Essential Information for Teleconference Leaders

A telebridge teleconference or teleclass is easy to setup and run. No special equipment is needed; just a standard telephone. All callers dial into the same telephone number at the meeting time and are automatically connected to each other. Bridges do not require an operator. Some bridges require a PIN number. Our larger bridges (our 100 and 200 port bridges) that use PIN numbers and allow for muting by guests and hosts. Full instructions about using the PIN number and muting features will be emailed to you when you make a reservation.

NOTE: As the call leader, it's important that you dial the bridge a minute or two in advance of the group meeting. Let the phone ring until it connects. On bridges without PINs, the phone may ring for a minute or two, until someone else also dials. Bridges without PINs WILL NOT CONNECT until two or more people are dialing it at the same time. Therefore, when you are connected, you automatically know that at least one other person is on the call! Greet them with something like: "Hello this is Mary, who else is here?"

Our teleconference bridges handle 15, 30, 50, 100, 150, or 200 callers simultaneously. No operator assistance is needed, nor is a conference call manager. All you do is let your group know what the telephone and PIN numbers are for your particular teleconference and when you dial that number and enter the PIN, you're automatically and immediately 'on' the call.

On most bridges, you will hear a beep when additional callers join the call. It's important to acknowledge new callers within a minute of their joining with something like, "Hi, who just joined the call?" or "Welcome, hold on a moment while everyone joins the call."

On some bridges, you will hear another tone when someone leaves the bridge. It's a momentary open line tone, like you get when someone hangs up on you. There is no way for you to know who hung up, so don't get flustered about it.

End your calls five minutes before the end of the hour as another group may be scheduled on the next hour. Your participants will appreciate your punctuality, as will the conference on the next hour.

If something goes wrong

Another group on the bridge at a time you have reserved. Two different customers cannot be scheduled on the bridge at the same time. However, it is possible that you may encounter another group on the bridge. If this happens, proceed with the following steps:

1. Telebridge Account: If you do not have a confirmation email from Telebridge regarding the time and date you are on the call, ask your group to hang up and let the customer who has a confirmation email from Telebridge use the bridge.
   
   
2. Verification: Go to the telebridge web site, enter your user ID and password. At the web site, click the bridge number you are on. Look at the present month, day and time on the calendar. Remember that all times on the calendar are Eastern Time. If your user ID is not listed at the present time (i.e. the time you are attempting to use the bridge) ask your group to leave the call and let the other customer use the bridge. If you thought you reserved the bridge for two hours and it is the second hour of your call, you must see both hours listed with your user ID. If both hours are not listed with your user ID, then you did not reserve them both.
   
   
3. Negotiation: If you have verified that you are listed on the calendar at the web site for the bridge number you are on, say, "I have confirmed my reservation for this time and this bridge at the telebridge website. It is clear that I have the time reserved. Would all of the callers who are not a part of the (your name and company) call, please hang up? I will let telebridge know about this and they can resolve it on their end. Thank you." The web site is the final authority and takes precedence over any email confirmations that may have been received. If the other customer refuses to get off of the bridge, ask them for the name on their account with telebridge.com. It's important that you get the name on their account since all telebridge accounts are listed with a person, not a company. Some companies have several accounts with telebridge.
   
   
4. Recourse:  If you were not able to use the bridge time and you are certain you reserved the telebridge, email help@telebridge.com with the name of the person who stated that they had an account with telebridge, the time, date and bridge number of the call. We will investigate the situation and get back to you with the results. If you had this time reserved and were unable to hold your call, your account will be credited. The person on the call will be notified about their error and charged for the reservation.
   
   
5. Termination: Accounts with two or more complaints of improper refusal to yield time will be subject to immediate termination.

Echoes, Static, or Other Funny Noises. Echoes and other noises on the bridge are usually caused by one of the caller's phone lines or equipment. Situations that create noise include cell phones, cordless phones, speaker phones, computer dialing and head sets. Echoes can also be caused by a bad echo cancelling chip at the telephone company's office. Sometimes hanging up and calling in again will give you a different circuit and eliminate the problem.

In cases where you hear an echo, static, or other noises while facilitating a conference call, we recommend that you ask the callers if anyone is on one of the phones mentioned above. If so, ask them to hang up and call back on a different phone or mute themselves. This is likely to resolve the problem. Noticing when the echo first starts and asking who just joined the call can help identify the source of the echo. It is helpful to inform your callers in advance so they will use a corded phone line.

Not everyone can connect. Telephone companies sometimes oversell their capacity. There may be occasional periods of time when you may experience difficulty getting the full capacity from the bridge because not enough long distance circuits are available. We can't guarantee 100% availability of full capacity on your bridge.

If customers are unable to get on the bridge, they will get a busy signal. If your guests continue to dial and get a message that says, "all circuits are busy, please try your call again later" or a fast busy signal, this is a universal long distance prompt. It means that the local or long distance switch is too full to get people through.

If your guests use the 10-10 number of their long distance company, their call can be re-routed. It is best for the guests to call their long-distance carrier to get their 10-10 number. If they use their own carrier's 10-10 number, they are charged the same rates.

You can visit the web site http://www.10-10phonerates.com/state.html for additional 10-10 numbers.

Teleclass Protocols

We want each person's bridge experiences to be positive. To that end, here are some additional instructions that are often shared with new participants in a teleclass or teleconference.

1. Mute Button. Use your telephone's mute button, if there is one. Background noise, the dog barking, radio, etc., can make it hard for other callers to hear. If you don't have a mute button, not to worry. Just try to call from a quiet location.
   
   
2. Breathing. Some people breathe 'heavier' than others. And most of the heavy breathers don't realize it. (Who, ME?) So, we ask everyone to hold the mouthpiece or telephone headset microphone a bit away from their mouth and nose, unless they are speaking. This sounds pretty silly, but when you're on a call with a heavy breather, you'll understand why it matters!
   
   
3. 2-line phones. If you have a two-line phone, please turn the ringer off of the second line. If you don't, and you get a call during the TeleClass, it can really be a shrill noise that everyone hears.
   
   
4. Dogs (and cats). If you're on a smaller TeleClass (like 10-30 callers), your dog will probably woof at exactly the time needed for some comic relief, so it's not usually a problem. But if you're on a larger TeleClasses (30-200 callers), please put Fido in another room.
   
   
5. Speakerphones, Cell phones, Cordless phones, Computer Telephony, and sometimes Headsets. Please don't use them. Speakerphones are wonderful things, but we ask that you not speak into them when sharing. Pick up the handset when you share and put the mute button on when you're just listening. The clarity/quality simply isn't good enough on all of these types of phones.
   
   Cell phones and cordless phones can cause noise that everyone else will hear. If the only phone you have is cordless, stay close to the base unit. Cell phones are affected by atmospheric conditions and satellite problems as well as crossed signals, all of which can affect the bridge quality for everyone involved.
   
   Computer-based dial-ups into bridges are not supported by telebridge. Use of this technology can cause noise, distortion and static and can make bridges unusable, sometimes for days.
   
   Headsets save aching necks and free your hands for taking notes. However, if there is a problem with noise, sometimes it is caused by a faulty headset. In the case of a noisy call, we recommend that you switch to your handset to see if this alleviates the problem. Also, make sure your headset batteries are fresh.
   
   
6. Sharing. The Instructor will usually ask for callers to share or respond, throughout the call. However, please wait to be prompted -- don't just speak up, unless invited. If/when you do share, say something like, "Thomas (or the instructor's name), this is Bob from Tampa." The Instructor will say, "Yes, Bob, go ahead." Then you can say whatever you'd like to. Always use the Instructors name and wait until they respond, indicating that you can proceed. Note, however, that on smaller calls this formality isn't usually needed and there is a natural flow to people sharing and discussing.
   
   
7. Commenting. If you want to comment on something that another caller has said, please keep your comments extremely positive. Don't say things like: "I disagree with Bob." or "I take exception to that...." or "That's incorrect." Even if all of these are true! Just say what you want to say and if you want to relate it to another caller's comment, make it positive!
   
   
8. CrossTalk. If another caller says something that you want to comment on or ask more information about, go through the Instructor, don't speak to the person directly, at least at first. Let the Instructor play traffic cop. You could say something like, "Thomas, can I ask that Marlene rephrase the point she just made?" Again, on smaller calls, this isn't as necessary, but on the large calls, it really is.
   
   
9. Calling in on Time. Please don't call the bridge before the scheduled time -- another class may be being conducted. And, don't call the bridge number trying to reach Tele University -- when the bridges aren't being used for TeleClasses, there really isn't anyone 'there.' It's just a bridge system, not a phone system. If you're late to the call, no problem, just dial in and be silent until you catch on to what's being discussed. The Instructor may or may not officially welcome you -- but probably won't so as not to disturb the flow of the call. That doesn't mean you're not welcome! And, finally, if you're more than 10 minutes late, be really careful about asking questions, as they may well have been asked earlier.
   
   All reservations are made using the Eastern Time zone. Please make sure you and your participants have the correct time for your time zone and synchronize your time with a standard source such as
   http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/
   
   
10. Audiotaping. Participants may not audiotape the TeleClasses. First, it's illegal unless everyone has given permission. Secondly, there might be intellectual property involved. If the Leader is taping a call, s/he must let everyone know at the beginning of the call.
    
    
11. Disconnections. If you get disconnected, all is not lost! Simply call back into the bridge. Sometimes it is the bridge itself, and sometimes a temporary break in your long distance service causes a drop to occur.
    
    
12. Call Waiting. Please remind your callers to disable their call waiting before before dialing in. Bridges can become unusable for days if someone "flashes" over to check another call. For most local phone companies, you can disable call-waiting by picking up the phone, waiting for the dial tone, dialing *70 (that's star seven zero), waiting for the dial tone again, and then dialing the bridge number. If you don't have touch tone dialing, tap in 1170 instead of *70. For GTE and some other local phone companies, it's different, so do check out the proper procedures.

Most TeleClasses are very interactive, meaning that you may speak up, ask questions or discuss key points with the Instructor, or when invited, with other participants. The Instructor is in charge of the call and facilitates it, but also involves as many of the callers as possible, who want to say something.