Not long ago, I was talking to the president of a local chamber of commerce and it was obvious that the chamber needed some sort of a way to rapidly deploy advanced information to the members. But how might they do that I wondered? Well, could it be that offering teleseminars might be at least one more opportunity to get the word out? I mean of course, the chamber ought to be using social media, email alerts, and all their normal forms of communication, but a teleseminar sure works wonders for mass dissemination of information. Okay so, let’s talk.
It appears to me that maybe the chamber needs to have all their board members on board with distributed satellite offices, using their various businesses as source points for general members and for meetings. Also, each ought to do teleseminar type meetings amongst their various groups and committees. Such tools should be used by local community groups of all types, but put these tools in the hands of business people, folks who are used to getting things done and not just talking about them in groupthink type committees and it would be amazing what they could do.
Why suggest teleseminars? Well, because it gives more control to the person running the system, and prevents inadvertent disruptions. It also allows more people to be at a meeting than a normal tightknit group might have, and yet still be highly effective and productive. Also, consider by allowing questions at the end, there is no need to keep repeating yourself over and over again in smaller meetings, thus, it allows everyone the information at the same time, putting everyone in the group on the same page. Further it allows folks who are afraid to ask questions a chance to do so, and others who are afraid an answer to the questions they didn’t ask.
Lastly, I’d like to point to the cost, the environment, and the overall efficiency. No need to waste time over lunch, or pay for parking, or deal with traffic. Obviously this is better on the wear and tear on everyone’s car and it saves fuel, and travel time. It would be hard to refute that sometimes face-to-face meetings are appropriate, but why not leverage the power of teleseminars for your chamber of commerce activities. You’ll look brilliant for suggesting it and later people will tell you how wise it is to do it that way. Okay, well, that’s all for now, but I hope you will use this advice wisely. Please consider all this and think on it.