I don’t normally blog on Friday nights, but I’ll make an exception tonight.
Aly wrote:
OK, this may be a dumb question, but can you teleconference in on a cell phone? I don’t have a landline. Just wondering if anybody knows…
Randy sez: Yes. To get into a teleseminar, all you need is a phone–any kind of phone will do. You’ll be given a phone number and an “access code.” When you dial the phone number, you hear a message telling you to punch in the “access code” followed by the # sign. You do that on your phone’s keypad and you’re in.
For all the details on how teleseminars work, check this page.
Looks like we’ll have a good crowd on Monday night. Note that all who dial in will have their lines muted by the teleseminar system. That way, if the dog barks, nobody will hear that. When you get large crowds on a conference call, the combined noise of everybody breathing, sighing, scratching, eating, drinking, snoring, and laughing would be a major problem. By muting all the lines (except the lines for the organizers), all that noise gets eliminated.
Note that we’ll have our teleseminars recorded and they’ll be available for download within a couple of days after each teleseminar. So even if you miss it, you won’t miss it. Since dialing in to a teleseminar will incur a long-distance charge, those outside the US will probably NOT want to dial in–just download it later off the web site.
Once again, the info page for the teleseminar series with Mary Byers is right here. The first teleseminar will be on Monday night, so it’s right around the corner!
OK, I think I’ll go watch a good Manly Guy movie–Die Hard 3!
Randy- I must admit, I thought the treleseminars would be more about the anxiety of speaking, esp. since you talked so much about overcoming your own panic. I looked up toastmasters in my area and there are abut 50 groups- I guess I’ll just have to take the plunge. I’m fine in a group if I’m part of the group and not “apart” from the group- so maybe I can learn to feel like I’m just one of the group even if I’m standing up front…if that makes sense!
It’s weird, but every time I hear or read the word teleseminar, I think of teleportation, like in Star Trek. Now THAT would be highly unusual.
Make sure you know the cost of your long distance charges before participating. I’ve had long distance bills of $50 and more for teleseminars of 1-1/2 hours in length. The information has to be really good in order for value to approach price.
Perhaps one thing to consider is looking into the teleconference function offered through Skype, though that might not be accessible for everyone.
Instead of using your phone and getting a big long distance bill, why not just download it later and listen to it whenever you want! I don’t see an advantage to dialing in unless you’re allowed to ask questions!
It’s like watching a TV show live vesus on my DVR. Why not do it when *I* want to.
I download it all later and listen to it on my iPod while cleaning those manly guy rooms my 4 boys and 1 husband manage to blow things up in.
Hey! Die Hard isn’t just for Manly Guys, y’know. Did you see Live Free or Die Hard? Better than I expected; my family of 7 all felt they got a powerful emotional experience. Or maybe it was the popcorn soaked with an obscene amount of butter-flavored something.
I have appreciated being able to download the script and audio version of teleseminars later. Even if I’m in Asia or wherever when the teleseminar happens, I can download it when I want and then have it available. They are very helpful resources.
Sarah mentioned Toastmasters with a bit of hesitation. I was a member for awhile and really respected what they do. In my experience, they encourage and train people to go through a gradual process of gaining skills and confidence at speaking in different situations, from the very basic to advanced conference speaking. Someone else also evaluates each speech in an affirmative way. At the end of the meeting, someone evaluates the evaluations that have been made (all in spoken form). This is intended to train people to evaluate speeches in affirmative but realistic ways. I found the atmosphere to be very trusting and encouraging, but it also stretches your horizons. It is a great place for writers to get stimulated by new ideas from the wide variety of speeches they hear in each meeting.