Latest news and views from Conference Genie

Keeping the fine balance between making a good impression on the Boss and being the office “brown-noser” requires becoming aware how to use everyday circumstances to your advantage without offending other co-workers.

Try these tips and see you can’t make a favorable impression on the whole office so that not only your coworkers – but hopefully your Boss — will notice.

1. Time Management

Correctly handling your time means not only that you not for punctual for appointments, but that you use your interface time — especially with the Boss — wisely by having a written agenda of items you need to discuss. Of course, be flexible and personable if the proper conditions arise, but make it clear that you have a no desire to waste anyone’s time.

Time management skills also include knowing when to offer to show up early or stay late  because it will benefit the team effort, but be sure not to use this tactic for self-glorification or you run the risk of being labeled a “brown-noser.”

2. Tidiness

Helping keep not only your area, but the whole office, tidy is a subtle way to show that you have responsible attributes and respect for others. Take a moment to straighten supply cupboards, groom plants, wipe down kitchen surfaces and police common food areas.

This is not to say that you should become everyone’s maid or create the impression that you are a “clean-freak.” But you can make substantial “brownie points” by subtly maintaining a nice office atmosphere for everyone.

3. Proofreading

Checking your work thoroughly before presenting it for review is a crucial factor in maintaining a sterling reputation with your Boss and coworkers. With the advent of sophisticated word processors and spreadsheets, spelling, grammatical and mathematical errors are easy to locate and correct.

But extra care should be taken to thoroughly review documents for format errors, incomplete thoughts or incorrect facts. If possible, ask another person to proofread your work before submitting it for a final review since there are inevitably mistakes that the author does not catch.

4. Details

Many Bosses have so much to handle that they have to rely on their employees to keep up with all the day-to-day intricate details. To make an excellent impression on your Boss (and everyone else), create a work system where you can access information quickly upon request. Also devise filing and database systems that can be easily cross-referenced when those strange questions come up that require a quick answer. The habit of maintaining a daily log of duties that you perform is an excellent way to keep track of the type of details that so often get lost in the shuffle.

5. Appearance

Everyone radiates a certain “field of energy” that is determined only in part by their wardrobe and hairstyle. A big part of personal attraction revolves around the type of emotional field that others feel around you.

Therefore, cultivating the ability to respond to a variety of situations with a positive attitude creates the kind of field that people — even the Boss — will look forward to interacting with. This is not to say that your personal grooming should not be its a very best and appropriate for the situation, but even the best dressed person can set up a repulsive field when they are angry, frustrated or pompous.

Corporate meeting planners who have been looking for a fresh perspective for team building, role playing or just individual management style development are discovering just how much fun an Improvisational Group is to work with to create meetings that improve morale and create a unique learning environment.

Developing a comedic atmosphere at a business meeting can be a surprisingly effective way to discuss topics like leadership techniques and staff management. Improv players are pros at satire, and they can create parodies that show by the example some of the absurd situations businesses find themselves imposing on their employees — and how to rise above them.

The Riot Act creates a customised, well-crafted experiential agenda that delivers “serious professional fun to seriously successful business events.” Their strategies help loosen up and energize a crowd to set the stage for a unique meeting that is focused on your theme, but with a radically different approach. The Riot Act’s clients include Fortune 500 companies like PepsiCo, Kraft, Yahoo!, McDonalds and AT&T.

In New York City, the People’s Improv Theater offer facilities at their theater where you can bring your corporate team on an outing to swap banter with these masters of wit and humor, all in the spirit of creating a fun and informative enviroment where the lessons are learned by taking a fresh look at the same old solutions.  Half day sessions develop a great sense of commaraderie and leave your team laughing all the way back to the office.

Merlin Works offers team building training events world-wide that utilise the power of improv to connect individuals in unique ways using humor as their tool. They specialise in creating “rock star” moments for your team members as they  demonstrate the fun of taking risks and championing new solutions.  Their improv classes can train your meeting coordinators to add fun and excitement to everyday meetings and seminars.

Some improvisational groups can also help your marketing team devise outings where they can set up anonymously to watch the improv team get consumer reactions to various situations, products and serivces. These fascinating field trips can be set up in a sidewalk cafe along a busy city street where your team can observe how these professional improvisational groups can influence total strangers to follow their suggestions and offer their opinions on the targeted subjects.

This can be a very effective exercise in understanding what motivates buyers and what repels them.

Now that the Internet is connecting people on so many levels, it is only natural that virtual events are becoming more popular. Professional Event Planners are realising how much money they save in fuel cost, surcharges, and equipment when they can create a virtual event and without ever having to leave the office.

Different types of virtual events are available for services like Second Life, Constant Contact, Meeting One and Virtulis Center. Below are a few basic tips to follow when creating a virtual event, Internet trade show or corporate sales kickoff.

Objective

Do you want to simply make a presentation for a large audience, or do you need to have interaction and break out seminars? Determine your ultimate objective early in the process so that you can design the correct platform for your setting. Virtual meeting rooms can be outfitted with audio/visual equipment, white boards, handouts and business card distribution. Map out a storyboard that takes the meeting from registration to participation to wrap up and develop a timeline for all presentations.

Design

Craft your presentation to your particular audience and set the tone to match their knowledge of the subject. Sales presentations and product rollouts obviously have a more upbeat, enthusiastic attitude than scholastic or scientific presentations and both are quite different from public presentations to an audience that is unfamiliar with the subject. Use technologically appropriate language, especially in virtual display booths and resource centers.

Virtual Guides

When the basic structure of your virtual meeting determined, develop a concise guide to online registration, attendance and feedback. If necessary include instructions on translations of both written and verbal presentations. Also provide direct contact information, especially phone numbers, for participants who are experiencing technical difficulties with a computer or Internet connection.

As part of the Virtual Guide, provided a reference sheet that has suggestions for operating platforms, recommended software and Internet connection speed. Also have a direct link to online real-time support for use while the conference is in session.

Partnerships

Be on the lookout for companies that can partner with you on virtual events. Select vendors to help you customize your venue and create additional attractions for participants. If appropriate, setup links between your web sites to promote the virtual event, products presented or information discussed.

Follow Through

Once the event is completed in real-time, make arrangements for it to be archived on the Internet and accessible for replay for at least six months. Make sure all links to video presentations or online documentation presented at the conference have live links for easy access.

Here are 10 of Video Conferencing’s newest (and sometimes, unlikely) users:
Health Professionals

Patients are accustomed to visiting doctors in their offices, but video conferencing can change some of those visits. Disease management for treatment of a long-term disease, specialist referrals, support services in campuses and remote offices, remote patient monitoring, and nursing call center services all bring new opportunities.

Telecommunication

Journalists are beginning to get press videoconferences to allow international presence. Access to a computer allows them to ask questions and report on more events without relying on second- or third-hand information.

Education

Classes taught by video conference bring teachers and students together over long distances to experience the classroom feeling without extensive travel. It also creates options for virtual tours and meeting exciting people who can’t visit a classroom, like NASA officials or native language speakers in the same age group as students.

Surveillance & Security

Remote monitoring, motion detection, and video broadcasting are some of the features used for surveillance. Warehouses or empty facilities keep things safe by the video conferencing tools. They also could set up a person to reason with if someone enters during a time other than the norm without automatically alerting authorities.

Government Ministers

Busy officials can link in to meetings via video conferencing instead of traveling. This means they can get more use out of their time and still attend meetings at more than one venue when necessary.

Emergency response
During an emergency they’ll show up at the door, but video conferencing helps keep them trained to deal with the worst that can happen while saving on fuel and travel expenses.

Budding families

Families spread over large distances or in different countries are beginning to use video conferencing to keep in touch and show how much the babies grow. This alternative can be cheaper than plane tickets, especially for new grandparents who want to make weekly or daily appointments.

Prisoners

Video Conferencing makes for easier connections between parents and children, especially when getting regular visits scheduled with out-of-state children. Lawyers and judges are finding video conferencing benefits for hearings and depositions to speed proceedings by increasing the number of arraignments and “Assignment of Counsel” sessions per day and eliminating travel to the jail.

Seniors

Letters, phone calls, and emails only go so far, and all of them lack the nonverbal cues so vital to communication. Ideas to keep seniors included in the family life are meals and sharing stories to different generations. They also have added security when alone in the house to call someone on the video conference to stay alert during times when a repairman is expected.

Churches

Whether it’s bringing conferences to more people or simply spreading the message from the church, video conferencing proves to be very effective. There are no virtual sermons yet, but group counseling, education, and meetings between officials are on the rise.

Since the launch of our new free to use GO product. Conference Genie customers have already started sending us positive feed back.

“So far so good, very easy to use and quick to set up. I did call to speak to one of your customer services people and they were helpful and pleasant.”

Thanks,

Amelia

“The conference call experience was very good.”

Alec Leighton

Managing Director

“It was very easy to set up and it worked! and I will definitely use you again”

Karen Barnes

Its great to see so many customers taking advantage of the free service.

“Thanks for your service this past year. i use your line to run my teleclasses, so it is important that I don’t have any hiccups when people try to call in. In my experience, dialup to Conference Genie has been 100% reliable, the lines are crystal clear and the audio is excellent. I cannot say the same for other “free” lines I have used in the past. In fact, several times this year I have been on calls to other conference lines where there was so much static and echo that I actually suggested to the group, “Hey, why don’t we all hang up and call my line instead?” When people came over to my Conference Genie line, they immediately noticed the difference and were full of appreciation! Your service has made my teleclasses stress-free.”

Lynn Serafinn

Author, coach and telecourse leader

I think Conference Genie is brilliant by the way – superbly easy to use, no tie in to long contracts (great for a one woman band like me), recording quality is superb, and customer service from you guys goes far beyond my expectations. And you’re in the UK too, which is a bonus.

Many thanks,

Kind regards

Kim O’Rourke

As a volunteer for a small charity, I am asked to organise many conference calls. These vary in size from small discussions of 3 – 8 people in the UK to large international seminar calls.

We recently had a series of calls with 500 participants from all over Europe, and speakers from the Cayman Islands, Spain, the UK and the USA. The reception quality was excellent, and many participants commented that the sound was crystal clear. With other providers we have used in the past, as numbers of callers increase, so sound quality declines dramatically to the point where no one can hear anything. Not so with Conference Genie.

The staff at Conference Genie are very helpful and accommodating, tailoring their services to our exact needs. They respond quickly to queries, and are there on the end of the phone to “walk us through” any problems.

It’s a brilliant, free service.

Case Study – Conference Genie and Lacrosse Scotland

Lacrosse Scotland in an organisation representing men’s and woman’s Lacrosse teams in clubs, schools and colleges across Scotland and helps organise events both locally and internationally. The board of Lacrosse Scotland meets frequently to co-ordinate their work and this has proved challenging as members are spread across the UK.

Lacrosse Scotland has recently started conducting committee meetings using the Conference Genie conference call service, allowing members to reduce significantly the time and cost spent in travelling to meetings, while at the same time enabling more frequent meetings of the board and members.

As well as board meetings, each club and college has been allocated their own conference room using the Conference Genie PLUS service, empowering each of the members to arrange their own meetings simply and easily.

With calls costing as little as 2 pence per minute and no monthly or annual fees, the organisation is now able to keep it’s costs low while greatly increasing the communication and decision making.

After 8 years of running conference calls, I'm so glad I found 'Conference

Genie' ... by far the simplest and clearest system I've used.

You've made my job of coaching my clients so much easier ... Thank you

Regards

Robert Saunders

Managing Director

Alltec Network

Butts Business Centre, Fowlmere

Nr Royston, Herts, SG8 7SL

T: 01763 208222  F: 01763 208906  W: www.alltec.co.uk