Teleconference: An Old Method Renewed

"Welcome to the call, how are you today?" It's becoming standard in business, is it standard business for you, if it isn't and you are in a business that does anything with customers, it will be. The teleconference training call, it's not what you think sometimes, in fact, it may be downright alien to you, but you need to modify that attitude toward this type of training, as there is a very good chance it will be in your future.

The concept is to get with as many people in as short a time as can be done. Notes over e-mail, blog sites, and even chat sessions, don't carry the voice, the voice is important, it conveys smiles, emotions, depth and the human touch. It is so important as a part of the process that Naisbitt in "High Tech High Touch," would call "humanizing," the technology with a touch.

The teleconference can be great for conveying information; teleconferencing can also be great for time management, rather than a very expensive travel seminar setting or group meeting, teleconferencing can allow you to communicate with folks at a distance which enhances your time management. The downside to that is preparedness. Have you ever sat in on a teleconference call that wasn't organized, the subjects were in sensible order, and the disorganized factor of the process came into play so heavily that the message purpose of the call was lost? Often this is when you feel like, "what a waste of time." So prepare in advance along the standard subject lines which are:

Who is going to be addressing, who is going to be listening, know both.

When is the call to take place and what does that mean everywhere- it's a global network in almost every business, time is a factor, someone who has to stay up or get up to receive the call is a different person that a person who is already in daily business mode.

Where will the call take place, and where will it reach.

What is the purpose of the call, what the training to take place is, and what is goal that can be measured as a result of this call?

Why is the teleconference the way, is there another more suitable type of communication?

Teleconferencing is now accepted as a standard in the business industry, but the standard may not be so readily understood by recent business graduates who have grown up with computers, e-mail and video type of contacts. They may need to get familiar once again with what, to them, will seem antiquated business forms. Nevertheless it is a form of communication which has tremendous advantages, for example, it is possible to submit a general blast e-memo to people prior to a teleconference call which will convey information that they need to have ahead of time. This can tell you much about the people, for certain, if the e-memo was marked as "important read prior to teleconference" you will certainly know who is getting the word and who is not, there is always one...

Teleconference training may not have seemed like something that you would need to avail your company too, but perhaps something suggested in this article grabbed your attention and now you can ascertain that such might make sense, why not put an expert to use? The author here, Dana Richardson, is available for training and seminar work and can be reached through his blog at: http://www.programit.blogspot.com or domain

On the web at http://www.adreamcareer.com or e-mail direct at drichard1@hotmail.com, and funny as it might seem given the subject matter of this article, if all else fails, you can always contact him direct at 318-539-4782.