What is a teleconference?
Teleconferences (also called teleseminars or teleclasses) are conducted entirely over the telephone, regardless of where you are in the world. It’s just like making a long distance call to a friend, but you connect with a large group. Teleconferences are rapidly becoming extremely popular as an inexpensive, easy-to-use training method.
Why take part in a teleconference?
Lots of reasons:
- take part right where you are
- no travelling time or cost
- no accommodation time or cost
- no time off work
- no need to arrange sitters for the kids or pets!
- wear what you like, even your jammies!
- save a bunch of money on conference costs
How does it work?
Once you register for the call by filling in the registration form for each call, you will receive an email containing detailed instructions including the phone number to dial or the website to visit at the time of the call, it’s easy! Just follow the instructions in the email.
What happens during the Teleconference?
A teleconference is an interactive information-sharing session by the host/s/instructor and participants. It usually follows the format of brief introductions, then a presentation or interview, and then the lines open for questions or comments. In other words, very similar to a live workshop.
How much will it cost?
Many of my teleconferences are free, because I love talking with you about the topics that make my heart sing! While there’s no charge for you to participate in the actual call, you will have the normal fees to use your phone. The best teleconference services are provided in the USA at the moment, so the number is an international call from everywhere else. I use a calling card to dial in which means it costs about $1 an hour! I buy mine from phonecardsales.com and I only buy one about every two months, and I do a lot of teleconferencing!
What do I need to bring to a teleconference?
I sometimes include a learning guide in PDF format. If I am providing one, I will link to it in the email you receive once you register for the call. Usually you don’t need anything other than what you’d like to be comfortable, like a drink and somewhere comfy to sit. Some people find it useful to have a phone headset when we’re tapping, but it’s not strictly necessary. If you need anything else, the confirmation email will have the details.
What if I really want to be on the call, but the time doesn’t work for me?
I always record the calls in MP3 format. So register for teleconference anyway, and after the conference I’ll email you a link to the recording. You can listen to that on your computer.
Getting the Most From a Teleconference
- Plan to be fully present on the teleconference, by scheduling uninterrupted time just as you would if you were at a live conference. The only thing you should be doing while on the call or website, is taking notes or with an EFT call, tapping along. Otherwise you may miss critical information and won’t fully benefit from the experience.
- Call in a couple of minutes ahead of the scheduled start time so you can introduce yourself to the group, pose questions you’d like answered during the call or make any comments to the moderator before the teleconference starts.
- Please use a land line. A good-quality cordless phone is usually fine, and a headset is often useful so your hands are free to write notes. Internet VOIP phones can often be very buzzy on the line, so please avoid using these. Of course if you’re connecting via a website then you type your questions into the question box, and don’t need to worry about the noise going on around you!
- Disable call-waiting or everyone on the call will hear the beeping when your calls come in.
- Please call from a quiet location. Everyone on the call can hear barking dogs, crying children, ringing phones, conversations, and even clicking keyboards, and those background noises make it difficult to hear each other and usually result in that section being edited out of the recording. Usually we mute all callers until the last 20 minutes or so when we have questions and answers, but if you experience an unexpected noise while the lines are open, please do the following:Mute your phone with your mute button or *6If a noise continues, the moderator will identify the noise and ask that participant to hit *6
If the noise doesn’t stop, the moderator will mute everyone except the host and any guest experts
- When commenting and/or asking a question, please say your name and where you are from, “Hi! I’m (Name) from (location), and (question/comment)”. Please always be brief and to the point. Please try to present your question/situation as generally as possible so more people can ask questions and everyone can benefit from the answers.
- It’s common to start speaking at the same time as someone else and the moderator can’t tell who spoke. The moderator will usually confirm names to put on a list to speak. If you don’t hear your name, wait a few seconds for others to speak and then speak up.
Most of all, have fun! This is a great way to learn!
