The benefits of telephone
conference calling
Conference calls allow you to talk with more than one
person using your phone. This means that you can
communicate with other people from different locations
at the same time through a phone line or the Internet.
With telephone conference calling, the caller wants to
have more than one person listen in to the audio call.
These services are designed to let your call partner
speak during the call, or the call can be set up so that
the called person can just to listen the call and cannot
talk. This is a special type of audio conference.
Speak to many people without leaving your office!
Generally, you can join a telephone conference by dialing
a conference bridge, which is a special phone that can
handle many calls at once, or by using a special telephone
number set up for this purpose. The calling party can call
and add the other participants to the conference.
Telephone conference calling requires some kind of special
technical features, so companies generally use the
services of a specialized conference call service
provider.
By paying some extra charges, three-way calling is
available for most customers on their home or office phone
line. This option lets you add a second outgoing call to a
call already connected at the same number.
Businesses use telephone conference calls regularly to
meet with distant parties, both within and outside their
company. That is definitely a useful way for communication
with a client or colleague over a long distance. You an
use these solutions to set up meetings, sales
presentations, training classes and of course
communication with employees who work at different
locations. With conference calling, a company can save the
travel costs of a live conference or meeting. In addition,
not having to leave your office makes your work more
productive.
Either just all work OR also fun ... with limits!
Conference calls can also be used for entertainment or
chatting with your friends. People call in to a specified
telephone number, and are connected to conversations with
other callers. This is a very useful way to talk and meet
new people.
However, there are obvious limitations to telephone
conferences. You can't share visual information with other
participants. In addition, there are many complex subjects
that are too difficult to discuss over a telephone for
more than two people. For example, it's hardly possible to
hold a lengthy talk on concepts and ideas between several
people using only voice calls.
A visual meeting is certainly an ideal way for
communication, as you avoid communication barriers by
meeting someone, and you can make a presentation much more
effective. However, you must also consider the costs of
these types of meetings. In most cases, you will find that
you can deliver the necessary information to your clients
or colleagues far away without the need for a physical
meeting. At any rate, spending on travel costs alone is
definitely a good reson to try telephone conference
calling!
Go
on to read about Making a Conference Call via the
Internet
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