Maybe background noise is plaguing your life and you just want to get rid of it? Then look no further. This article will give you the lo-down on the do’s and don’ts of recording a video and keeping your background noise to a minimum.

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Background noise removal when recording others

So you’re in a remote conference call, or a webinar. You want to record your screen but you want to exclude the voice of the person telling about it and only leave the visuals. 

How do you do it? Well, one way to achieve background noise removal is to ask the person mute their microphone, but something tells me this isn’t the most polite approach and won’t get you far. So it seems, in this instance, it just isn’t possible.

Oh Wait!

Did you know that you can mute your computer? This is by far the most simple and effective method to mute noise whilst recording your screen. To mute your computer you can usually knock the sound down to nothing using the tool bar.

Failing that you could always just knock your microphone off. Look for the little microphone icon. It’s off when there is a line running through it and where it doesn’t shine bright. You can check the levels by opening the sound panel on your computer and shouting loudly.

Recording Yourself at Home: Background noise removal tips

What if you are recording at home, well you could always put yourself in a soundproof room. Turn off all equipment that may disturb. But there are also handy tools for you to remove noise after the fact of recording.

One of them is Audacity. Audacity is a multi-track editor and recorder for music and audio recording. I used to use it to produce voice overs for videos.

The app is free and available for all major operating devices and is simple to use. Enough of my praise for the firm, let’s hear how you can achieve background noise removal post-factum.

Solid Advice: Solid App

Their advice starts as solid as mine: do everything you can to reduce noise before you start recording. The tool has an effects section called Noise Removal. You can create a “Noise Profile” in the menu and select sets of noise that you want to remove.

Usually these will be portions where you were silent but the waveform shows that there was some interference. Select this portion or portions where you are silent and reduce the noise to zero. Check the waveform visually and the audio to check the job has been done correctly.

Make Your Audio Krisp

But what if you don’t want to use or have no need for an audio recording app? Is there anything else out there? All I can say to you is that you have come to the right place. There is an all encompassing application out there that has been created to effectively reduce background noise.

You can hear how it works for yourself. The app is called Krisp and allows you not only to record without noise but mute background noise when speaking on the telephone or via VoIP (Voice if Internet Protocol -in layman’s terms: Skype, Zoom, Slack, Webex or any internet based calling service).

The application allows you to remove all the background noise from your side of the call so that the person you are speaking to can hear you crystal clear. So what about muting noise while recording your screen, you ask? Well that is not all!

Interoperable app for background noise removal

Krisp isn’t only able to mute your background noise, but also the background noise of the person on the other end of the call. Moreover, the application is able to work seamlessly with over six hundred different conferencing, messaging and streaming applications.

So the next time you want to record your screen, this is the go to app! Removing background noise can be a chore, especially if you’re not a whizz kid sound engineer. So take the easy route as Krisp have taken care of all the hard work for you.

All you need to do is select Krisp as a microphone for any screen recording app you choose, and the noise will be cleared on its own.

Roundup

So we’ve figured that there are several ways to mute your audio whilst recording your screen. The simplest being just to turn your microphone off.

The rudest being to tell others to pipe down or locking them out of the house. Whilst you could practice your sound engineering skills with Audacity, there is another app which rules them all: Krisp.

Download it now and see (or would that be hear) all of the benefits for yourself! Background noise removal from your life has never been easier.

The post How to Mute Noise While Recording Your Screen appeared first on Krisp.

It’s bad enough when the person holding the meeting and the other participants are sat in the room with you, but what about when it’s during a teleconference call?

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Well, I’m going to give you some great tips on how to keep yourself busy when someone has called a boring meeting that you just don’t need to be part of.

Read the News or a Blog

When you end up in a boring call or meeting, you could just let your mind wander, twizzle a pencil on your notepad, etc. Or you could open up your favourite blog and read an article on, for example escaping your dreaded office job and how to do it.

You can also gravitate towards new sites and keep up with what is going on in the world. For those of you that aren’t great at multitasking, you could just browse the headlines.

This will make use of your time in this dreary teleconference call: you might find yourself a conversation starter for later on.

Check Your Emails

We all know how much time checking and responding to emails takes. So why not save some time whilst listening to a colleague drone on by checking and responding to any emails you may have.

Image via Essayontime

I’m sure you even have emails that have laid dormant for months, with you promising yourself that you will respond, as soon as you have chance. Now is your chance.

Look What to Eat for Dinner

If you’re a foodie, you could Google what to make in the evening. Even if you’re not much a fan of the culinary arts, you could always look for a restaurant to eat at in the evening.

Sift through the myriad reviews, whether they be about recipes or restaurants. Decide what you are going to have and save yourself time. Just listen out for your name and be ready with a standard answer when a participant in the conference calls upon you to say something.

Doodle

You probably are sitting there in a boring meeting right now, reading this. You may even have a notepad and pen beside you. So why not make use of them!

If you’re short on creativity, check the world wide web for inspiration. Search for the Monet inside you! Doodling can really be relaxing and doesn’t take much of your focus away from the conference call. This means that you can be at the ready when you’re asked to give your opinion on a certain matter.

Pace Around the Room

We sit down to work all day. We sit in the car, on the train. We are sat down a lot, maybe too much. So why not burn a few calories by pacing up and down the room. You could even do a few sit ups.

Take advantage of this time and do something in which you can keep your focus, listen to what is being said and do something for yourself. The main thing is here: don’t do too much. You don’t want to be out of breath when you are asked to say something.

Clean

Cleaning is boring, yes. Boring conference calls are also a drag. Double up the boringness by keeping busy – housekeeping. Just think, you are killing two birds with one stone.

You are saving yourself a job for later. If you are working from home, just remember to mute your microphone or use a handy noise cancelling app like Krisp.

Another good idea is to choose conferencing apps that have built-in noise cancellation or allow to mute yourself or other participants.

Write a Poem

Why not bring out your creative side. When was the last time you wrote a poem? Probably some years ago. Try jotting down a few words about anything: you could even write about this boring meeting you are currently in.

Remember: it doesn’t have to rhyme. Poems depend on how you read them so conjure your inner Wordsworth and see what you can come up with. You might surprise yourself.

Plan a Holiday

Sometimes it can be hard to decide where to go next. With cheap flights more and more readily available, you can explore places you may never have thought of going to before.

Get out your globe and give it a spin! With the internet at your fingertips, you can avoid the boredom of conference calls and arrange to whisk yourself away to far away lands.

The above examples are just some of the things that you could do to keep yourself busy during a conference call that you have no interest in.

However, it doesn’t mean that all conference calls should be treated this way and you still need to keep up with the conference call etiquette.

The post Fun Things to Do During Boring Conference Calls appeared first on Krisp.

1. Preparation

Like anything else, being prepared helps. Running through what you think the conversation may go like and visualizing scenarios can really help to prepare a solid negotiation strategy.

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Diligent research into the subject of the negotiation and into your opposite number can really help when it gets down to the nitty gritty. By preparing thoroughly for your next business negotiation, you can know when it is a good idea to make a concession to get something more important in exchange.

Moreover, you will know where the value is in a certain offer so you do not turn down an offer that you will not get somewhere else. We’ve all been in a situation where we think we can get a better deal, but there just isn’t anyone else out there offering near to what you just turned down.

2. Practice

Finding someone to sit down with, whether your life partner at home, colleague at work, or best friend over a beer, and thrashing out an effective negotiation strategy can really help when it comes to the big day. Having someone else’s input can give you a different perspective on how to approach what you want.

What you might think is a trifle and that will be agreed to simply may, on reflection and a few words from your practice subject, turn out to be something bigger and worth a think about.

The good thing about trying out your negotiation techniques on your friends and family is that they will be much more forgiving than your real opponent on the day.

Moreover, the practice that you undertake will make certain actions second nature. This is particularly helpful if you are not good off the cuff or become nervous when put on the spot.

3. Agree to a Process

The negotiation part is obviously the most important aspect. However, the situation in which you negotiate is also of high importance. Are you a morning person? If not, then you don’t want to be around the negotiation table at 8:30 am. Other procedural aspects can be the location and what the agenda is.

If you have a meeting on the other side of town and will be in a rush to get there, it is obviously a good idea to reschedule so you don’t turn up sweaty and out of breath.

There may be key aspects of the negotiation that you want to speak about first, whilst your counterparty wishes to speak about these topics at the end. Making all of these aspects clear and agreeing to them beforehand will make the whole negotiation process run much smoother.

When remote, choose the right place to speak from. Try to find a quiet place. Otherwise, you can use a background noise-cancelling app to make it seem like you are in a quieter place.

4. Rapport

Building a healthy relationship with your counter negotiating party is essential to getting what you want. Employ small talk: ask how your opponent is doing and try to get on friendly terms. Showing them that the negotiations, however they go, are business and not personal, will really make a big difference in the outcome.

You can do this by making a real introduction before starting the negotiations, whether over the phone or in person. If you are dealing with someone from another culture, try to understand aspects of that culture and some words in their language, this will really win you some respect.

5. Listen Well

When did you ever get what you wanted by talking over someone else?

Count being a good and patient listener as a great negotiation skill. Be ready to stay silent and listen when necessary and this is a part of physical meetings and conference call etiquette as well.

This will help structure the negotiation process and stop it from becoming a situation in which everyone talks over each other and no one listens.

This really is win-win in negotiation and life in general. Definitely not a negotiation strategy to turn your nose up at. Staying quiet and listening tentatively can also buy you time to formulate counter arguments to aspects of the negotiation that you may disagree to.

6. Learn How to Say No

In general, humans are non-confrontational and we are taught from being little that we should do what we are told. As with many things from childhood, this is a feature of adulthood and we seek compromises in the things that we do.

This translates to psychological complexes in which people can look to please others by agreeing to things that they may not necessarily want.

As part of your negotiation training, you can practice saying no and being more assertive in other parts of life.

For example, that meal that you weren’t happy with at the restaurant: tell the waiter about it! That colleague sat across the way from you irritably tabbing away on their keyboard: ask them to tone it down.

7. Make a Record

Most negotiations, whether for a large corporate contract, a wage rise or other, take place over several stages. As such, you should look to record what has been said at every stage.

Keeping a log of everything can keep you abreast of what is going on and you can use your notes as a refresher before any meetings.

You can either record on paper or you can record the audio of the negotiation. Call recording or recording the conversation is generally legal, so long as you use it only for personal use and do not distribute the transcription to others, or use it for any other purpose than to refresh your mind.

However, it is considered good practice to inform the counterparty of the fact that you intend to record the meeting. This, although, comes with a caveat of its own: should they refuse you are not allowed to record the conversation for any purpose.

The above list gives you a quick lo-down of the art of negotiation and a template for a winning negotiation strategy. Follow these best practices to make your next meeting an effective negotiation and get you off on the front foot. Good luck!

The post 7 Quick Tips to Boost Negotiation Skills appeared first on Krisp.

Ubiquitous Noise

Life is full of noises and you can’t always choose which ones you want to hear. When something is happening before you that you do not want to see, you can just close your eyes.
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However, if something you don’t want to hear is making a noise, you cannot just close your ears. Yes, you can always put your fingers in your ears or place your hands over them, but this will not reduce the noise completely. The problem with that is that some of the noises you don’t want to hear can cause you health issues.

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Noise and Stress

The biggest issue of noise and health comes in the form of stress. The thing is, noise arouses the human senses and so can easily distract. Being distracted from a stressful task at hand, in turn, causes further stress.

Noise pollution, as such, can have a negative impact on the human nervous system as the body is overwhelmed with the confusing array of incoming sounds. The brain is always able to hear, yet humans have evolved in such a way with our auditory capabilities designed to operate within natural environments. These environments are generally less audibly overwhelming.

Conclusive Evidence

Reports like one from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that millions of lives are lost annually due to noise pollution. In fact, the WHO’s study puts the figure at one million lives lost annually due to traffic-related noise. Obviously, traffic noise can be distracting and distressing.

This can lead to confusion and accidents on the road which ultimately lead to death. Other studies show that a quarter of all Europeans (125 million people) experience noise levels above 55 decibels on a daily basis and this is generally considered a level which can interrupt sleep.

Urban Noise Pollution

Following industrialization, people poured into the cities and with industrialization came heavy, noisy industry. People residing in cities actually become accustomed to the noise around them, acclimatizing to it. Although, urban dwellers often employ certain instruments and tools to reduce the noise around them.

Whether this be noise cancelling headphones for themselves, or noise cancelling apps for those that they speak with via mobile devices.

In fact, you will notice the great many people in our cities with earphones in, drowning out external noise. Perhaps this is just the natural reaction to the noise pollution that is endured on a day to day basis.

Irritation

There are studies which show that increasing noise in our daily lives is leading to higher blood pressure, which can lead to life-threatening issues such as heart disease and stroke. There are even studies which have shown that loud noises can lead to heart attacks.

This isn’t hard to believe as loud noises can get our heart racing and cause people to jump out from their skin (not literally, of course!). Noise exposure on a constant basis, such as that from a crying baby can really irritate and cause sleep problems.

In short, noise is a harmful aspect of modern life. We can try to avoid it and create quiet spaces for ourselves where we can, but what if our workplace is the source of the most harmful noises?

Noisy Professions

There are some professions in which noise exposure is unavoidable. We’ve all read stories about roadies on rock band tours becoming deaf from exposure to sounds of deafening volume. But also think about those working on airport runways, motorways or building sites.

Of course, nowadays we have some really great equipment to reduce the harmful effects of the noise emitted by machines, such as earplugs, or special headsets that reduce noise. But what if you need your ears to work and yet work in a noisy environment.

Deafening Call Centres

One noisy profession that doesn’t come immediately to mind when compiling a list of jobs which can harm hearing is call centre operator. A study from 2018 entitled “Noise exposure and hearing status among call center operators” published by Noise and Health, showed the hearing of workers in such environments regressing the longer they worked in call centres.

The participants in the study reported their hearing becoming gradually impaired. Some reported complaints that they had difficulty comprehending what someone was saying when they were whispering, what others were saying in noisy environments, and still others complained of tinnitus after work.

Tinnitus: a ringing noise in the ears or head, usually after experiencing loud noises.

NIHL

There is some background noise that can be so loud that it can deafen. This is caused by Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL), which can occur from being in near proximity to loud bursts of sound, such as an explosion. This extreme volume can rupture the eardrum and cause permanent deafness.

So how can you protect yourself?

As mentioned above, you can buy yourself some earplugs. As I wrote in a previous article about protecting oneself from noise pollution, there are other methods in which you can reduce noise for yourself and others around you. One of the solutions for yourself was to keep a set of earplugs on your keys so that they are always handy.

A good point of note here is when you are out on a weekend in a noisy club or concert that you can ask for earplugs.

Having a dedicated space where you can cut yourself off from the noise of city life can really be helpful. You could soundproof a room in your house or invest in double-glazed windows to turn your home into a noise-free home.

However, total silence should also be avoided as we are not built to live in environments where sound is totally absent. Presumably, this is why sleep aids generally have natural, soothing sounds.

The main idea to prevent the harmful effects of noise pollution is to turn the volume down on life, not mute it.

The post Negative Effects of Background Noise on Health appeared first on Krisp.

Origins

Pollution is something modern society has become almost fixated upon, and noise, as a form of pollution is something that society turns its nose up at. (Or should that be, turns its ears up at?) In fact, the whole heritage of the word pollution has a dirty background.

A quick Google of the etymology shows that pollution comes from the Latin word to denote defilement in all contexts. Only in the late 20th century did we come to interpret the word in the sense of dirtying the environment.

Why the Change?

Climate change has become a big issue over the past few decades, so few now would disagree that release of toxic gases into the atmosphere is not a defilement of the environment.

Clearly, following an intense period of industrial-scale activities of this nature, we can surely say that humanity began to defile the environment. So what of so-called noise pollution? What sort of nuisance can noise make that defiles the surrounding environment?

Light Pollution as an Explanation for Noise Pollution

To explain what noise pollution is, I am going to use a more visible analogy and usage of the word “pollution”, precisely so that you can see what I am talking about. There is also a quite modern notion of light pollution.

Light pollution involves a scenario in which there is so much light being emitted from certain objects that it obscures one’s vision and hinders a person from seeing something else that is emitting light. The most common such scenario would be looking up at the night sky in a big city.

The stars are invisible, or rather: not visible. The overwhelming light emitted from the surrounding objects within the city overpower the light emitted by the stars, like a cloud which impairs.

Fog of Noise

So noise pollution is an overwhelming noise that is emitted from elsewhere that impairs one’s hearing. Think of that train going over the bridge above your head. How loud it is! Surely you’ve been mid-conversation when such noises occur. Couldn’t there be an noise cancelling life hack out there that could help in these situations?

This kind of noise pollution can actually impair people and cause real harm. Just think: this is one of your senses being jammed momentarily. Cross the road without taking caution and that could be it!

Battling Noise Pollution

The effects of noise pollution can have drastic consequences. Just think of those poor people that live near your local airport’s runway, or those who live by the main trainline. Whilst the sources of noise pollution can vary, the misery of those that have to experience it on a daily basis is consistent.

So what is the solution to noise pollution?

Noise Pollution Solution

On cars and other automobiles, for example, there are mufflers or silencers placed on the exhaust pipes which stop us from experiencing deafening noises when out on the roads. Engineers have even managed to lessen the sound emitted by other modes of transport.

There are other solutions too for other cases. If it’s your teenage son or daughter blasting out music at an inconsiderate volume, you can just tell them to turn it down. But how to reduce the harm of things out of your control?

Reduction Techniques

A simple mechanism to reduce noise pollution in our daily lives is just to close the windows. The amount of noise the outside world produces is unbelievable, especially in heavily populated areas. If, however, there is a full heatwave and keeping the window open is a necessity, you still have options.

Buy earplugs. Earplugs are a lifesaver in many situations, not just when you have a heavy snorer sleeping nearby or a club DJ that doesn’t understand the concept of too loud. Keep a set on your keys and you’ll never forget them.

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As stated above, noise pollution is anything that impairs you from hearing what you should or want to be hearing around you. If you want to be hearing your music on the train home and not the conversation of your fellow travelers, you could always invest in a pair of noise cancelling headphones.

They work by monitoring the sound around you and creating a frequency which cancels out this external sound, so you only hear what you want to be listening to. And if you wonder, noise cancelling headphones are safe for your health.

Helping Others

So we’ve talked about how you can help yourself from noise pollution, but what about helping others?

The prevention of noise pollution depends on all of us. It pays to be considerate in all aspects of life, so let’s consider those around us by not beeping our horn unnecessarily, not talking on the phone loudly, and generally not being a noise nuisance for those around us.

Polluting the environment is something we are all concerned about and affects us all, this concerns noise pollution too. Keep the noise to a minimum and we’ll all keep our hearing.

Some Last Thoughts

The solution to noise pollution depends on all of us. The causes of noise pollution are ubiquitous. The harms of this nuisance are plain to hear.

If you get riled up by the person next to you frantically typing away at his keyboard on the train at high volume, or the lad on the bus blaring the music out of his headphones on max volume, start by not doing the same yourself. You can later progress to preaching to others about the benefits in reducing noise pollution.

Who knows, maybe in a few years you’ll be spearheading a global initiative.

Perhaps an international agreement for keeping noise pollution to well below 2DB above pre-industrial levels and limiting the increase to a maximum of 1.5DB, thereby significantly reducing the risks and effect of noise pollution. 

The post What is Noise Pollution and How to Fight it? appeared first on Krisp.

The key here is that you are able to give off a certain impression, and being there in person to do so really helps. But what if you aren’t there in person?

What if it is over a phone call with a recruiter for a job you really want, or for a conference call for a contract your new company really needs?

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Get Off to a Good Start

The beginning of a conference call or any presentation in general is definitely the most important part of presenting an idea. Most people will make up their minds about whether you and what you are about to talk about are worth their time within the first minute or so.

This means that your opening summary needs to cause intrigue, without going too deep into the subject matter. In any case, getting off to an enthusiastic start and showing that you have passion for the subject matter in your opening statement is key to holding people’s attention.

Going Digital

Presentation and presenting skills have shifted online. If before, a slick suit and tie and good looks might help win someone over, now the focus is more on the informational content of what has to be said: the substance of the argument and how compelling it is.

This means that the background work that needs to be put in to the presentation should be more rigorous and in-depth. Moreover, when presenting ideas, you need to be concise and to the point.

Pain Points

Digital society and working online isn’t all comfort and ease, though. Technical problems are an issue we all face when working with computers, independent of whether you are a computer whizz-kid or not.

Example

You’re giving a super important presentation via teleconferencing. You’re really nailing it.

Boom! Power cut! When you reschedule, the person who seemed to be on board with your idea can’t attend and your proposal is turned down. “What if?” you think.

Right at Home

Giving a presentation in a digital environment can have its pluses. First and foremost for those of us who have stage fright or get sweaty under pressure. For these people, hiding behind their screen and communicating via the internet is a real winner.

They can literally feel right at home in their bedroom, chatting away in a familiar environment. However, this doesn’t mean you won’t suffer unwanted interruptions such as that noisy neighbour drilling away next door. These can be very distracting when teleconferencing.

However, just as with a lot of issues in modern life, there is a handy Krisp noise cancelling app which can be your saviour.

Ice Breakers

When conference calling, it’s a good idea to have some ice breakers at the ready. These usually come in the form of light-hearted jokes and it is best to make them situation-based.

As mentioned previously, video conferencing can suffer interruptions due to technical issues, so why not have some technical problem jokes at hand? Below are a couple of examples.

Illustrative Examples

You can even use images in your late in your presentation in expectance of certain issues. For example, you can wait for the inevitable misuse of the mute button and insert appropriate names to personalise the joke as per below:

“Sound familiar, Mark and Julia?”

One Liner

Otherwise, you can always opt for a one liner that settles a few nerves. Just be good at the delivery:

1. Why did the PowerPoint Presentation cross the road?
2. To get to the other slide.

Remember, these are just examples, the more individual the joke (and the more relevant to the situation), the better the result will be.

Present Ideas

It goes without saying, the best way to present ideas in a conference call is to thoroughly prepare and engage your audience. A good way to get people on board is to prepare an agenda beforehand and send it over to all participants so they have an idea of each point you are going to make.

Don’t make it too thorough though. A simple list will do.

Engage Your Audience

A good way to hold people’s attention in a video conference call is to give them something to do. This may involve posing a question, or asking them to vote on a particular issue (preferably one which splits opinion). This will keep the participants engaged in your presentation.

Moreover, the feedback that they give may even give you ideas for further presentations in the future. Remember though, this shouldn’t be a question and answer session. Lead your audience and don’t let them run away with the little time you have to present your idea well.

Timing is Key

Timing your ice-breaking jokes right isn’t the only timing you should be worried about to get members of your video conference on board with your idea. The length of your presentation and separating each point equally is also of vital importance.

Be sure to break up your points evenly and spend a similar amount of time on each. Of course, there will be some points that are more important than others. Arguably, you should sandwich important points between ones of lesser importance.

This way, you will find that the participants of your conference call will remain interested in what you have to say, and are less likely to switch off (mentally or physically – i.e. their computer)!

Final Review

At the end of the conference call, after you have fielded any questions, it is a good idea to ask for some feedback so that you can improve for subsequent meetings.

If you are meticulous about what you do, you might also find it a good idea to record yourself to listen to it once the meeting has ended. This way you can fine tune how you present ideas and send it out to anyone that wasn’t able to make the meeting.

Key Takeaways

Having read this article you should be ready to go for your next big video conference and to present your ideas in a way that should really hit the spot.

Don’t forget to prepare ice breakers for the conference call, just in case things don’t go according to plan. It’s important to be yourself and prepare, prepare, prepare.

You can never be prepared for anything enough in this life, and this next teleconference may be the gateway to that life-changing opportunity that you just can’t afford to miss!

The post Tips for Presenting Ideas in Conference Calls appeared first on Krisp.

Negotiation as the art of persuasion has become a well-known cliché, but is a premise that holds true. Negotiators, as such, have a difficult job to carry out. Think about having to persuade your housemate to do their share of the cleaning or asking your boss for time off before the release of a key product.

Your success depends on how effective you are as a communicator and, ultimately, whether you are able to structure your argument in a way that allows you to persuade the other party to cede to your demands, whether they are fair and just or not.

In their work, negotiators need to prepare in-depth analysis which covers all of the angles. This means understanding all aspects of the question in hand, some deep digging and groundwork to understand who their opponent is, and, perhaps, put them on the back foot so that they can emerge victorious from the negotiation process.

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In fact, the most important negotiation skill is the ability to prepare well.

Another important aspect, is the human factor: not so much the arguments and facts themselves but the person who is leading the negotiation, how good their soft skills are and how they are able to present themselves and voice their arguments.

So how then, do these professionals cope in situations when the negotiation process is conducted by an online conference call?

Sound and voice is key to putting an argument across. We change the way we speak to different people all the time, so when holding a teleconference call (especially without video), negotiators need to pay specific attention to how they voice their arguments.

Certainly, business negotiations in any case can be highly unpredictable, but there are additional issues that can arise with conducting negotiations via audio conferencing.

Five common problems negotiators face in conference calls

•   Volume of speaker microphone is too low

This results in limited understanding of what the speaker is trying to express and means that the speaker can be misheard.

•   Background noise

Sometimes it is difficult to find a quiet place to talk. Having to repeat oneself because of that dog barking in the background doesn’t do anything to help negotiations.

• Audio lag

Delays in audio mean parties can find themselves often speaking over one another.

• Knowing when to speak

Online conference calls more often than not involve people interrupting each other.

• Echo

This may be down to someone whose computer isn’t working properly, or someone needing to mute their neighbour who is also a participant in the call; either way, it does nothing to further negotiations.

Solutions

To avoid these pitfalls negotiators make additional preparations for conference calls on top of all of the due diligence for the subject matter. Some are simple, while others require specialized software.

Experienced teleconference call negotiators will always check their microphone settings before the beginning of the meeting. As mentioned above, negotiators are mega-preparers, so making double checks is just part of their nature.

1. Avoid background noise

Background noise can obviously avoided by locking oneself away in a soundproof room, but what if the negotiator doesn’t have access to this, or is constantly on the move? It is not unheard of for negotiators to take part in audio conferences in noisy places like airports.

In this situation, there is an innovative piece of software available for desktop and smartphone which cancels out background noise. Krisp’s noise-cancelling tool is easy to use and free to download. Surely a must-have download for negotiators.

2. Prevent audio lags

Audio lags may seem like something avoidable, but on many an occasion, the problem lies with the connection bandwidth. This means that calls which are using more data are more susceptible to delays in audio. Negotiators can cut the video off to decrease lag, or make sure they have a fast internet connection to avoid awkward pauses and talking over one another.

3. Structure meetings

Good negotiators are meticulous in their work. As such, they plan for every eventuality. This includes structuring meetings so that each participant is allocated a certain time slot in which to speak and ask questions. This solves issues where participants of the conference call talk over one another and gives everyone an opportunity to speak for a similar amount of time.

Echoes are a common feature of online conference calls, whether they are over important negotiations between big companies or speaking with relatives from afar.

This usually happens when there are two members of one negotiation team in the call on separate computers but in the same room. In this case, solutions include sitting in separate rooms or muting oneself when silent.

Negotiation skills are something we would all like to improve as they can be handy in all situations when you are having to converse with someone else. Preparing diligently is the key for those of us whose methods of persuasion aren’t the best.

Keep this checklist in mind the next time you use conference calling as part of your negotiations, not only will this make you look professional, but it will also give you the best chance of getting a great deal from the negotiations.

The post How Negotiators Prepare for Conference Calls appeared first on Krisp.

The sharing economy has become a ubiquitous part of our everyday lives, be it Airbnb, BlaBlaCar, or even an attempt in China to create “shared girlfriends”.

All of these ideas exploit the transient nature of human needs and desires. One job may be so far away from where you live you need a car to get to work, the next may be remote working and you subsequently have no need for a car.

In general, attitudes have shifted: people don’t want to get stuck with something they don’t want – whether it be that office job two hours from home and seeing the same people five days a week, or that gym subscription that you convinced yourself you needed, but subsequently have no time for.

This is where coworking and shared workspaces come in. The concept of coworking began somewhere in the mid-2000s and has boomed in popularity with the rise of freelance jobs on the marketplace.

Employers have figured out that hiring freelancers can work out as much cheaper over the long-run, while open spaces sit empty and freelancers are looking for a work environment which resembles the norm.

Gig economy

Employers have to pay standard employees benefits as part of labour laws. These benefits include entitlements to paid holidays, overtime and the like.

However, this isn’t a necessity for employers hiring freelancers who work in the gig economy. The gig economy has become a big part of the transience of modern society.

A gig economy is a free market system in which temporary positions are common and organizations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements.

Definition of a gig economy, according to WhatIs

Don’t like your job? Get a new one

The above mantra of being able to change jobs is seen by elder generations as more of a modern phenomenon as it seemed harder to switch jobs before, and this may still hold true to some people now who are used to working in standard offices.

Moreover, many such office workers are used to routine, meaning they are more likely to stick rather than twist on the job market.

This lack of risk-taking means office workers could be missing out on some of the great benefits that freelance work offers. Whether it be greater mobility and fitting your work around your life (and not the other way around), or the psychological benefits that self-motivation brings.

Although, there is the great majority of office workers who complain that they just couldn’t work freelance or from home, citing a lack of self-discipline.

However, for the new class of workers, the idea that you can work at home on a Tuesday night in your underwear is not unusual. The internet is a 24 hour place; the world is a 24 hour place; the sun is always shining somewhere; there is always digital work to be done.

So for those that can’t find the discipline to work from their home, there is shared office space in the form of coworking.

Coworking suits several kinds of people:

1. Those that began working freelance and don’t like the idea of a 9-5 office routine, but for some reason or another are not able to work from home (e.g. new baby).
2. Those freelancers looking to meet new people in a new kind of environment and maybe even further connections to find more work.
3. Employers that want to onboard new staff for a short term project and have them working together in one place.

“I wish I didn’t have to go into work today.”

In the end, coworking services are for those that want to have the feel of being in the office but want to choose exactly when that is. There are so many people out there that wake up on any given morning and say to themselves: “I wish I didn’t have to go into work today.” Coworking fits that ethos.

However, the problem with coworking, just as any other open plan office space, is the noise.

Even worse, chances are that you haven’t struck up a relationship with your neighbour as you may do with a colleague since you actually don’t work together.

The result of this is that when they are talking loudly on the phone and you are trying to concentrate, you may feel uncomfortable about asking them to be quiet; even more so if you have an important phone call to make and people are being loud joking nearby.

Why not try noise cancelling software for mobile and desktop

Networking

Coworking office spaces are not only a good place to meet potential clients that may want to meet face to face before starting employment, but also to make connections.

Networking in these shared workspaces, unlike working from home or a cafe, means meeting people and asking for advice on certain projects (or being asked yourself). Surely, these people are more competent than your local coffee shop barista.

Coworking is in fashion

Anecdotal evidence suggests employers respect that a person goes to a coworking space as it gives the impression that the freelancer has a working routine and therefore can be seen as more dependable.

Moreover, coworking places are usually in convenient locations that are easy to access, look trendy and usually give off a techy vibe.

In a nutshell, coworking provides an office that you are not obliged to visit every day of the working week, has different people to meet all the time, and is a place to make new connections and take on new projects.

So what are you waiting for: get out of your home workspace and head down to a coworking space to see what it is all about!

The post Coworking Spaces: The Ins and Outs appeared first on Krisp.