Skype -- Inexpensive long distance (North America and global), person to person telephone, one to many audio conferencing, and person to person video conferencing.
For telephone and audio conferencing, you just need a headset that can be plugged into your computer. It is important to note that very few telephone headsets are compatible with your computer. For a low flat fee per month, you can make all the long distance calls you want to people's real telephones. They need not have a computer.
For video conferencing, both you and the person you are calling will need to be using Skype on a computer. In addition to a headset, both of you will need a camera for your computer, also known as a webcam. Video conferencing is still rather new but it ads a new dimention to coaching that few coaches currently offer. Hmmm, something to think about.
Before I start getting tons of email, it is true that you can use Skype with just a microphone and speakers, however the quality of the sound is far better with a headset and so this is what I recommend.
TIP: The quality of your voice and/or video connection will depend on the quality of your and your clients connection to the Internet.
YAK -- Discount long distance rates for Canadians.
There are Telephone Bridges which are available to you for free. While there are certainly some good points to this, there can also be some down sides. Free can sometimes mean less functionality. For example, not all of the conference bridges listed below allow you to reserve a block of time in advance and most have limits on the number of people it will support at any given time.
Another desirable feature you might want to keep an eye out for is to have the ability to record your eSeminar or Teleclass. Some future uses for recordings might include creating media products like CD's or MP3's or just make it available on your web site as a sample or gift for people to listen to.
Please note that I have yet to review any of these so let me know what you think.
- Free Conference Call
- Free Phone Bridge
- Free Conference
- Instant Conference
- Quality Conference Call
- No Cost Conference
Contact me if you would like to learn more about how you can take advantage of these and other tools to build your coaching business or if you would like to contribute suggestions to the above list. If I include your suggestion, with your permission I will also mention your name and include a link to your web site. Please note however that I reserve the right to be selective about which suggestions appear on this page.
With warmest regards,
Life Coach Michael Milette
www.MichaelMilette.com
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