There is plenty of competition in the marketplace and to be successful with teleclasses you should be well prepared and find a topic that makes people enthusiastic. Here are some tips that successful teleclass entrepreneurs utilize for their events.

1. Time is important to the participants so you will be more successful if you spend the vast majority of the time offering insightful information instead of spending a lot of time for a roll call or asking people why they are participating.
2. You need to have a tantalizing title. Just mentioning what you will be offering won't stimulate the customers to participate. Do not use a negative title for your teleclass such as "how not to fail with your new business."
3. Be honest with your claims on how successful people can be by taking your teleclass or you will not last in the business very long. Offer some testimonials that don't seem like advertising. Find some unique testimonials that mention specific ways in which you substantially helped a person.
4. You're the leader and you have to keep the group focused. Don't let participants continually offer advice to others. Be upbeat, make the seminar fun and let people recognize for themselves that you are an expert on the topic.

The next blog will include more tips for Teleclasses.

The ability to communicate does not separate us from the animals. What separates us is really good opposable thumbs. Even ants have complex "Wi-Fi" like systems using scents. Communication is vital to us anyway in life, love, and business. Your company can only move as fast as its communication abilities. However, you can't always use the same medium for all situations. Let's look at different forms of transferring information and their pros and cons on the communications ladder.

Post-it Note

• Pros: It's a great attention grabber as it is something that is out of place. You can put it anywhere in the physical realm. Information is short and direct.
• Cons: It can't handle too much information. You have to be physically present to leave it. Anyone can read it. The short messages can be misconstrued.

• Pros: "Instant" transfer of information. Conversations can go on as long as they are needed. There is availability to send files as well as words.
• Cons: Must be done with a computer. Must be typed which slows transfer of information. Misspellings and bad grammar are commonplace.

• Pros: Complete packages of information including text and files can be sent bundled together with a very high space limit. They will wait in place for the recipient to read. It can be sent to multiple recipients easily anywhere in the world from anywhere.
• Cons: Must be done with a computer. With faulty security practices, anyone can receive the information. Emails can be overlooked or automatically put in junk email folders.

• Pros: You can say exactly what you want the recipient to know. It's discreet and private. It can be used almost anywhere to reach almost anyone, anywhere in the world.
• Cons: Can only have one recipient normally. Information transfer can be disrupted by false tones or inflections. Potential time waster when a quick call turns into a very long one.

• Pros: Easily connect with people anywhere in the world from anywhere. Can be used to convey large amounts of information, verbally, to large amounts of people with ease.
• Cons: The proper reception of message is dependent on tone and inflection. Without safeguards, background noises from recipients subvert the transmission of the message.

• Pros: Ability to gauge attitude of both recipient and sender. It can convey masses of verbal and non-verbal information directly and concisely to many recipients at the same time. It can be used anywhere.
• Cons: Must be done with a computer with a webcam. Depending on quality of service, details can be visually lost.

• Pros: Information can be transferred verbally and non-verbally, in a direct and concise manner.
• Cons: You have to be there to do it.

Problems are universal. Everyone has them, but not everyone deals with them the same way. In business, problems will happen, but it's how you handle them that makes the difference between your company being a success and a failure. It's not in the usual job description, but overcoming obstacles and handling incidents are a daily part of work. Employees are expected – and rewarded - by taking care of problems themselves, but what happens when they are ill equipped to deal with the situation?

For Employees: Sometimes, there just isn't anything you can do to fix a problem. When this happens, almost all of the time you will need to bring it to the attention of your supervisor or boss to get a solution. This can be a difficult task, especially if you have a difficult boss. So what should you do?

First, identify the specific problem and its root cause. Next, figure out what caused the root cause. Finally, come up with as good a solution as you can as well as a secondary solution. Put this all together in a memo stipulating what happened, why it happened, your two solutions, and how you think it can be prevented in the future. Then, notify your boss that you would like to have a quick meeting. Even if it is scheduled for five minutes away, email your memo to the boss. This will let him know what is going on so as not to surprise him. As an additional bonus, it will also start his gears turning on what to do.

For Employers: Mistakes and problems can kill a company, but you must keep your emotions in check. Assuming your employee did not maliciously cause the problem, it is never good to lose your temper or throw blame when the employee comes to you for help. Listen to what they have to say, acknowledge their assessment and proposed solutions, and fix the problem. Your business will be that much better for it.

"What are some things you shouldn't do during a conference call?" This is an excellent subject to consider, especially before your next conference call.

What is a conference call primarily composed of? Sound. And nothing detracts more from a call than bad sound. To do your part for a good sounding conference call, you can do several things. First, use a landline. Cell phones have come a long way, but you can still tell a difference in quality. Second, make sure you are in a quiet place. The other people on your call don't want to hear the lovely background noise of your local Starbucks.

Lastly – and this is the big one – learn how and when to use your personal mute feature. If you aren't talking much (or at all) go ahead and mute yourself. Even if you are in a quiet place, you never know when the unexpected will happen. Monitor your environment and mute as much as possible. Your fellow participants will appreciate it.

Etiquette is another possible "don't" area. Since most participants are not in the same room, sound will be the primary cause of a social mistake. Don't speak over someone else. Refrain from interrupting. Mute yourself before you cough or sneeze.

Also, remember they can't see you, so be careful not only of what you say, but how you say it. Your content, tone and inflection are all they have to go on.

Virtual conferencing is serious technology, for serious people and serious businesses. That's why it may take a little effort to make it fun and relaxing! Just like in a physical meeting, there is a period at the beginning of a virtual conference where people tend to be unsure or uptight. To get past this point and down to a more productive meeting, you might need to break the ice.

(A word of caution: these suggestions are best for more relaxed situations and care should be taken in deciding which situations are appropriate for use.)

To break the ice on a conference call, distribute a famous Sean Connery line or mini-speech to all participants beforehand. Then, at the beginning of the call, have each person say the line in their best Sean Connery voice and vote on who does the best impersonation. (You may pick a different famous person if you like.)

Another idea is to distribute sentence fragments along with a number that represents where the fragment is in a paragraph. You can start off by reading your fragment, and then everyone must chime in with theirs at the appropriate time. There will be sure to be some hilarious mistakes, especially if you choose a good paragraph. See how fast you all can get through it!

Never forget the power of a joke. Have everyone come to the conference call with a short joke. Let them all tell it in turn and vote on the best one. (Since there is always that one person, make sure to tell everyone to keep it clean and appropriate.)

A video conference could use all of the suggestions above, but you're neglecting the great potential you have in being able to see everyone. Have a pirate themed video conference! Tell everyone to dress up in pirate garb and see how long you can get into the meeting before too much laughter dictates the removal of costumes.

Start off with video conference charades! There's nothing fancy here, just do the game as you normally would and try to ignore the fact that all of you are far apart.

A good rule of thumb: if you treat virtual conferences like physical conferences – in etiquette, meeting mechanics, and even ice breakers – you'll find that they will run smoother and be more successful.

Clear audio in a conference call is definitely something that you want, that you need. However, at one time or another we have all had a moment where we wished that the phone wasn't so good at picking up our sounds. We're talking, of course, about background noises which momentarily turn great audio into a double edged sword.

A perfect reason to have a conference call is when you can't be with the people you're supposed to meet. This could be your colleagues at the office, a client somewhere, or a national meeting. Since you can't be there, does it really matter where you are? The short answer is "No"; the long answer is "No, but." You could just as easily have a conference call at home, but you must consider what else is home.

The dog hears something from the next state and suddenly barks. Your kids burst in to show you the turtle they found. Your cell phone rings and all the paper industry CEOs in the north hear "The Mexican Hat Dance." Unintended noises happen, it's what you do next that counts.

First, figure out before a conference call how to mute yourself. This can come in handy whether you are a speaker or simply a participant. Need to cough or sneeze? Mute yourself for the duration. The kids or dogs start acting up? Hit the mute BEFORE you tell them to knock it off. Especially if you are a participant, why don't you go ahead and mute yourself at the beginning? This way, any noises, animal or personal will not be shared with twenty other people.

Always keep in mind that if you have a quality conference call service, you will have quality conference call sound. This means that you should be extra mindful about your personal background noises. If you can't tell if anything is escaping, just go ahead and mute yourself. No one will know if you do… unless you've had a TV on in your room the whole time.

The best motivational speakers can inspire and get people excited using any form of communication. Many people buy CDs of motivational speakers to listen to in the car. It doesn't matter that they can't see them; the enthusiasm is transferred by voice. The message is delivered without the benefit of smiles or twinkling eyes. Sight and sound is the whole package, of course, but it is the sound that really carries the motivational message. If you were to watch a motivational speaker with the sound off, you might get a little inspired, but what you really need is to be able to hear that person.

If you are a motivational speaker, consider trying to reach new audiences using a conference call. It is better than a CD because there is a higher level of personal interaction. With a pre-recorded product, listeners get packaged information, but they can't ask any questions. More importantly, there is a huge difference in personal connections between recorded and live.

A conference call is a great way to get like-minded people together who want to grow or improve in some way. In setting up that conference call, you will give your audience the opportunity to interact with you and maybe even dialogue a little with each other. When it comes to motivation, nothing works like a chorus of encouragement.

You are the master of all you see as you enter your potential client's building; the same client that you are going to browbeat for twenty minutes into buying all of your inventory and at the end, he will thank you for your personal attention. You reach the ante-chamber to your client's office and who's that? Oh, it's nobody, just a receptionist. "Tell Mr. Client that I'm here to see him," you demand authoritatively. "Certainly," she replies and in you go.

What you might never know is that "nobody" is around your client all day, every day. Her opinion probably matters greatly. If the strength of your products or your pitch doesn't make the sale, then it will most likely come down to your character. If so, you'll probably lose. Also, the "nobody" controls scheduling for your client. That's right! Your next meeting got bumped. Do you need to leave a message? Guess who will be "writing" it down. Most receptionists will be professional and not stoop to petty vindictiveness, but there is no way to spot who is who. The next "nobody" could file your phone message in the trash.

Though receptionists are the mighty gatekeepers, they require nothing more than common courtesy and respect. The more they receive, the more they are prone to go above and beyond to help you. Remember how they are always around your client? Well, they will know his likes and dislikes, hit pet peeves, favorite colors, and his birthday. They might also know a lot about the business, its needs, your competitors, and where you stand in it all.

So be pleasant, understanding, respectful, and charming. You never know what the receptionist can do for you.