How to Teach Audio Conferences: Three Training Tips

Are you preparing to teach an audio conference training session? Delivering training to attendees via telephone communication is very different from teaching in a face-to face setting or via a webinar. When you are leading an audio conference, you must engage and educate the participants whether they are listening in on the live session or they’ll be utilizing a recording of the class at some point in the future. Because of the unique nature of this type of training, there are several tips that anyone who teaches audio conferences should keep in mind when developing training that will be delivered in this manner.

3 Audio Conference Facilitator Tips

1. Create and Use Comprehensive Training Materials

Prepare a comprehensive outline for the material that you will be covering during the audio conference. Send it to the people, who are participating in the training session, prior to the event so they can review it ahead of time if they desire and so they’ll be able to use it to take notes and jot down questions while you are speaking. Be sure to follow the outline while you are teaching so that the participants can follow along easily and so you can be certain to cover everything.

2. Practice Your Presentation

Practice ahead of time so you are comfortable with the material and are certain that you can finish within the time allotment. You may want to record your practice session so that you can identify any pronunciation challenges or other factors associated with your ability to clearly communicate the information via telephone. Remember that the participants won’t be able to see you, so your voice will play a significant role in how effective the audio conference seminar is likely to be.

3. Set the Ground Rules Early

At the beginning of the audio conference, clearly define the ground rules for the session. Explain how the call will progress so that the callers are comfortable and know what to expect. Let the participants know if you’ll accept questions throughout the event or if they should save their inquiries until the end of the session. Additionally, make sure that the trainees know how to turn the mute function on and off.

Setting the Stage for Success

By following these three tips, you’ll be on your way to creating and delivering effective audio conference training that will deliver results.

About the Author

Mary Gormandy White, M.A., SPHR is the Director of Training and Consulting Services for Mobile Technical Institute & MTI Business Solutions, where she specializes in human resources, management, and public relations training and consulting. She teaches business training seminars in Mobile, AL and provides on-site corporate training and conference presentations throughout the U.S., as well as human resource management and public relations consulting services. She is also the author of and in the LifeTips book series.

Why Should Businesses Invest in the Right Ecommerce Platform

Guest Post by Richard Fisher

It is not rocket science that for a successful online business you need a well-designed and well-managed website. Companies spend millions of dollars buying huge places to set up their office, so spending a few thousand dollars on a worthy ecommerce platform should not be an issue for them.

The right ecommerce platform can lead your business in the right direction. There are several points which will make it easy for you to decide as to which ecommerce platform you should invest on.

Depending on your ecommerce platform you can give your customers an ‘easy as pie’ shopping experience. It will allow your customers to have the ‘one click’ shopping experience. All they have to do is select a product they want and it will be in their cart. Similarly the checkout process will also be much simpler; a one page checkout form will enable them to give their details on a single page. The delivery address, credit card information, etc will be required and your product will be on the way. A good platform will also allow customers to have their products delivered at different addresses.

Effective platforms enable customers to have various payment options. It also enables the store to have integration of postal services and currency convertors.

A good ecommerce platform will enable its administrator level users to manage several online stores from a single panel. It also generates reports and analysis from the sales and customer reviews. It will also keep check of the stock levels and will inform the administrator of the on demand products.
A good ecommerce platform comes with PCI or some other certification, providing you and your customers with a high level online security.

Ecommerce platforms come with SEO friendly structures, which help in promoting the website. The SEO friendly nature of some platforms enables search engines to go through the website and increase its rankings. With the increase in ranking you would have a higher probability of getting a customer. Companies also spend thousands of dollars to increase the search engine rankings of their website. A proper ecommerce platform saves them a lot of money which can be invested in other parts of development and improvement.

Furthermore, investing in the right ecommerce platform can save you money in case of future expansion. If you intend to add functionalities or pages to your website, having a good ecommerce platform would make the process effortless. Some platforms come with plugin and add-on capabilities which make it easier for store owners to add and remove features at will.

The presentation of your website might be the most important thing for many customers. The way it looks will determine the person behind the administrator panel. People prefer to buy from someone who has a similar mentality as their own. Choosing the right design will target the right group of audience. Several platforms have great themes which are available for public use. Templates and layouts are also available which can be used for development.

About the Author

Richard is an experienced developer with over 5 years experience in Magento ecommerce development. Richard helps businesses to leverage the online channel.

Simplify Business Communication with an Easy Office Phone

Are you looking for a way to simplify telephone communication for your business while also saving money? Consider making a change from traditional telephone service to Easy Office Phone, an affordable telecommunication solution that adds convenience and flexibility to your work life while costing significantly less than traditional business telephone service. Rather than being stuck at your desk when you need to man your company’ telephone, this unique phone service will allow you the freedom and flexibility to truly work from anywhere. The service comes with digital office telephones, but it can also be installed to work on your SmartPhone (iPhone or Android) and your computer (Windows or Mac system). What could be easier to manage and use than that?

When you switch to Easy Office Phone, you won’t have to give up your current business telephone number. You’ll also enjoy the benefits of many extra features that will help enhance and simplify your business communication needs. For example, the system includes an auto attendant, voice mail boxes and extension. It also has conference calling capabilities, which can make it easy for you to set up conference and training calls any time you need to do so. You’ll also enjoy the benefits of free long distance and having the ability to log in and manage your business telephone communication service from an easy-to-use online portal.

Say Thank You to Customers with Custom T-Shirts

Do you need a unique way to say thank you to your best customers? Before you purchase a cake or box of doughnuts to drop off at a client’s office, stop and think about whether that’s really the best way to say thank you. While the sweet treats might be appreciated, it’s a fact that when they are gone, they are gone. Plus, they might not even get to the decision-maker who determines whether or not to keep doing business with your company.

Instead of spending money on items that won’t have a long term positive impact on building relationships with your customers, go a different route and purchase something that is likely to remind your clients about your company over and over in a positive way. Instead of purchasing thank you gifts that are gone as soon as they show up, consider investing in a supply of apparel items – like custom t-shirts – that feature your company’s logo to use as customer appreciation gifts. It seems like just about everyone is thrilled to receive t-shirts as gifts, whether they can wear them to work or if they can only be used for casual, out-of-the-office attire.

If you decide to go with custom t-shirts to use as customer appreciation gifts, keep in mind that quality matters. Be sure to choose a t-shirt style that is made from quality material in an attractive color and that is well made. Be sure it contains your company’s name and/or logo in a manner that is tasteful and appealing.

Simplify the Dress Code in Your Healthcare Business with Scrubs

Are you tired of spending time dealing with employee dress code violations? If you are manager of a healthcare oriented business, there is an easy way to take the stress out of making certain that your employees are outfitted in appropriate attire for your workplace. Rather than limiting scrubs to clinical personnel, consider making scrubs the standard for every employee who works for your organization.

When employees wear uniforms to work, you don’t have to worry about getting into debates about whether or not certain skirts are too short or tops too revealing. You’ll be able to focus on the other parts of your job rather than having to play dress code police and listening to employees complain about the attire chosen by their coworkers.

Implementing a scrubs dress code may be something that you find employees really like. After all, there are also benefits to workers as well as to administrative managers, especially when you choose scrubs as the uniform attire of choice. For example, professional attire can be both expensive and uncomfortable, whereas http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women/ are affordable and quite comfortable.

You just might find that implementing a scrubs-only policy has a positive impact on your workplace overall. Choose quality scrubs in colors that coordinate with your company’s logo and corporate colors, possibly establishing different colors and styles as the standard for different job classifications. You just might find that this simplified approach to workplace attire is an ideal solution for your business.