G-Systems Teleconference Guide

Click here to find out when the next teleconference is.

Click here to register to attend the teleconference.

CALL WAITING: If you have call-waiting, you must first disable it before dialing into the teleconference. 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. Please check with your local phone company to verify this procedure several days before the teleconference call.

CALL IN ON TIME. Please dial the teleconference number at the appointed time.

WHAT YOU WILL HEAR: All G-Systems teleconference lectures require an exclusive PIN (personal identification number) and you will hear a recording saying something like “please enter your conference PIN number followed by the pound (#) sign. The Teleconference Phone number and PIN number will be given to you when your registration payment has been received. All G-Systems teleconference lectures are made in the Central Time zone. Please make sure you have the correct time for your time zone. If you are given the time for your call in the Central time zone and you are unsure of how that converts to your time zone, please refer to the time schedule example below:

Central Daylight Savings Time = 8pm

Pacific Daylight Savings Time, subtract 2 hours = 6pm

Mountain Daylight Savings Time, subtract 1 hour = 7pm
(Except Arizona which is Pacific Time during Daylight Savings time.)

Eastern Daylight Savings Time, add 1 hour = 9pm

Hawaii Daylight Savings Time, subtract 5 hours = 3pm

AlaskaDaylight Savings Time, subtract 3 hours = 5pm

Europe on GMT, add 6 hours = 2am

On most bridges, those already connected will hear a short tone when you join the call, and the call host will usually say something like, “Hi, who just joined the call?” or “Welcome, hold on a moment while everyone joins the call.” If you’re late, the host may not acknowledge you. That doesn’t mean you’re not welcome. Just listen silently while you catch up with the lecture topic. During the actual lecture portion of this call our guest speaker will be in a “mute” position. This means you will be able to hear him, but he will not be able to hear you. After the lecture he will “un-mute” and be able to hear and answer your questions. A question and answer period will follow each lecture. During the question and answer period, please say your name before speaking so that our guest speaker will have no difficulty identifying you. Please remember that we can only take one question at a time and sometimes another participant will ask your question before you do. Be patient and courteous. Let our guest speaker answer the question and then wait for him to say “Next Question” before speaking.

IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG: If the phone rings but won’t connect, one of two things has occurred. You may have miss-dialed, or your timing is off. Check the number and the time and redial. If you receive a busy signal, it means that you either misdialed, or the teleconference bridge is full. Check the number and dial again. If you still receive a busy signal, then the bridge is full and is likely to remain full for the duration of the teleconference. We will not overbook these bridges to help insure that everyone gets through. If the phone rings and you receive a recorded message saying something like “All circuits are busy, please try your call again later,” or if you receive a fast busy signal, it means that not enough long distance lines are available to connect you to the teleconference. This sometimes happens between the hours of 8PM and Midnight Central Time. We have no control of this condition. If you use a 10-10 Number, your call can be re-routed. It is best for you to call your long-distance carrier to get their 10-10 number, because if you use your own carrier’s 10-10 number, you are charged the same rate.

 


 

TELECONFERENCE ETIQUETTE
Like any form of communication, teleconferencing involves rules of etiquette. Don’t worry, you’ll learn quickly! But the following suggestions should help you feel at home from the start. For those of you new to teleconferencing, the following rules may sound a bit strict, but please remember…you are in an EXTREMELY sound-sensitive environment with a lot of other people. These rules help everyone hear what’s being said and insure a successful experience for everyone.

RECORDING: First, a word about recording these sessions. G-Systems International owns all intellectual property rights to these teleconference lectures and will be tape recording each one. By registering and paying for these Teleconference lectures you are giving G-Systems International your individual permission to do so. It is illegal for guest participants to record these sessions. G-Systems International will be make these tape recordings of these lectures available for purchase should you wish to do so.

1. Mute Button. Use your telephone’s mute button, if there is one. Background noise, the dog barking, radio, etc., could be a problem for the other participants. If you don’t have a mute button, don’t worry. Just try to call from a quiet location.
2. Breathing. Some people breathe ‘heavier’ than others. 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! Do not muffle the sound by putting your hand over the mouthpiece.
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 Teleconference it can really be a shrill noise that everyone hears and will not be appreciated.
4. Pets. Please put your pets in another room so that their barking, meowing, and/or chirping does not interfere with the sound quality of the teleconference.
5. Speakerphones, Cell phones, Cordless phones, Computer Telephony, and sometimes Headsets. Please don’t use them if you don’t have to.Speakerphones are wonderful things, but we ask that you not speak into them when on a teleconference call. Pick up the handset when you wish to speak 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 our 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. As the host, our guest speaker will ask for participants to share or respond during the question and answer period only. However, please wait to be prompted — don’t just speak unless invited. If and when you do speak, say something like, “Gregge, this is Bob from Tampa.” Our guest speaker will say, “Yes, Bob, go ahead.” Then you can say whatever you’d like to. Always use our guest speaker’s name and wait until he responds, indicating that you can proceed.
7. Cross Talk. If another participant says something that you want to comment on or ask more information about, go through our guest speaker, don’t speak to the other person directly. Let our guest speaker play traffic cop.
8. Early/Late. Please don’t call the bridge before the scheduled time — another conference may be in session. Double check that you are calling at the proper time for your time zone. If you’re late to the call, no problem, just dial in and be silent until you catch on to what’s being said. Our guest speaker 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!
9. 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.
10. Get comfortable, be relaxed in a quiet place and enjoy the experience this technology offers. How wonderful to be able to sit in the comfort of your own space and be taught by the best of the best.