(www.inkthinkerblog.com) — As a freelancer who largely refuses to attend face-to-face meetings, I spend a lot of my time on conference calls, especially during government proposal season (approximately May-August). Here are some of my favorite conference call musts, must-nots, and you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-mes from my experience and other freelancers’ recommendations.
1. Distribute a clear agenda in advance of the call and stick to it
Make sure all call participants know exactly what’s expected of the, and what will be covered and decided during the call to maximize the time available. Betsy Garman, publications and distance learning specialist at AACC, advises assigning roles ahead of time as well so people know what agenda points they’re responsible for. And don’t neglect the tech. “If you’re the call leader, be familiar with the technology — especially if you’re recording the call or using a moderator provided by the call company,” she says. Photographer Andrew Deci echoes Garman’s advice. “Conference calls are always better when there is a clearly identified ‘moderator,’ someone who can direct responses and ask questions,” Deci says.
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(www.inkthinkerblog.com) — …I’d be a rich girl thanks to MoneyPath! (And we all know I could use the bucks after the check I just wrote to get my data back from my failed computer. Good times, good times.)
They sent me this big fat novelty check for $13,055,720.00.
And speaking of big and fat, do my fingers look huge in this picture, or what?
Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King
(www.inkthinkerblog.com) — Imagine this: It’s the night before a big deadline, about 10 p.m. You’re in the middle of attaching your revised, almost-final draft of a major proposal to an e-mail to your client when your computer freezes. You try everything you can think of to no avail, so you do a forced shut-down…and then your computer never turns back on. And inside, trapped, is the proposal you have been slaving over for weeks.
The one that’s due to the client tomorrow morning.
Yeah, that’s what happened to me last month. What would you have done? Me, well, I had a panic attack.
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(www.inkthinkerblog.com) — If you’ve been an Inkthinker reader for any length of time, you know I’m all about the strong online presence as a key component of your personal and professional brand. But what happens when you spread yourself too thin online? And what can you do about it?
I found myself in this very same dilemma recently. Well, let’s back up a minute. I’ve had this dilemma for a while, but I didn’t realize it until recently. My writer pal Anne Wayman invited me to participate in Problogger’s 31 Days to Build a Better Blog project in April, and I quickly realized that I just did not have the time to keep up with it. But before that hit me, I tried to complete the first couple of exercises first, and Day 1 was my revelation moment. [continue reading…]
(www.inkthinkerblog.com) — If you live in Northern Virginia, love freelance writing, and don’t have lunch plans on Thursday, June 4, shoot me an e-mail for an invite to lunch with me, the original well-fed writer Peter Bowerman, and some of our friends at a small Lebanese restaurant in Tysons Corner. Not sure how much space the restaurant has to accomodate us, so we’ll figure it out depending on the response. Hope to see some of the Inkthinker crew there!
Contents Copyright © 2006-2014 Kristen King
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