Set up for Leadership Huddle Conference CallToday at lunch I facilitated my first Leadership Huddle with six other people from throughout the US and in Hungary. We’re fortunate to live in a time when people from all over the world can communicate via technology, but finding the right solution for my needs was not as easy as I initially thought.

Needs
I needed to find a meeting/conferencing solution that:

  • Accommodated seven people for an hour each week, for 12 weeks. Participants live in VA, TX, IN and Hungary.
  • Allowed us to hear one another (and if possible, see one another)
  • Was affordable (for the participants in US and Hungary, and for me as the host)
  • Was easy, quick & nice to use (for the participants, and for me)

Options
I looked at a few conferencing platforms, including:

The Problem with Skype – Some of the participants have it, but not everyone. One of the participants can’t use Skype because he’s behind a very tight firewall. Additionally, I was told last week that you can’t conference with more than five people using Skype. Our group = seven.

Tokbox looked like a great solution at first. But not everyone has web cameras/microphones. There is a call-in option, but it was 11 cents a minute, and since I would have to pay a monthly fee (albeit nominal) anyway, I didn’t think that made the most sense. There was the issue of a tight firewall again. And the platform just didn’t seem very intuitive. Trying to figure out how to use it was stressful!

Free Conference Call seemed like a good option, except for the international call charges from Hungary to the US. And we couldn’t see each other “face-to-face,” which I had really hoped for.

Solution
In the end, I went with Free Conference Call and the person in Hungary called the US number via Skype. We didn’t get to see everyone, but at least we got to hear each other, the technology was easy to use (though I still managed a goof or two) and it was affordable.

What About You?
What meeting/conferencing challenges have you had and what solutions have you found?
How are you using technology to communicate with others?
Does your church or small group take advantage of any of these, or other options available today?
What stories can you share?
And of course, do you know of anything else that I may have overlooked, for next time?