International Audio Conferencing Services

Audio conferencing, also known as conference calling or teleconferencing, is a method of communication wherein three or more participants join a conversation on the same call. Convenient and cost-effective, audio conferencing is frequently used by all types and sizes of businesses for weekly status meetings, sales meetings, linking geographically dispersed teams, and gathering participants for an ad-hoc meeting.

An international audio conferencing service is the ideal tool for any business that is still using a blend of expensive phone calls, instant messaging, faxes, email, and snail mail to communicate with their colleagues, customers, suppliers, contractors, etc. scattered across the globe. International audio conferencing eliminates the need for business travel; instead of spending hundreds to thousands of dollars on transportation, lodging, food, etc., with an audio conferencing service your employees are able to hold a conference from anywhere.

Even if distance is not an issue, time often is. These days, few people have too much time on their hands (with, perhaps, the exception of STYX). Working with groups of people who all have busy schedules and/or are in multiple time zones is no easy feat. Thankfully, modern international audio conferencing solutions offer the ability to conduct pre-scheduled meetings as well as the ability to host one on-the-fly.

Moreover, because audio conferences can be conducted 24/7, they are great for building and maintaining relationships with all of your partners, employees and customers – whether they’re across town, across the state, or across the country.

International audio conferencing also increases productivity; by keeping your employees out of the airport and in the office, they are able to focus more time on daily business operations, and are more available to handle mission-critical issues as they arise.

Meet, collaborate, present and/or manage your team from anywhere, anytime. Leading providers, such as InterCall® and PGi offer a comprehensive list of features with their audio conferencing services, such as a personalized/branded greeting, custom entry, consecutive interpretation, entry/exit options, operator assistance, mobile assistant, roll call, online management, the ability to record and store your conference for future playback, sub-chat, mute/un-mute individual participants or the entire group, and to lock your conference for added security.

Here at Conference Shopper, we provide powerful, user-friendly, cost-efficient audio, web and video conferencing services from today’s leading conferencing providers. Whether you’re looking to make local, long distance, or international audio conference calls, our professional account managers will help customize a solution to fit your company’s unique needs.

Source: http://www.conferenceshopper.com/international-audio-conferencing-services

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Audio Conferencing Services for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses

Let’s face it, business travel is expensive, time consuming, and rarely fun. Not only do you have to deal with the hassle of getting to the airport/train station on time and passing through security, but you also have to purchase increasingly expensive travel tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, etc., and spend a great deal of time away from your friends and family.

Add to that the fact that businesses of all sizes are tightening their budgets in order to stay competitive, and it’s easy to see why so many of today’s companies are looking for an alternative solution to meeting in-person.

Small and mid-sized businesses face an even greater challenge, as many typically lack the capital that large enterprises have to meet and connect with their geographically dispersed customers, colleagues and partners. One way to work around these issues, however, is to employ an audio conferencing service.

Audio conferencing keeps your team connected, increases your business’s productivity, and helps the environment – all while saving you money.

By cutting out even one form of transportation for you and/or your participants, you are shrinking your business’s carbon footprint and making a positive impact on the environment. Having said that, we have yet to see the genuine impact that audio conferencing services have made on the environment, simply because many businesses have yet to use them the way they could and should. When first introduced on the market, audio conferencing services were complicated and unpredictable, causing many to shy away from regular use.

Today’s audio conferencing services, however, are flexible, reliable, user friendly, and offer a comprehensive set of features to make your audio conference more powerful, engaging, and effective than ever before. Schedule meetings in advance or host them on the fly – whether you’re meeting with as few as 3 or as many as 3,000 participants – all from the comfort of your desk.

Today’s conferencing market is growing at an incredible rate. The global recession has caused businesses all over the world to reassess where and how they spend their money; and as a result, travel budgets are often one of the first to get hit with cuts. At the same time, audio, video and web conferencing solutions are becoming more powerful, economical, and reliable, and therefore, a more viable option for small and mid-sized businesses. If you’re thinking of employing an audio, web or video conferencing service for your business, give us a call today! We work with today’s leading providers of conferencing services and can help you find the ideal solution for your unique needs.

Audio Conferencing Service

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Audio Conference Improvement Tips to Increase Participants Engagement

We’ve all been there before. You get the meeting invite, read it over, and cringe as you click the “accept” button while picturing what you – and many others – consider to be a waste of valuable time during your busy work day. Nevertheless when the scheduled time comes, you diligently dial-in ready and willing to collaborate.

Then just as you suspected (and is witnessed in the video), you struggle to stay awake as you listen to a lack-luster presentation and ultimately zone out until you are either called upon for a response or it ends… or both.

While it can provide a reliable, crystal clear connection on which your message can be delivered, even the most advanced audio conferencing service cannot present your material for you. The fact of the matter is that your participants are at the mercy of their presenter(s). As a result, we’ve compiled a list of a few tips and tricks for increasing participant engagement in your next conference:

• Customize your participant entrances – many times hosts will try to begin a meeting, but are interrupted with a “so-and-so has entered the conference” greeting, causing them to start over. This is an easy adjustment, and the majority of today’s conferencing software permits the host or presenter to adjust the entrance greeting, allowing the meeting to start on time, every time
• Reach out – every audience is unique. By asking questions and getting feedback throughout your conference, you can tailor your material as you present it
• Summarize – open your presentation with a brief summary of what you plan on covering and what you hope to accomplish. If you plan on covering a lot of important information, consider distributing an outline via email along with your invitations or just before the start of your meeting
• Use multiple presenters – especially if you plan on passing the 30 minute mark. Nothing causes participants to lose interest faster than a dull, monotone voice, so if you have a presenter like the one in the video, it’s important to try and encourage them to liven up their voice to deliver a more animated presentation

Additional Information

If you are searching for the right audio or web conferencing service for your business, give us a call today! Our professional account managers will help your find the service you need with the features you want for the best available price.

For more information please visit: Audio Conference, Audio Conference Calling

The Future Of Audio Conferencing and Audio Conference Calls

Are audio-only conferences becoming a thing of the past?

Possibly; without the visuals and non-verbal queues that are easy to pick up in face-to-face conferences, it’s likely that your participants will find it easy to divert their attention elsewhere and multi-task while attending your audio conference. The challenge that many conferencing hosts face is trying to get their participants fully engaged and listening to the topic at hand.

This can be extremely difficult – mainly because an audio conference typically requires participants to sit at their desk and simply listen over the phone, creating an ideal environment for multi-tasking. Often participants will end up using that time to focus on whatever it is that is grabbing their attention at the moment.

In addition, with the large quantity of smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other portable devices, many of us have become accustomed to having multiple senses stimulated simultaneously, so participating in an audio-only conference call is much less engaging than many people’s day-to-day interactions with technology. In order to combat this, a large number of conferencing hosts are moving toward products that maximize their participant interactions in different ways, thereby allowing participants to multi-task on topic as opposed to having their attention drive away from the conversation they are having or the message being relayed.

One of the products and features that hosts employ to assuage these issues include an online registration page. This lets the host know who will be joining the conference before it starts, which allows them to tailor their message to their specific audience. Furthermore, by coupling an online registration page with a passcode/pin access number feature, you can decrease the wait time when starting a conference. Each participant can join the call using a unique passcode or pin number, eliminating the need for operator assistance. What’s more is that you actually save money because your participants are on the line for a shorter period of time since there is less waiting required at the start of the conference.

Another great way to engage your participants is by using tools that involve a visual or require interaction – the more interactive the better. Thankfully, today’s conferencing providers offer a comprehensive range of features and tools that allow you to share applications, desktops, stream Power Point presentations, chat with the host and/or participants, conduct polls, and hold Q&A sessions to increase your meeting’s productivity.

In short, the key to ending multi-tasking, and distractions is to provide a variety avenues for on-topic interaction. Engaging participants in a conference is not only smart, but vital, and by offering engaging tools and features like online voting/polling, online Q&A, etc. you provide a very tangible proof of engagement.

Source: Audio Conferencing Services

Successful Commercial Real Estate Company Employs InterCall Reservationless-Plus

Earlier this month a successful commercial real estate company contacted our team at ConferenceShopper.com because they were looking for a convenient and economical way to connect and collaborate with their multiple branch offices. After discussing their wants and requirements, our team of professional account managers suggested InterCall's Reservationless-Plus conferencing solution.

The fact that InterCall Reservationless-Plus provides anytime access to hosting conferences with up to 150 people with no reservation requirements was reason enough for the aforementioned commercial real estate company to make the switch, but what really set InterCall Reservationless-Plus apart from the rest of the competition is the comprehensive list of features included with the service.

InterCall's Reservationless-Plus service includes features, such as:

• Auto continuation – your attendees can remain on the call without you, and the conference ends as soon as the last attendee disconnects
• Custom greeting or welcome message – make a customized recording for your attendees to hear upon entering your conference
• Conference entry mode – select from lecture, group mute, or un-mute mode for attendees joining your call
• Dial-out – from your meeting to bring domestic attendees into your conference (for international attendees an operator can dial-out)
• Entry and exit options – you decide how your attendees are announced upon entering or leaving your conference call
• Forced disconnect – very convenient when you have back to back meetings, this lets you disconnect all of your attendees while you remain on the line
• Lecture mode – make sure there are no interruptions during your presentation; keeping your attendees on mute ensures no background noise disruption
• Online management – do everything from scheduling and starting a conference to reviewing archived calls in a user-friendly online format
• Operator assistance – at any time throughout the duration of your conference you can request operator assistance privately (by pressing 00) or for your entire group (by pressing *0)
• Record – record and store your meetings to help attendees retain important information, and for attendees unable to make the live conference

Additional features include: international express dialing, third-party conference start, roll call, self mute/un-mute, waiting room, quick start, post-conference emails, project accounting codes, participant list, private participant count, phone commands, multiple leaders, and mobile assistant.

InterCall Reservationless-Plus is ideal for last minute mission-critical conferences, sales presentations and follow-ups, weekly status reports, and collaborating with employees and team members in remote locations.

Benefits

• Optional easy-to-use scheduling through Outlook
• iPhone & Blackberry apps for joining or starting calls in a flash
• User-friendly – to begin your conference, simply dial your specific dedicated number, conference code, and PIN number – and you're in!

Source: Conferencing Services

InterCall Provides Conferencing Services for Everyone – Even SMBs

From the beginning InterCall has designed services for companies of all sizes, although historically a large portion of their business has come from large organizations. Their strong world-encompassing customer base is a big part of what helps them continuously improve their offerings to keep their products and services evolving.

In the last couple years, however, InterCall has noticed the number of small and medium businesses rise. These new companies also want to take advantage of the benefits that conferencing services offer, provided they meet their unique and individual needs.

Packages

InterCall offers both dedicated audio conferencing and an audio web combination package. Both of these solutions provide you with your own virtual meeting room available 24/7.

Dedicated Audio Conferencing – schedule and plan your meeting ahead of time, or start one on-the-fly. Your dedicated conference code and dial-in number is ready to go every time. You also have access to instant operator assistance as well as project codes for client bill-back.

• Instant operator assistance
• Low flat rate for unlimited usage
• Dedicated conference code and dial-in number
• No reservations needed, access your conference at anytime

Audio/web combination package – don't just tell them what you're talking about, show them. InterCall's audio and web conferencing combination is tightly integrated, providing you with two services in one user-friendly online interface.

• Send polling questions
• One-click access to meetings
• Present product demonstrations online
• Schedule your conferences from Outlook
• Edit documents and collaborate in real-time
• Share your desktop, applications, and presentations

Quality of Service

InterCall believes that it's not the size of the business that matters – it's how professional you look and perform for your potential customers that matters. InterCall's conferencing services run on the same platform as their enterprise level web and audio conferencing services, so you receive the same uptime, reliability, and quality as their Fortune 100 customers.

Why Choose InterCall?

With a team of over 1500 call supervisors, customer service reps, operators, IT, marketing, and accounting professionals and more than 500 meeting consultants, InterCall is the largest provider of conferencing services in the world. As a whole, InterCall serves in excess of 40,000 companies worldwide, and more than 400,000 individual conference leaders.

Additional Resources

For more information on how InterCall audio and web conferencing services can help your business succeed, contact one of our professional account managers today!

Source: Conferencing Services

The World's Highest Conference Call

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to stand on top of the world's tallest mountain? Well now you can… from the comfort and convenience of your desk!

Tomorrow, Cisco engineer Brian Dickinson will be embarking on his final ascent to Mt. Everest's peak –  a whopping 29,035 feet above sea level – and thanks to WebEx technology you can join him on his exhausting emotional and physical expedition. From Base Camp (17,500ft) Brian will answer your questions, talk about his trainings and challenges taken to prepare for the climb, what is currently on his mind, as well as discuss his three previous climbs.

You read that right. Brian has previously climbed three other mountains (Mt. McKinley in Alaska in May of 2009, Mt. Kilimanjaro in north-eastern Tanzania in February 2010, and Mt. Elbrus in Russia in July of 2010) on his quest to scale The Seven Summits while raising money for HIV/AIDS research and bringing gifts to orphanages in each country he visits.

Born and raised in Southern Oregon, Brian is an extreme outdoorsman and athlete. For six years he was stationed in San Diego as a helicopter rescue swimmer for the Navy. It was there he met his wife, JoAnna, and they went on to have two beautiful children, Jordan and Emily. In addition to working with Cisco, Brian runs Extreme Adventures, an outreach program that teaches leadership and confidence via biking, hiking, and rappelling.

The Consequences of High Altitude
After experiencing a cold, massive headaches, and a quick scare with what was thought to be the on-set of High Altitude Cerebral Edema, (an increase of fluid in the brain that can cause coma and even death) Brian decided not to take any chances and hiked back down the mountain to a lower elevation in order to get acclimated. He spoke of his frustrations in his blog on Climbing.com, saying that "at this point I am a bit frustrated. It's not fair that less physically fit and less driven people are in a better position to climb the highest peak on earth. With something like HACE there's nothing I can do from a physiological standpoint."

Luckily, Brian fully recovered at a slightly lower elevation, refuses to let the hiccup slow him down. He has since returned to Base Camp, hiked to Base Camp II, (the penultimate step in the acclimatization process at 21,500ft) made it to Base Camp III, and will return to Base Camp for the conference on May 4^th.

What started as a personal journey has quickly become an amazing world-wide adventure reaching far beyond his expectations. All the while, Brian has maintained his sense of humor, letting his blog readers know that, "If someone could please drop ship either a carne asada burrito from Roberto's in San Diego or a double-double animal style from In-n-Out Burger I sure would appreciate it!"

To register for the May 4^th conference with  Brian, follow this link: http://www.webex.com/webinars/Meeting-Mt-Everest-Live-from-the-Climb

 

The Khumbu Ice Fall – treacherous and thrilling.

Brian at Camp I.
In late March, we met Brian Dickinson via WebEx before he left for his Mt Everest climb. In that session, we learned about Brian, his Navy background, his passion for extreme sports and his desire to climb The Seven Summits.

While pursuing his incredible goal, Brian turned his journey into a cause to raise money for AIDS Research and to connect with the children at orphanages in the countries he visits. Click here to watch "Before the Climb" with Brian Dickinson

There has been a ton of press around 3G Internet coverage at Everest basecamp. Not true. NCELL offers 3G coverage from a village a few miles down the Khumbu Valley, called Gorak Shep. The 3G towers are run by solar panels so in bad weather and at night they are shutdown. And they don't have the strength to send a 3G signal to basecamp. We get edge coverage, which works for cell phone calls and very poor quality Internet (almost unusable). To upload these blog entries, add pics to Facebook, Twitter, email, etc. I have to hike 30 minutes out of basecamp up on a ridge and climb a large boulder, which has direct line of sight to Gorak Shep. The view from the rock is the most amazing place I've ever been with views of the ice fall crawling up the mountain, the summit of Mount Everest and all of the surrounding Himalaya peaks. I'm sure NCELL will resolve the coverage in future years, but for now it's a lot of effort to stay connected.

What's next? On the 30th (tomorrow) we are heading directly up to Camp II (21,000'), where we'll sleep for 2 nights. We will then climb the Lhotse Face to Camp III (23,000') and descend back to Camp II. The following day we'll climb back to Camp III and sleep on oxygen. That will complete our acclimatization process for a summit bid, at which point we'll bring it all the way back to basecamp to wait for a weather window to make our attack on the summit!

You can keep track of Brian's progress via his blog on climbing.com

For those not able to watch the live conference, it will be recorded so you can listen in later.

Source: Conferencing Services