Scope, efficiency and benefits are quickly achievable

Our virtual society opens up new opportunities for speakers and educators with program technology based on audio conferencing.

In the past, if you wanted to promote a speaker’s or educator’s topic, you had to bring people together physically. This meant booking the speaker, reserving a venue, arranging for refreshments or meals, sending out invitations, gathering registrations, sending out reminders, organizing site presentation requirements like flipchart, projector, handouts, booking time, traveling to the venue, setting up, greeting attendees. participants and then making their presentation. Phew. Such events, done right, are a lot of work and often quite expensive. A hotel room can cost you anywhere from $250 to $1,000 per day. Refreshments typically cost upwards of $15 per participant. Brochures cost you 10 cents per page. Projector and screen rental can cost you $250 per day. Speakers for these types of venues typically cost anywhere from $400 to $5,000 or more.

In today’s fast-paced social and business climate, convincing potential attendees to reserve an entire day for a seminar is challenging. It is also expensive and time consuming. Consider interspersing your face-to-face programs with programs based on audio conferencing. These are some of the key attributes of an audio conferencing based program.

Features of a program based on audio conferences:

1. 1-2 hours max; covers key learning topics with 20 minute Q&A
2. Game mode
3. Record
4. Real-time whiteboard web conferencing, if needed
5. Email Brochures

The benefits of an audio conferencing based program are many:

1. Participants are more likely to attend because: (a) they do not consume a full day, (b) no one sees participants in their pajamas, (c) participants are not tied to a desk or chair, and (d) participants can even be traveling
2. The teacher is not consuming a whole day; he probably earns less
3. Cost savings allow for a more experienced reader
4. The reader does not have to travel
5. No hotel and accommodation expenses for readers
6. No venue costs
7. No copy costs
8. No audiovisual costs
9. Best use of everyone’s time
10. No travel time for the participant
11. More themes can be offered more frequently.
12. More contact time with constituents
13. The recording can be played

For years, experts thought that video/web conferencing would replace audio conferencing, since it was more visual. However, audio conferencing has been found to be more useful in many settings. Most conference calls don’t need the ever-present visual impulse. Web conferencing has always proven to be complicated with configuration issues on local computers. Also, with video/web conferencing, participants are “locked in their chairs” in front of their computer cameras. As a result, web conferencing is most useful for large enterprise desktop users who do a lot of it, whose machines have already gone through the setup hoops, and who have comfortable chairs. Live video conferencing essentially requires you to remain in front of your camera at all times; otherwise, people will wonder if you’re paying attention.

The phone is by far the most convenient and universal technological tool on the planet. Why not take advantage of its reach and convenience to further your training as a speaker with programs based on audio conferencing?

Your show participants won’t fidget, fidgety guys can move all they want, your costs are a fraction of your typical show costs, you can spread your constituency nationally and internationally. Simply put, audio conferencing based programs drastically lower the limits for getting your message across. It only costs pennies to try. Compare the traditional schedule described above for, say, 15 participants over 2 hours, with a schedule based on audio conferencing, not including speaker fee.

Traditional Program Costs:

• Place – $500
• Soft drinks – $225
• Brochures (25 pages) – $37.50
• Flip Chart – $50
• Projector – $250
• Shipping – $35
• TOTAL = $1,097.50

Audio Conferencing Based Program Costs

• Minutes (@10 cents per minute) – $180 – a savings of 609%

Only a few truly Web 2.0 audio conferencing providers exist. Find one and try them out. Start with short programs, then expand your repertoire as you gain experience.

For more information, google “Web 2.0 Audio Conferencing.”

Copyright 2010. Leader Phone and Michael McKibben. All rights reserved.