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All About Teleseminars: Should You Add Phone-based Training to
Your Services Offerings?
By Karyn Greenstreet |
copyright © 2009, by Karyn Greenstreet. All
rights reserved.
What is a Teleseminar?
A teleseminar is a class, workshop or lecture delivered
over the telephone. It gives students access to training materials they
might not be able to find in their local community, and allows them to learn
new material without having to travel.
The teacher is usually called a teleclass leader or teleseminar leader.
Their job is to create and foster a learning environment where people feel
free to ask questions, share ideas and challenges, and discuss the class
materials. While some people have a natural ability to teach via telephone,
many people find that attending a
teleclass leader training program helps them learn specific techniques
for phone-based training. How do Teleseminars Work?
The teacher and students meet via a teleconference line
(also known as a telebridge line). As you can imagine, chaos might reign
with so many people on a teleconference line, so generally-accepted
teleclass etiquette guidelines have
been created to help foster the conversation without people talking over
each other.
Teleseminars can be a one-time event, where everyone meets on the phone for
one hour, or an ongoing series, where everyone meets once a week for several
weeks or even months. The more sophisticated the topic and the more in-depth
the training agenda, the longer students meet with the teacher. Often during
series-style teleseminars, the teacher will assign homework to be completed
between class meetings. This helps the student to apply what they learned
that week to a real-world situation or project.
Because teleseminars are primarily an audio format, teleclass leaders often
provide handouts that students can download from the teacher's website,
visual supplement to the audio teleclass. Traditionally these handouts are
in PDF format so that most people can open them. However, some teleclass
leaders use Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint slideshows, Flash slideshows, and
other downloadable content to help the learning experience.
The calls are typically recorded so that students can download these audio
files to their computer or iPod/MP3 player, and listen again at their
leisure. This helps to cement the learning and allows students to refresh
what they have learned whenever they need to, sometimes months or years
later. In this fashion, a teleseminar becomes a life-long learning
opportunity for the student. What Types of Teleseminars are There?
-
Lecture
style – In a lecture teleseminar, the teleclass leader has a set
agenda of information to share. Typically all the students are put on
mute and listen to the information being presented. While this may seem
like a passive way to learn, it is usually a very condensed way to learn
as well. A well-designed lecture teleclass will give the students a huge
amount of learning material in a short period of time which can be an
effective way of learning for some.
-
Interactive style – In an interactive teleseminar, the teleclass
leader lectures part of the time, and has set aside time for questions
and answers and participatory exercises. This style of teleclass is
appreciated by the adult learner who likes to mull over what is being
taught and apply it immediately to their own situation. Interactive
teleclasses also create a lively atmosphere, full of energy and
excitement, fostering a deep learning environment.
What are the Benefits of Teleseminars?
For the student, it is a chance to learn a wide array of
topics without having to leave home or the office. Some adult students have
a very busy life and teleseminars allow them to quickly get training in
one-hour increments without having to travel to multiple destinations.
Student can even learn while on business trips. Because there are no travel
or hotel costs associated with teleclasses, students can save money.
For the teacher, it is an opportunity to teach students from across the
nation and around the world. Many teachers add teleclasses to their service
offerings as a way to meet new prospective clients, share their ideas more
globally, and increase revenue.
For everyone concerned, teleseminars are a great way to meet other people,
especially if the teleclass leader encourages participation. Some leaders
will create an online message forum, where students can continue the
discussion between phone calls, again fostering both community and continued
learning. If the teleclass is recorded,
students who miss a session can still access the recording and catch-up with
the lessons before the next class session.
Teleseminars are beneficial to both the student and teacher, offering both
distance learning and a community environment that home-study courses lack.
Whether you teach teleclasses or take a teleclass as a student, you will
gain positive experience and a great new network of friends.
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Karyn Greenstreet is a Self Employment expert and small business coach. She
has been teaching teleseminars for 10 years and has 25 years experience as
an instructional designer.
She offers two classes for teleclass leaders: one on
how
to design workshops and teleclasses, and the other on
how
to be a teleclass leader.
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