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As businesses evaluate the type of conference calling that is right for them they will need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each. In this article we will evaluate and compare the three major types of conference calls including audio, web, and video conferencing.

The biggest advantage, for many companies, in choosing audio or web conferencing over video conferencing is the cost. Audio conferencing tends to be the cheapest. Virtually the only costs involved when choosing audio conferencing is the cost of a telephone and then the charge of a long distance call. Many companies already have phones with a built-in speakerphone and if not they can be purchased for as little as $100.

However there are disadvantages in choosing audio conferencing as well. The first distinct disadvantage is that businesses lose personal relations when all they hear is a colleague’s voice. Jokes and remarks can be taken the wrong way or be offending when those involved can not see a caller’s smile of facial expression. Another disadvantage to audio conferencing is that the quality of the call declines as additional locations are added. When several parties are involved the chance of two of them talking at the same time are great and neither of them will have their thoughts heard.

Web conferencing offers its rewards and shortcomings as well. While web conferencing can be free, it is usually in the companies best interest to choose to pay a little more to avoid annoying ads and pop ups. Web conferencing is especially useful for business calls that involve viewing digital files because these files can be sent in an instant via email to all parties involved. Documents can be viewed, analyzed and returned so they can be discussed all at once rather than waiting and communicating through mail or several phone calls. Web conferencing also allows more than one person to talk or type at once without going unheard.

Like any type of conference calling though, web conferencing also has its disadvantages. One of these down sides is that, again, it is difficult to gauge a person’s seriousness or humor in a comment. There is no personality in a typed sentence. It is also difficult for those who are uncomfortable with technology to use web conferencing efficiently.

Finally the biggest advantage to video conferencing is that it offers a visual connection with the other attendees. When using video conferencing callers are able to view each other on a TV screen and hear each other through the speaker system. Associates are able to hear each other’s voices, put a voice to a face, and understand each other’s joke and comments. Financially, the cost of video conferencing is quite a bit higher due to the equipment that is involved. If equipment is not high quality it can also be limiting because the video feed can be jerky or delayed. Whatever type a business chooses, every type of conference call has it ups and downs.

Jeremy Thompson is the author of ConferenceCallingServicesGuide.com your online guide to conference calling and conference calling services. Visit his site at ConferenceCallingServicesGuide.com.

Yahoo Messenger provides you with very easy and low cost conference calling method available today. All you need to do is install Messenger to your computer (Windows and Mac) or alternatively to the iPhone.

Windows version is capable of providing you with most features and flexibility. Among many “fun” features available only with Windows version, Sound Effects and Soundtrack feature is one of them, and it can be played in the background during the call. Windows and Mac versions can forward instant messages sent to your phone as a text message. PC to phone calls are also available with Windows and Mac. It means you can not only call PC to PC, but also your friends’ phones and cell phones.

You can also get an extra phone number just for Yahoo Messenger. You can even get a local number, and while you’re away, your friends and family can leave a voicemail or use it to forward all incoming calls to another number.

The recent version of Yahoo Messenger is filled with Social Media features, which can update you with Tweets and chats. It has built in video player if you have a webcam to broadcast video conferencing.

Here is what you need to do invite people for a conference call with Yahoo Messenger.

1. Click the “Conference” button in the Conference window

2. Add your contacts (Include an optional message)

3. Invite to bring them into the conversation

4. Enable voice feature

Pretty easy isn’t it? Yahoo Messenger is designed so even if you’re not tech savvy, you’ll be able to hold conference calling like a pro.

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Conference calls are valuable business tools that must be handled professionally and systematically by implementing the best conference calling service. There are many companies or agencies offering conference calling service along with conference calls service. This includes audio, video and web conference calling also.

When the number of participants is in the hundreds, then bulk conference calling is done. This forces the in-house employees to start at a very early date to contact all of the conference participants and inform them of the details of the conference such as the date of conference, time, and topic to be discussed, pass code, conference telephone number, and various other aspects that has to relayed in advance to the participants. As this is a very tedious process, it can be handed over to agencies that provide enhanced features and the best services at reasonable rates and with less time consumption. Rates vary depending on the location and duration, but for bulk calls flat rates are fixed irrespective of location of the participants and the duration of the call. Calls are grouped according to location, and multiple calls are simultaneously handled. Software for conference calling helps automat services when compared to manual calling services. A toll-free, dial-in number and toll-free customer support is also provided. Depending on the time availability, e-mail invitations are sent that are an extremely easy way to handle bulk callers. A list of received RSVPs with reply comments facilitates the conference organizers to know the actual participants of the conference and make necessary arrangements.

A few other features that are implemented are muting some of the lines, providing two way speaking and conference recording capabilities. Though the activity involves bulk calls, the calling service provides greater flexibility, easy scheduling, and easy and fast access at a cheaper rate. Choosing the right service agency ensures the best conference call arrangements at reasonable costs.

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Making a conference call has proved to be a cost-effective solution in conducting business meetings and seminars. With this technology, you can connect to your staff or other business people with fewer hassles. That means that you can talk to your associates without leaving the country or your office. You need not go through the pain and expenses of traveling any longer.

How does call conferencing work?

Conference calling usually involves three or more persons. It creates a seamless and simultaneous interaction between the people involved in the conference. This means that your staffs need not to be physically present in a specific place to gather up for a conference.

Three modes of call conferencing

A call conference basically has three modes of communication. It can either be an audio conference, a videoconference or a web based conference.

An audio conference would simple entail the presence of a working phone for each of the participants. A specific number is given out by the provider to be distributed to the rest of the people involved. Once dialed, the users would get in touch with the rest of the people involved in the conference.

Videoconferencing is another type of call conferencing where a camera and a television are involved. It works as similar as a call conference, but this time you would also see the person or persons you are talking to through the means of real time videos.

Web teleconferencing is another type of call conferencing. This method uses the power of Internet technology to connect to people. All you need for a web conference is your computer with web cam and headsets. Web conference gives you the speed and efficiency of Internet communication.

Advantages of call conferencing

o Cost-effective

Virtual communication is the key in getting cheap conferences. Most providers do offer very affordable packages that would suit all your needs. Call conferencing would definitely allow your company to save up a lot because you can do away with buying airplane tickets, paying for hotel expenses and other travel expenditure.

o Saves time

Unlike traditional conferences, you do not need much of a preparation to conduct a call conference. This way, a lot of time can be saved. Call conferencing can also be your best option if you want to hold a meeting on a very short notice. It would also save a lot of time since you can get your message across a lot of people at a much faster pace.

o Builds a good office relationship

Call conferencing may possibly create a friendlier working place. Since call conference is a cheaper way of getting in touch with your staff, you can now get more people invited in meetings. This would prevent the feeling of neglect that may be experienced by your employees.

o Accessible and simple to use

The process of call conference is so simple and no technical skills or knowledge is really needed. Your provider would do all the set up for you. You just need to ensure that you and the other participants have a working land phone or a mobile phone. The host who would be heading the conference call can now communicate and interact with the participants via phone.

o Provision for visual presentation

Audio conferencing is only restricted to verbal communication. But with video call conferencing, you are not only limited to audio interaction. Video conferencing would allow you to create presentations and transfer data via video. With video conferencing, you can use visual tools to get your message across more clearly and effectively.

o No need to travel

Distance can be quite a problem when conducting seminars, conferences, meetings or other business gatherings. Distance can be one reason why some of your employees may not make it to a meeting. With a call conference, you do not need to travel outside the walls of your office and you can get more people involved because distance will no longer be an issue. You can even get in touch with the people you need to talk with even if they are at the comfort of their own home.

The advantages mentioned above only prove that call conference can be a real benefit for you and your company. You would not only save money, but you can also save a lot of time and hassle when conducting conferences.

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There are many benefits of conference calling services. Yet before you rush into using conference calling services you need evaluate both the pros and cons of it. That way you can be make up your own mind if it is right for you. Most people will tell you that there are far more pros to this than cons. In order to get the most benefit from it, you will need to have a great provider of the services.

The biggest benefit of conference calling services is that it opens up the door to effective communication. Rather than calling 40 people individually you can talk to all of them at once. They can also hear the input from each other without calling each other. That means everyone involved in the project is going to save a great deal of time. That time can be used to perform other tasks of the job so it is going to be put to good use.

There is plenty of money to be saved with conference calling as well. There isn’t money being spent on travel expenses. Those can really add up over the course of a year for any business. It also means many of your employees can be home more often rather than on the road. They will appreciate that and it can be a main perk that prevents them from seeking a job with someone else.

The downside to conference calling though is that some view it as less personal. They don’t want to only have an audio conversation with someone. They have the impression that you need to see the eyes and the body language of someone you are doing business with. They just aren’t really comfortable doing it all over the phone. Yet it can be done with some of the communication this way and the rest of it in person.

You do have to be careful about the quality of the phone calls though. If you lose an important call then it can look very unprofessional for your business. By taking the time to find conference calling services that are very good though you can avoid such negative aspects of it from happening for your business.

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Originally the conference call was limited to businesses paying exorbitant fees to the telcos. For business, it still made sense economically because the costs were less than the travel costs involved in bringing the people together. Additionally, significant time savings are involved, both in terms of travel time and in being able to communicate fairly rapidly to an extended group.

Telcos then extended their market by providing conference calling services to home consumers for an added fee. For some, it made sense to be able to bring a family or group with common interests together easily, usually to plan some physical event.

With the expansion of the internet, and in particular, the increasing availability and decreasing pricing for high speed internet access, conference calling has expanded far beyond its original uses.

For business, it remains a vital tool and has, actually, become far more useful as prices fall and the ease of use increases. Real time audio/video conferencing is already in use (and in some organizations has been for quite some time). As the cost of bandwidth decreases and the technology underlying audio-video transmission over networks improves, true real-time video conferencing will increase dramatically.

With the growing sophistication of the typical surfer and the expansion of internet marketing, audio and video have become hot items. Within the internet marketing community, conference calls – usually known as teleseminars, have become a standard feature. Offering the opportunity to reach a large group of interested prospects in a relatively simple and inexpensive format, teleseminars also offer the marketer an opportunity to create an instant product. A recording of a teleseminar can either be sold as a stand-alone product or used as a marketing tool for back-end products.

Marketers are using both free and paid teleseminars. Generally there is a higher level of injected sales content in free teleseminars, but it does vary a great deal.

Solutions available now range from the rather expensive to essentially free. Your choice is going to depend on exactly what level of service you require. There are a number of providers which offer an introductory pricing scheme (I’ve seen it as low as a $1 for the first month), which gives you the opportunity to see firsthand how their service works at a very modest cost. You do need to make sure you understand just how your users will access the conference. Solutions which use telephone call-ins are generally more restrictive and/or expensive than those utilizing an internet connection or VoIP softphone connections.

True real-time audio/video conferencing hasn’t arrived yet for most. The bandwidth requirements remain excessive and the quality of the video, in particular, is fairly low. If you ever done live chat with audio and a web camera, you’ve seen the limitations.

Most online presentations which involve both audio and video generally use static images which change either rarely or slowly, such as charts, website images, topic outlines and so on. This can be extremely useful for teleseminars, of course, because it makes it easier to demonstrate certain points and provides a visual as well as an audio focus for participants.

The combination of audio and visual elements is particularly useful in training situations where one can reinforce the other. Plus, you have the advantage of reaching those who learn better through visual means, as well as those partial to audio.

For those of you doing eCommerce the evolved conference call can be an incredible tool. Consider how much impact regular teleseminars about your area of expertise could have on future sales. You can provide buyers with instructional teleseminars. You can introduce new products. And in each instance you’ll be generating recordings which you can either sell or make available on your sites, or use as added viral marketing tools.

With the increasing sophistication and usability of the tools for conference calling, the possibilities are virtually unlimited and well within the reach of every entrepreneur. You’ll be hard pressed to find another tool that offers you the impact and potential of the conference call.

Copyright 2005 Richard Keir

Richard writes, teaches, trains and consults on business and professional presentations and eCommerce related matters. For more on conference calling, web conferencing and related subjects visit [http://altaglobal.com] – for wireless and cellular subjects see [http://www.altaglobal.org] and for networking and security check [http://www.altaglobal.net]