are among the most competitive that you’ll find — and you pay only for the minutes you use. With our contract-free, pay-as-you-go global conference calling plans, there are no minimum usage requirements or monthly fees. This means you could sign up for a plan and pay nothing until you actually use it. When you do use it, you’ll find our rates are among the lowest you’ll find.
  1. You can host a global conference call on demand. There’s no need to schedule your global calls in advance, which is vital when you need to quickly collaborate with a global team. Simply launch your conference call and share its details with your team of experts. You could even use the dial-out function to call team members individually and bring them into the conference call.

If you need to host a global conference call ASAP, you can get started right away. Here’s how:

  • Create an account. All we need is your name, company name, address, phone number and email address. It takes less than a minute to sign up!
  • Receive the activation confirmation email. We’ll send it to you right away, allowing you to immediately begin using the service.

Two international conferencing bridges with alternate access numbers and rates to choose from.

International Conference Calling

Expanded International Conference Calling

While you can host a global conference call ASAP, we recommend getting an international conferencing plan now, before a crisis strikes. This gives you time to explore all of the helpful features, distribute the global access numbers and codes to your team, and start using it on less urgent matters. When a crisis does strike, you’ll be ready!

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International Conference Calls and the Hospitality Industry

Hold International Conference Calls with VIPs depending on the VIP’s requirements, your conference calls may include participant’s from around the world.

International Conference Calls and the Hospitality IndustryInternational Conference Calls and the Hospitality Industry

The hospitality industry uses international conference calling for a variety of purposes including internal brainstorming sessions, formal training, contract negotiations, procurement, guest relations, and even as a service offered to guests. The possibilities are nearly limitless! Below are a few ways that you can use global conference calls to communicate internally and externally to collaborate with regional managers, employees, vendors and suppliers, event planners, and guests from around the world.

Six ways to Host Virtual Meetings with participants around the world

International conference calling allows you to hold virtual meetings with participants from around the world in a private, voice-only “conference room.” In order to access the virtual meeting, each of the global conference call’s participants uses a standard or mobile phone to call in. There’s no need for computers or software. In addition, each caller receives an access phone number that is local to their country which avoids unnecessary dialing confusion or concerns about the call’s potential cost.

You can use global conference calls for meetings with:

  • Your executive team – Is it hard (or expensive) to get your executive team together for routine meetings? Teleconferences are a low-cost way to keep everyone informed of both routine and major events.
  • Regional managers – With facilities around the globe, international conference calling is a must to ensure that each regional team feels connected to the larger organization. Use global conference calls to support, encourage, train, and troubleshoot facilities around the globe.
  • Employees – While it may not be necessary to hold companywide conference calls on a regular basis, occasional group conference calls can be used for a variety of purposes such as for making major announcements or holding training sessions. You can also record your group calls, allowing employees to listen in at a later time and date if desired.
  • Lawyers, publicists, and other professionals – Need to strategize with external partners such as lawyers, publicists, or consultants? A global conference call allows you and your executive team to connect with professionals from around the world in a private, convenient teleconference. Get your questions answered and brainstorm your next move without having to arrange flights or hotel accommodations.
  • Suppliers and vendors – You can also use international conference calling to hold procurement teleconferences, negotiate better deals with vendors, coordinate projects, and much more.
  • Event planners – Global teleconferences are also useful when working with event planners who intend to hold conferences, exhibitions, banquets, trade shows, sporting events, and other events at your venue. Because global conference calls are so convenient, your meetings can include crucial personnel involved in planning an event so that the event planners can get all of their questions answered in a single session.

Hold International Conference Calls with VIPs

Hotel Businessman on global conference callWhether dealing with an agency or celebrities, politicians, and high rollers directly, global conference calls allow you to quickly and easily connect all relevant parties to a group call. Depending on the VIP’s needs, your conference calls may include participant’s from around the world including:

  • Hotel managers
  • Food service managers
  • Transportation coordinators
  • Security managers

You can even add participants to the call as needed. For example, if the agent has questions about your security detail at a specific property, you could use the moderator dial out tool to call the head of security at that facility and bring him or her into the conference call.

Offer International Conferencing as a Service

Not only can you use international conference calling for all of the above, you may also want to offer international conference calling to your guests or as part of your meeting room services. For example, if your facility has a standard business center with computers, Wi-Fi, fax machines, and standard phones, adding international conference calling could set your facility apart from its competitors. Using your international conferencing plan’s account management dashboard, you will immediately know the total cost of each global conference call your guests make. Thus, you can bill them accordingly. Low per minute international rates allow for a healthy markup. Meanwhile, your business guests will appreciate being able to stay in touch with their teams around the world.

Not only can you offer international conferencing via your business services center, your concierge could easily coordinate global conference calls for guests as needed. Guests can even participate in their conferences from the privacy of their rooms.

Whether you operate a chain of hotels or a small bed and breakfast inn, signing up for an international conference calling plan allows you to stay connected to partners, suppliers, agencies, and VIP guests and their representatives from around the world. You can even get a pay-as-you-go plan with no contracts, allowing you to offer global conference calls as a service without any upfront costs. If you do business with others outside of your country, as most hospitality businesses do, access to international conference calling makes perfect sense.

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Host a Successful Netherlands Conference Call

Check our legacy and expanded plans to view the per minute rates for more than 150 network global access points supported.

The Hague Reflection Buildings NetherlandsHosting a global conference call from the Netherlands, or with participants located in the Netherlands, is a great way to control business costs yet communicate with a geographically diverse group of people.

However, there are a few logistical challenges you’ll need to overcome in order to host a successful group audio call. Here’s what you need to know in order to get the most out of your international teleconferences.

Netherlands Conference Call Access Numbers

Netherlands Toll-Free 080026#####

Amsterdam Local 02070#####

  • Sign up for the right international conference calling plan — Various global conferencing options are available, but you’ll want to make sure you have a quality connection among all participants and that everyone, including those in the Netherlands, can easily connect to your conference. Check our legacy and expanded plans to view the per minute rates for more than 100 countries currently supported. Our pay-as-you-go international conference calling plans provide you with everything you need for a successful group audio call in the Netherlands and beyond.
  • Plan your Netherlands conference call — Time is a precious resource, and your participants will appreciate a concise, logical, and well-run agenda. If you would like other attendees to present specific agenda items, make sure to let them know well in advance what they’ll be responsible for sharing with the group. Think about time differences and schedule the call with them in mind. It’s not always possible to avoid late night or early morning calls for some participants, but do your best to keep disruption to a minimum.
  • Invite the right attendees — Determine who should attend the Netherlands global conference call as it happens live and who might be able to benefit from listening to an MP3 audio recording after the fact. For example, is it necessary for every single team member to attend the call live or would it be smarter to have a representative from each regional office attend the international conference call and then later share the recording with their teammates? Not only can this strategy keep the group audio call from becoming too large, you’ll have fewer participants, and therefore, lower international conference calling costs.
  • Issue country-specific international conference call access numbers — For example, attendees in the Netherlands would dial a Netherlands access number in order to join your international conference call while those located in other countries would dial an access number local to their own countries. Our international conference calling service includes support for more than 65 countries — and more than 100 countries on our extended plan.
  • Use the live conference call viewer — Our live conference call viewer puts several global conference calling tools at your fingertips. At a glance, you’ll be able to see the status of each participant as well as be able to: mute participants, put a caller on hold, lock the conference, record the call, dial a participant directly, and more.

Hosting a global conference call in the Netherlands is both easy and affordable with our pay-as-you-go international conference calling plans.

There are no contracts or usage requirements. Host as many Netherlands international conference calls as you’d like, and cancel at anytime. Sign up for an account today and pay only for the group audio calls you host.

Denmark Conference Calls

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

Copenhagen Kobenhavn DenmarkDenmark’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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How will you use Denmark conference calls to stay in touch with others while you’re gone?

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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.

Amman Jordan CityscapePlanning 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.

 

Calls that connect you globally

The combination of technology, low costs, ease of use, and quality has contributed to doing business internationally a reality.

Calls that connect you globallyBusinesses are connected like never before thanks to communications innovations such as  global conference calling and virtual phone number technology. Not only is this real and happening, costs are remarkably low.

Now, people can communicate with others around the world while keeping travel to a minimum and without huge phone bills by using global conference calls and virtual numbers for quickly creating a presence in another country.

Best of all, line quality has kept up with the technologies. The combination of technology, low costs, ease of use, and quality has contributed to doing business internationally a reality. While email and traditional long distance phone calls have their place with international collaboration, virtual numbers and group overseas calls have become essential.

Rather than connecting two individuals from opposite ends of the earth, a global conference call brings together an entire international dispersed team. Global Conference calls allow for cost-effective group communications and interactions. Because everyone can speak to one another and hear and understand voice inflection and tone, communication is far more effective than exchanging group email messages.

Overseas Call forwarding is an amazing way to set up shop in the communities that you want to serve, either locally or internationally, without having to go through the hassles and the expense of setting up a physical location.

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and international virtual numbers here

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.

International Conference Calling for Human ResourcesWhether 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

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.

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.

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International Conference Calling – A Team Collaboration Tool

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

International Conference Calling - A Team Collaboration ToolWhen 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!

11 Reasons to use International Conference Calls

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

Reasons to use International Conference CallsInternational 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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13 Ways to Improve Communications During an International Conference Call

If you’re the moderator of the international conference call, you can help your participants by referring to other speakers by name.

13 Ways to Improve Communications During an International Conference CallHolding an international conference call with a diverse group of people from around the globe can be a communications challenge. After all, you’ve got multiple time zones and multiple people who may or may not speak the same language.

Once you’ve overcome the logistics of scheduling the international conference call, one of the biggest challenges involves communicating your message in a clear, concise, and engaging manner. Use the tips below to improve your communications during a global teleconference.

1. Always go for exceptional sound quality. When it comes to using a international conference calling service, you have a myriad of options including free conference calling, VoIP conference calling, and traditional teleconferencing services. While price is certainly a consideration, sound quality is of utmost important. All participants, regardless of their location, should be able to hear one another without having to suffer through sound delays, static, echoes, and dropouts. The better the sound quality, the better able your participants will be to hear and understand your message.

2. Always identify yourself before speaking, and encourage all participants to do the same. By stating your name, company, and title before you speak, you give participants an important frame of reference. If you’re the moderator of the international conference call, you can help your participants by referring to other speakers by name.

3. Conduct your international conference call from a quiet location. Remember, you can call from virtually anywhere. So, if your office is particularly loud due to a construction project taking place next door, consider calling in from a quieter setting such as your home office or a soundproof conference room.

4. Use your international conference calling plan’s moderation features. Most international conference calling plans have features for muting and unmuting individual phone lines as well as for turning off chimes used to announce new participants.

5. Never put your phone on hold during a conference call. This applies to moderators and participants alike. Doing so often triggers your company’s music on hold system which then takes over the call. Not only is the music distracting, it will prevent others from conversing. If you must step away, use the mute feature to mute your phone line.

6. Turn off potentially noisy interruptions. This includes your cell phone’s ringer, your computer’s email notification chime, pager, and interoffice intercom. In general, anything that beeps, rings, chirps, or makes unexpected noises should be turned off during the international conference call.

7. Start the international conference call with a brief summary of what the call will be about. This can be as simple as saying something along the lines of, “We’ll spend the first 20 minutes discussing A, B, and C and then we’ll open up the call for 15 minutes of questions and answers.” This lets everyone know what’s coming up and what to expect.

8. Speak slowly and clearly, using plain language. With international participants, the language used to communicate during the call may not be their first language. This is not the time to rush through your comments or use slang words that are likely to cause confusion.

9. Paraphrase the comments of others. For example, during a question and answer session, after someone asks a question, paraphrase the question before giving the answer. This helps to ensure that everyone hears and understand the question, even if the person who asked it had a heavy accent or soft voice. Paraphrasing also helps to clarify that you’ve interrupted the question correctly before moving on to the answer.

10. Proactively manage the conversation. It’s not unusual for discussions to wander off track. If a discussion becomes irrelevant to the purpose of the international conference call, table the matter for another time and direct the conversation back to the scheduled topic. Not only does your active moderation keep the conversation focused, it can prevent an international conference call from going over its allotted time limit.

11. Engage all participants. Some participants will naturally be more vocal than others. Some will prefer to sit back and listen. However, their voices should be heard, too. Use your moderator’s dashboard to keep an eye on who’s on the call, who’s speaking, and who has not had a chance to contribute. From there, actively engage those who have been quiet. For example, you could say, “Barbara Jones, we haven’t heard from you yet. What do you think?” This isn’t to put her on the spot, but rather to give everyone the opportunity to contribute to the conversation. This can also prevent naturally talkative participants from becoming overly involved in the call.

12. Do a quick recap. At the end of the call, do a quick recap, summarizing what was discussed along with the next steps.

13. Consider sending an MP3 recording of the international conference call to all participants after the fact so that they can review the call as needed. You could also have the recording transcribed and then send a PDF transcript to participants.

Focusing on sound quality, speaker identification, clear speaking, active listening and paraphrasing, conversation management, and engagement can lead to more communicative international conference calls.

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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.

Improve the Efficiency of Your Next International Conference CallHosting 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.

Mind Your International Conference Call Manners 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.

International Conferencing for Import Export BusinessSeveral 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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Using International Conference Calls as Part of the Bidding Process

As with any major project, planning is one of the most important parts of the bid planning process. You will need to communicate with multiple internal contacts, and potentially external subject matter experts, during the planning phase.

Business and Bidding StrategyThe RFP process requires a great deal of coordination among various parties, and international conference calls can play a helpful role. In fact, you can hold international conference calls at various stages of the RFP process.

Below are a few ways that procurement professionals use teleconferencing to communicate with colleagues, suppliers, bidders, and other interested people from around the world.

Using International Conference Calls During the Bid Planning Process

As with any major project, planning is one of the most important parts of the bid planning process. You will need to communicate with multiple internal contacts, and potentially external subject matter experts, during the planning phase.

If some of those contacts are located internationally, traditional conference calling becomes difficult if not impossible. Fortunately, using an international conferencing service provider is an affordable option that ensures that participants from around the globe can easily connect to the conference.

Use international conference calls during pre-bid planning to collaborate with your procurement team on key planning areas. For example, you could use international conference calls to:

  • Establish goals for outsourcing goods or services
  • Determining why you need to outsource and how you will benefit
  • Document internal costs
  • Establish baseline costs
  • Determine your return on investment / break-even point
  • Set milestones
  • Set performance benchmarks and criteria for success
  • Set criteria and expectations for vendors (for example, size, stability, credibility, experience, target market, etc.)
  • Review the RFP draft before distribution

Using International Conference Calls to Educate Bidders

International conferencing is also helpful in educating bidders about the process. If any of your bidders are located outside of your country, use an international conference call service provider to ensure that international bidders can access your bidder teleconference.

In addition to providing you with the opportunity to explain the bid process, requirements, and expectations, international conference calls provide bidders with the opportunity to have their questions answered. Not only that, you could optionally record the call and grant attendees and/or absentee bidders access to the recording after the fact. Making a recording of the call available to bidders may eliminate the need to repeat yourself.

Using International Conference Calls During the Bid Evaluation Process

Finally, as the bids arrive, they will need to be weighted and evaluated. While much of this work is done according to your pre-determined bid evaluation process, you may have occasions where your team needs to compare notes or get clarification from a bidder.

Again, if any party is located internationally, a traditional conference call won’t necessarily work. By signing up with an international conference call service provider, you can collaborate with your team, vendors, and other parties during the evaluation and decision making process without encountering international dialing roadblocks.

How International Conferencing Works

International conference calls throughout the bid process ensure that all participants including those located outside of your country can communicate in teleconferences, but how do they work?

While international conferencing plans vary by provider, they work much like traditional conferencing plans in that each participant dials a phone number that connects them to a “teleconference room” which is identified by a PIN code. Once a caller dials the number, a voice prompt prompts them to enter the PIN code. From there, the caller is connected and can participate in the call.

With international conference calls, this same process takes place. However, participants from various countries are given country-specific phone numbers to call in order to connect to the conference.

For example, a bidder in Japan would dial a Japanese phone number or Japanese toll free number to connect to your teleconference. It doesn’t matter if you are located in a different country as all calls would be routed to the same “conference room” regardless of where they originate.

Various international conferencing plans are available including pay-as-you-go, no contract international conference calls. A no contract plan is ideal for procurement departments with occasional international conferencing needs. With a no contract plan, you simply pay for each international conference call you make on a per person, per minute basis. There’s no minimum usage requirement and no monthly fees. Each country has its own per minute rates, many of which are highly competitive. Do the math by looking up the costs per minute for the countries involved in your next bidder’s conference and you will likely find that making international conference calls on a pay-as-you-go basis is an affordable choice.

The RFP / bidding process requires extensive planning, bidder education, and analysis. Many people, both within your organization and outside of it, will need to communicate and collaborate. If any international participants are involved, you can overcome roadblocks by hosing international conference calls.

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International Conference Calls for Talent Management

Obviously, you can’t manage talent until you’ve acquired it. Global conferencing can play an important role in the recruiting process.

International Conference Calling for Talent ManagementToday’s talent pool is wider than ever. Whether you’re recruiting workers from overseas or need a convenient communications method to connect with a global team, international conference calls are an affordable choice.

Below is a quick overview of what global conferencing is along with a few ideas for using international conference calls as a talent management tool at various stages of the talent management process.

What is Global Conferencing

Global conference calls are much like the conference calls you make domestically in that each participant dials an access number and joins the teleconference by entering its unique PIN code. International conference calls open up the teleconference to callers from around the world. These callers are typically shut out of domestic conference calls due to dialing restrictions or excessive costs. With global conferencing, each participant dials a local phone number (or a local toll free number) which is then routed to the conference call.

Recruiting International Talent

Obviously, you can’t manage talent until you’ve acquired it. Global conferencing can play an important role in the recruiting process. Not only can you use international conference calls to collaborate with human resources managers located in regional offices around the world, your human resources team can hold group interviews with international applicants in a global conference call.

Using international conference calls to prescreen international candidates is also a smart choice as far as controlling costs goes. For example, if you have numerous applicants from around the world, you could fly each applicant in to your main office for a formal, face-to-face interview. However, that approach is extremely expensive. By holding an international conference call, your entire hiring team can have the opportunity to get acquainted with each applicant before deciding which candidates they should to meet in person.

In addition, it’s possible to record each international conference call. If one of your colleagues was unable to attend the group interview in person, he or she could simply listen to the MP3 recording after the fact.

You could also use global conferencing to hold informational meetings where candidates could find out more about the position before applying for it. This can reduce the volume of individual phone calls your HR team receives as well as provide candidates with a forum for getting their questions answered. It also can narrow the field of applicants as they will have the chance to gauge whether or not the position is a good fit for them. If you use international conference calls for this purpose, consider recording the call and making it available to future applicants.

Training

Attracting talent is just the beginning of any talent management strategy. After attracting and hiring the best people, you need to retain them. Companies often use training and professional development as part of their talent retention strategies. While you’ll likely use a number of training methods including live trainers, Web-based training, and training videos, you can also deliver some training using international conference calls.

For example, you could hold a live session led by a motivational speaker using global conferencing. All participants, including the speaker, would join the conference by calling an access number and entering the conference’s PIN code. Depending on your preferences and how you structure the call, the speaker could deliver the training with all other lines muted or he or she could open the lines so that participants could ask questions as needed.

Since the speaker can call in from virtually anywhere in the world, you may be able to negotiate a reduced fee. After all, the speaker will not need to travel to your office or incur related expenses. Again (unless your contract with the speaker forbids it), you can record the global conference call, allowing future employees to benefit from the training.

Talent Evaluation

Nurturing and evaluating talent are also important. Whether several managers from various countries need to provide feedback during the evaluation process or a key team member is overseas on business, global conferencing allows everyone involved to contribute to the conversation no matter where in the world they may be at the time. International conference calls are easy to schedule both in advance or as needed. Plus, there’s no special equipment needed to collaborate.

International Talent Outreach

Many companies take a long term approach to talent development by sponsoring schools or educational programs. Whether your company wants to ensure that today’s students have the skills you expect tomorrow’s workers to need or want to help a struggling nation improve its future, international conference calls can help you coordinate your efforts. You can use global conferencing to coordinate local seminars as well as a means of delivering educational content.

With a wide, diverse, and global talent pool, talent management professionals need a convenient communications method to attract, hire, train, and retain a talented workforce. Global conferencing is one such method. Not only is it affordable on its own, it can help to reduce hiring and training costs.

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International Conference Calls and Emergency Preparedness

International Conference Calls and Emergency PreparednessInternational 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.

International Coaching CallsCoaching 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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International Conferencing as a Sales Tool

With a toll free international conference call, each participant is assigned a toll free number to dial from their own country.

International Conferencing as a Sales Tool
International Conferencing as a Sales Tool

International Conferencing as a Sales Tool

Selling products and services to businesses located in other countries, by its nature, is more complicated than selling to a business located closer to home. While you may have the resources to travel occasionally or hire an in-country sales representative, there will be times when you need to pitch a new offer personally or intervene to close the deal from afar. Hopping on an airplane is an option, but it’s a costly one both in terms of money and time. International conferencing is a robust alternative that will save you both.

International conferencing is a teleconferencing service designed specifically to accommodate international participants. Access numbers to the teleconference are either local or toll free to each individual’s country, and call quality is exceptional despite extended geographic distance.

Determining When International Conferencing is Appropriate

Using international conferencing is easy for the moderator and participants alike, and it’s appropriate for any number of sales scenarios.

In general, consider using teleconferencing after you’ve warmed prospects up. In other words, it’s not the best choice for cold calling. Use other methods to warm the prospect up and schedule an extended sales consultation via international conferencing.

Teleconferencing is also suitable for introducing new products and services to existing customers, presenting progress reports, receiving feedback, resolving issues, and holding international focus groups.

You can also use global teleconferencing in conjunction with a face-to-face meeting with local sales rep from your company. For example, if your local representative needs support or additional information, holding international conferencing could be an excellent choice.

Who Needs to Be on the Call?

After determining that international conferencing is an appropriate choice, the next step is to determine who needs to be on the phone call. In the example above, your local sales rep, the customer, and you would come together in an international conference call. Do others need to be available? Are there other decision makers that need to be convinced? Are there other individuals from your company who can better explain your product’s unique features? Would it be helpful to have a translator present?

Take the time to determine exactly who should be present in advance as you will later need to schedule the teleconference around the participants’ hectic schedules. Because of time differences and other factors, some participants may not be able to attend the call live, so identify the key players who absolutely need to attend and those whose presence would be helpful but not essential.

The Importance of Toll Free Conference Call Access

When it comes to international conferencing, you have two choices as far as international access to the teleconference goes: toll free or local access numbers. In a sales environment, toll free access is crucial. Not only does a toll free number reassure your customers and prospects that they will not incur expensive international long distance charges, it looks professional. A toll free number shows that you’re serious about taking care of your customers. It also conveys the feeling that you do not want to inconvenience them.

In addition to providing a no-cost means of attending your international conference call, toll free access also makes it much easier for your international attendees to place the call. As you likely know, dialing conventions vary from one country to the next, making it confusing to place a call to another country. With a toll free international conference call, each participant is assigned a toll free number from their own countries. The number is immediately recognizable as being toll free and it’s familiar looking because it follows that country’s dialing conventions. Attendees do not need to think twice about dialing the call, nor will they need operator assistance.

Coordinating an International Conference Call

Once you have determined the purpose of the call, who needs to attend, and that you want to provide toll free access, it’s time to schedule the actual event. Use your list of participants that you identified earlier and write down which countries they will be calling from. Use a world time zone map or other tool to identify the time zones of each attendee.

Once you have the various countries and their time zones identified, look to see if there’s any particular time that you can schedule the call during business hours for all attendees. In many cases, this will be impossible due to geography, but in some cases it’s doable or nearly doable. Because the call involves a customer or prospect, make sure to schedule the call so that it is most convenient for the customer or prospect.

Ask your customer what time works best out of a short list of suggested times and then schedule the call around the customer’s choice. If this means that you need to set your alarm clock to wake you up at 3:00 AM in order to accommodate an international customer, then that’s what you’ll need to do. Schedule the call, distribute the call’s details to each participant (including time and date in local time, toll free access numbers, and PIN code), and prepare for the teleconference.

Using Your Plan’s Features

Finally, the time has arrived. Use the features of your international conferencing plan to enhance the call. For example, if some of the participants cannot make it to the teleconference, use the plan’s call recording feature to record the call for later.

Another useful feature to be aware of is muting. At the beginning of the call, instruct attendees how to mute and unmute their phones to eliminate distracting background noises. If someone forgets, you can manually mute a line using your live conference management tools. If you need technical help at any point during the teleconference, take advantage of operator assistance as needed. This allows you to return your attention to your customer while the operator assists you or other attendees.

International conference calls can quickly and easily bring together a diverse group for sales presentations, customer feedback, progress reports, focus groups, and other sales scenarios. It’s a cost-effective choice that saves both time and money while allowing you to communicate in a more personable manner.

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