This being said, respecting the conference call etiquette is as important as physical meeting etiquette, and depending on your abilities to follow them – you will either succeed or fail.

Below we have organized a detailed guide of conference call etiquette to help you ensure that your next conference call will be very productive!

Before the conference call starts

Arrangement:

1. Inform all the participants about the details of the meeting – If you are the leader of the call, make sure to inform all the participants about who will be attending the meeting. It’s a good idea to send out a Google calendar with time, date and participant names. This way, people will know who they will be talking to and what they need to prepare.
2. Set time limits – Since the meeting isn’t personal, it’s very easy to get off the topic. Set strict time limits and remember that you have a specific amount of time to handle everything you need to discuss.
3. Prepare your agenda – Your time is not endless – you need to have a detailed agenda to guide you through the meeting and discuss everything on the topic.
4. Agree who is calling whom in advance – Make sure everyone has the right number to call and avoid time delays and confusion.

Technical issues:

1. 1. Check your device – Your conferencing device (laptop, phone, or whatever device you’re using to make a call) should be charged. Imagine what will happen if it suddenly turns off in the middle of the conversation!
   2. Choose the right location – Make sure to choose a quiet area for the call. Your partners will be annoyed to hear passing cars or side conversations during their call. If you don’t have a chance to do so, use Krisp noise cancelling app, which mutes background noise in calls from both sides and enhances your voice quality.
      
   3. Relax – And stay positive: everything will be fine! Technical issues happen to everyone, so if it does to you, just stay calm. If you are too nervous, you can practice a few tips to alleviate stress before conference calls.

[demo-new]

During the conference call

Etiquette:

1. Don’t be late – Let’s agree together that a conference call is also a meeting. You try to be on time in real life meetings, right? Treat conference calls similarly, be on time.
2. Introduce yourself – When starting a conference call, never forget to introduce yourself. It’s very important that people know and get accustomed to your voice, so they understand who is talking. If there are people who you’ve never met, make sure that everyone introduces themselves by the name, so the speakers will have a better understanding of who the attendees are.
3. Let other people talk – While talking, pause regularly between your speech. This will give an opportunity for participants to clarify or ask something.
4. Inform people about leaving the conference – If you are leaving during the conversation, you should let other people know since it will be awkward and rude if somebody talks to you and then finds out you weren’t on the call all that time.

Productivity:

1. Always stay on topic – Take a look at your agenda if you feel like the meeting is going the other way round. You have specific things to discuss, so don’t spend time on things that can be discussed out of the official call. When someone joins late, it’s not a good idea to waste time and fill them in on what happened. Instead, the late joiners can check the meeting notes or catch up with you after the call.
2. Don’t let the silence invade your conference call – Participants have no opportunity to see you, so if they don’t hear you too then communication will drop to zero. Let other people know if you’re busy checking something so they don’t think of technical issues or you disregard the conversation.
3. Tell your participants that the conference is wrapping up – Don’t just suddenly say “bye” and go out of the call. The fact that the conversation is ending will give attendees the opportunity to say their final words or ask the last question.

Technical issues:

1. Mute yourself when you aren’t speaking – That will ensure that no noise will disrupt the meeting. However, if you have Krisp, there will be no need for that: foreign voices will be muted automatically, and only your voice will be heard during the conversation. Also, don’t forget to unmute yourself. You will create unusual silence in the conversation and will waste your time repeating yourself.
2. Don’t put your conference call on hold – First of all, it is a sign of disrespect and shows your lack of attention and interest. Secondly, on-hold music will start playing, and it will disturb other call participants.

After the conference call

1. Write down all the decisions made during the conference call – Not only will this help you understand what you’ve achieved during the conference call but also will help you remember what you have to do.
2. Connect with the new acquaintances – If you got acquainted with new people during the conference call, make sure to connect with them via social media or email. This will ease future communication with them.
3. Share the results – Send the next steps and the results of the conference call to the participants, so they also know their tasks and duties.
4. Relax once more – The conference call is over.

We hope that this guide has helped you and that your upcoming conference call will be a total success. Good luck!

Read next:

Funny Things People Do in a Conference Call Meeting

Next section: How to Find a Work from Home Job

Go back: Work From Home Guide

The post Quick Guide to Conference Call Etiquette appeared first on Krisp.

To host your conference call efficiently, it’s important to make sure the video conferencing apps of your choice is up to date and full of all the necessary tools and features.

Let’s take a look at the most popular conference call apps to help you choose the one that fits best.

1. Zoom

• Price: free or $14.99- $19.99 per month
• Participant limit: max.100 for the free version, up to 1000 for paid
• Video & Audio: HD

Even though Zoom is a comparatively new conference call app, it has already gained the favor of millions of users because of its easy-to-use software. The platform gives an opportunity to conduct webinars and connect with almost all the calendar systems.

It has tools like whiteboard which you can use during the meeting, attention indicator, screen sharing, managing participants and remote screen control features. There’s a wide array of apps that can be added to the software to widen its functionality.

Zoom also has a noise cancellation feature which essentially removes the background noise as you make your conference call. However, if you want to upgrade the noise cancellation feature and mute the background noise coming from other participants as well, consider using Krisp.

[demo]

It works with Zoom and any other conferencing app and mutes background noise with a single click of a button right during the call.

2. GoToMeeting

• Price: $14- $39
• Participant limit: max250 or up to 2000 for enterprise
• Video & Audio: HD

Founded at 1997, GoToMeeting hosts more than 80 million meetings each year. The software is reliable and very intuitive. You can start and record a meeting with one click and almost everything else is done in seconds. GoToMeeting has special drawing tool which allows the participants to collaborate during the meeting.

Another interesting feature is the shareable keyboard and mouse, which lets other participants take over and lead the meeting. One of the most significant advantages is its opportunity to connect with devices like phones, PCs, laptops and else.

However, to fully experience the features of GoToMeeting you need to have a strong internet connection. It can take up a lot of bandwidth. GoToMeeting also isn’t  available for free, so you need to pay up to use the premium features.

3. Webex

• Price: $24- $69
• Participant limit: max.100
• Video & Audio: HD

Even though Webex is simple in usage, the opportunities it provides to the conference call are innumerable. Webex has features like in-meeting and cloud-space chats, meetings protected with passwords, remote control of participant’s desktop, instant share of all kinds of documents and even apps in the presentation mode.

It also doesn’t require to download anything when entering the call, clicking on the link is far more comfortable. The only issue with Webex can be the speed, in case there are too many participants who join the call, so ensure you have a stable internet connection.

4. UberConference

• Price: Free or $15
• Participant limit: max.10 for free accounts, max. 100 for business accounts.
• Video & Audio: Good

UberConference is great for small businesses. Together with cheap pricing and decent audio and video qualities, UberConference also offers detailed analytics, customized hold music, a team management platform and many other features.

The software is simple to learn and use. For example, if you need to share the meeting all you need to do is share the link and have others join in. Generally, all the participants have the ability to mute whoever they want during the conference call.

This is an essential feature which will help avoid background noise during the call. In case you don’t want to miss any important info from constantly muting/unmuting a participant, use Krisp. Leave it on at all times and it will get all the job done for you.

The only issue with this conferencing app is that it can sometimes get laggy and even though the video and audio quality is great, it’s not exactly HD.

5. Lifesize

• Price: $16-$23 per month
• Participant limit: max. 250
• Video: 1080p
• Audio: HD

Another one of great video conferencing apps. Lifesize is famous for its excellent audio and video quality. The communication is seamless and smooth, without any interruptions, audio delays, and pauses. They have unlimited audio calls and one-on-one private conversation opportunities.

Except for the basic features, Lifesize also provides a list of advanced tools which can upgrade your conference call to a new level. You can instantly share saved conference calls with other people, connect the platform with your calendar for easier scheduling and most importantly you can integrate this app with other video solutions and conferencing systems.

You won’t have to change your entire work process and flow separately. Lifesize customer support works 24/7 and they operatively solve all the issues that happen during the call. The only thing that could be improved is the chat, since it’s not comfortable and user friendly.

We hope these video conferencing apps will help improve your conference call experience and make your work more productive!

The post 5 Best Audio and Video Conferencing Apps for 2022 appeared first on Krisp.

Even though nomads can work from anywhere, they spend a bunch of time trying to find the perfect location that is the least noisy one. We want you to spare the time and start your search from these 5 least noisy places.

1. Library

Can you ever find a quieter place than library? The ultimate quiet area studying space for students. We have all been to a library at some point in our lives, so why not revisit it to get some work done?

Libraries have plenty of wide desks, so you can put your laptop anywhere you need and find the most comfortable position that won’t your neck, back and arms (we usually strain them from sitting too long). There are thousands of books which you could use as resources to find necessary information, learn new skills or do some research.

Since it’s a quiet area, most of the time you won’t encounter any noisy conversations and will be able to fully concentrate on your work.

You can choose between public or university libraries in the city where you live. Keep in mind that you’ll need to pay to get a membership for either of them. So before you choose which library you want to work at, assess each one for their working environment, WiFi strength, comfort, overall space and lighting, and of course pick the one that seems quieter to you. 

2. Co-working spaces

If you want an absolute office-like atmosphere, visit a co-working space. They are designed to accommodate your every working need.

Co-working spaces have stable and fast WiFi, comfortable desks and chairs, snacks and awesome people to make friends with. Co-working spaces are generally noiseless, as long as there are not many side conversations going on.

When choosing one, look for the spaces that have private offices and conference rooms, in case you want to work alone without interruptions.

If you need to take urgent conference calls and no conferencing rooms are available, you can take the call right from your place and use Krisp.

This tool will help you create a noiseless atmosphere by removing the background noise coming from you, and the noise coming from other call participants.

You can use Krisp with any app, and just leave it on at all times to have productive calls regardless of any noisy areas.

3. Expensive cafes

Coffeeshops and cafes are a prominent working space for digital nomads, but they are also prominent for the loud noise of conversations, music and outside noise. Some of the digital nomads mention coffeeshop noise among the most annoying noises in remote work.

If you enjoy getting your work done in coffeeshops but keep getting distracted by all the noise, try visiting more expensive cafes every once in a while.

People tend to go to affordable places during lunch hours and that’s why most of the famous coffeeshops and cafes are overcrowded and noisy. Expensive cafes may be less overcrowded and hence – less noisy.

Another option is visiting coffeeshops during non-lunch and less crowded hours. You can ask the waiters and reschedule your working hours accordingly.

If neither of these options work, you can get yourself a good pair of noise cancelling headphones and use Krisp for completely noiseless work experience and conference calls.

4. Rented desk

If you don’t mind working from an office with other people, renting a desk will be an excellent decision for you. Connect with companies and organizations linked to your profession and ask if they have free desks you can rent.

Working from an office with other workers is comfortable because you’ll have all the amenities needed for work and can exchange your knowledge with others. You will have a great network of friends, coworkers, and also resources that will help you in your digital nomad job.

If you have trouble finding companies for renting desks, visit deskcamping or ShareDesk to see if there are any available desks near your location. Don’t stick to the companies with a similar background; try new places to get inspired!

5. Park

This one may sound surprising, but there is always a benefit to working in a park from time to time. The fresh air and nature will boost your willingness to work, stimulate your brain and help you focus on your work easier.

Parks are usually not very crowded during working hours, so you won’t have a noise issue. You can also bring food and coffee with you so that you don’t stay hungry throughout the entire workday.

Parks usually have free WiFi, but their connection may not be strong enough if you’re a heavy internet user. For such cases, bring your personal hotspot with you and don’t forget about your laptop charger and power bank just in case you decide to change your location later on.

We hope you will visit these locations and get work done noiselessly and productively!

The post Top 5 Least Noisy Places to Work From appeared first on Krisp.

In fact, the reality people face when becoming digital nomads drastically differs from the expectations.

That’s why we are here to present you with the most common expectations about digital nomad lifestyle and their differences in reality.

Expectation #1: Working from bed

Working from home is always beneficial when you can work in your warm bed anytime you want. But certainly that’s not always the case.

Working from bed requires extra energy for focus and concentration. You may feel comfortable, however it will be difficult to draw a distinct line between comfort and productivity.

Another important factor is that bed indicates your sleep zone, which is a mental association linked to your own home. Working from bed will distort the association and result in difficulties with work and home balance.

It will also decrease your sleep quality because no matter how much you reduce the amount of blue light on the screen, it’s more difficult for the brain to settle for sleep after work.

Try working near a desk or in other locations like coffeeshops or coworking spaces and if you’re worried about background noise you can always use noise cancelling headphones.

It’s also possible to mute background noise if you’re about to take a conference call. Simply download Krisp and mute the noise from both sides of the call with any conferencing app of your choice.

Expectation #2: More free time

It’s challenging to motivate yourself to work when you’re at home since there are many distracting factors that give room for procrastination. It’s difficult to plan the span of the day and allocate enough time for work when there are no stable working hours and necessity to work from office.

Melissa – the founder of High heels and a backpack, has been a digital nomad for 7 years now. Even though she’s been working distantly for such a long time, she faces the same issues as many newcomers.

“I wish I had a boss to yell at me and tell me what to do. Maybe that way I wouldn’t end up writing until 4 am because I was procrastinating…”

In reality, digital nomads overwork as well and have to spend even more time planning for future trips. Sometimes this doesn’t leave enough time for leisure and non-work related activities.

Expectation #3: Maximum Productivity

When you arrive at your new location, it’s hard to get to work immediately. It takes time to settle and explore the new country. You’re more likely to spend time looking around, participating in different interesting events and going on a hunt for quiet coffeeshops and coworking spaces.

If you’re starting your digital nomad journey, don’t expect to be productive from the beginning. Time management is something many digital nomads admit to struggle with. It takes a lot of time and commitment to build the necessary skills for organizing your time effectively. There are various productivity apps and tools which can help you with this.

Productivity doesn’t emerge right as you move in, but rather when as you settle in. So don’t worry and give yourself more time to enjoy your new home.

Expectation #4: Compensation

People assume digital nomad jobs are well paid, so it allows them to frequently travel and book the most expensive hotels in the country they move to. However being a digital nomad is not always easy, especially if you run your own business. It takes plenty of time and resources to invest in your business before you start getting decent income.

Many digital nomads face this issue including Chloe and Debora from Nominal Nomad.

“For the majority of people, it can take at least a couple of months to generate an income. If you’re planning on setting up your own business and you know that you won’t be earning money for a while, you need to make sure you have saved enough money before you move.”

It’s important to make sure you save up enough money before moving to a different country. This will help you to cover the initial costs before you settle in and find a job.

If you want to have extra source of income in addition to your job, you can always find yourself side projects or part-time jobs that will help boost your financials in the long-run.

Expectation #5: WiFi availability

Finding a decent WiFi in every spot of the country you move to is in fact a difficult thing. People assume there is WiFi in every corner, but poor connection is always a possibility. Besides, using public WiFi is not always a safe option.

Your best bet can be carrying a pocket WiFi router or use virtual private network (VPN) to stay on the safe side and avoid your device getting malware or dealing with unencrypted networks. Also, always remember to log out of all your accounts once you’re done working and only visit secure (HTTPS) websites.

Expectation #6: Frequent Travels

Traveling is exhausting. Having to fly from one part of the globe to another, waiting in the airports, changing trains and buses – all of this can consume lots of your energy. Sometimes all people want to do is stay in their hotel room and relax instead of planning trips and burning time while traveling.

Even though Leah Mchugh, a nomad with 10 years of experience, enjoys traveling, she admits that taking a break is an essential part of digital nomadism.

“Constantly moving while working and trying to see everything is a great recipe for burnout. I’ve been moving about once a month, and I’m starting to burn out.

There’s a pull to want to take full advantage of your freedom, and I have to remind myself that freedom also means being free to stop and recharge. Sometimes you just need to take a break”.

So put your frequent traveling plans on hold and take a short break.

Expectation #7: No Friends

When you leave your family & friends and move to another country it becomes difficult to lead a solo lifestyle. Beginner digital nomads often think they won’t be able to acquire friends when they move to a new country, but of course that’s not a case.

You can use digital nomad community websites to connect with other digital nomads. Another possibility is to visit coworking spaces or digital nomad conferences or events.  

And remember, your friends don’t have to be digital nomads, they can be anyone. You will find new people you share interests just as you move and start your first exploration into the city.

We hope that these expectations won’t stop you from becoming a digital nomad and enjoying your journey to the fullest. 

The post Digital Nomad Lifestyle Expectations vs Reality appeared first on Krisp.

When you are hosting conference calls, you definitely know how things can get out of hand from the tiniest technical issues. And this is where we step in to help you master conference call hosting with only 9 quick tips:

1. Choose the best time for hosting conference calls

If the conference call is too early in the morning, your colleagues may be sleepy and have a shorter attention span. If it’s late in the evening – they may be tired after a heavy workday.

Try to arrange the conference call during the day time, but not during lunch. Also keep in mind that some of the remote workers may be in a different time zone. So consider creating a poll to schedule the best timing for the upcoming conference call.

2. Send calendar invites

In order for the participants not to forget about the conference call, send them calendar invites, emails or text messages with the precise time and date of the event.

Calendar invites are your best bet, since the participants will receive reminders before the call and will have time to prepare for it. The invite should include the link to the conferencing app that you use, so that participants join without delay and any misunderstanding.

[demo]

If you need to share files for the conference call, do it beforehand to avoid poor internet connection. This will also help participants familiarize themselves with the topics that will be discussed.

3. Prepare conference call Agenda

The most important part of the conference call is a well-prepared agenda. When hosting conference calls, send the agenda at least 24 hours before the meeting: let the participants add their feedback, points, and questions they have.

A right agenda will lead to a more productive meeting, so write the goals and objectives clearly right in the beginning so that everyone notices on time.

4. Be on time when hosting conference calls

As the host of the conference call, join the call five minutes earlier and check if everything is ready for the conference. Make sure your camera and microphone are all set and you’re calling from a quiet area. Ensure that all the required documents, media or other files are uploaded.

If you are calling through a landline, don’t be late and be the one to call the first. As the host, you’ll need to keep everyone on track, check if everyone is present and keep track of late joiners.

Note: You can also get detailed information on conference call etiquette to manage your conference calls easier.

5. Mute the noise

One of the major problems during conference calls is background noise. It can occur in any minute from any participant. If you encounter this issue, ask everyone else to be on mute if they don’t speak.

However, constant muting/unmuting can result in additional inconveniences, so you can get yourself a noise cancellation software called Krisp. It mutes background noise in calls from both sides, so you will be able to speak without noise and listen to other call participants without hearing their noise. This app can be one of the greatest tips for conference calls in general.

6. Set guidelines

When the call starts, set quick guidelines for the team members to follow. Start by introducing yourself and move on to introducing participants to each other if they never met or if there is a big number of people involved.

Ask them to name themselves whenever they speak to ensure that people know and understand who is talking. Warn that putting the call on hold may make noise or music. If any of the participants need to leave the call early, they should inform about the leave beforehand.

7. Engage

Another one of hosting tips for conference calls – it’s significant to keep your participants engaged. The lack of physical presence may cause the participants to easily get sidetracked. To avoid this issue, try to engage everyone into the discussion.

Ask questions and direct your speech to different people each time. Don’t forget to clarify if everything is understandable. It’ll also be great if you briefly pause every now and then to give the participants time to  think and ask some questions.

8. Wrap up

Before hanging up, briefly go over everything you’ve discussed with the participants. Summarize the key points of the agenda that you accomplished and outline your next steps. Every participant needs to know their further actions and responsibilities after the call.

Make sure that everyone has an understanding of their task and know their deadlines. Discuss future conference calls, if needed. You can also ask for overall feedback about the conference call. It’s possible to do this after the call, however, the probability of them giving constructive and detailed feedback by email is much lower.

9. Follow-up

Send a follow-up email with all the key notes, accomplishments and new tasks to your participants and don’t forget the thank you note. Everyone will be pleased to get positive vibes after a long conference call!

We hope that these tips for conference calls will help you manage your conference calls easier and more productively. Have great conference calls!

The post 9 Quick and Easy Tips for Conference Calls Hosts appeared first on Krisp.

Digital nomad life is full of traveling, adventures and remote work. Sometimes you don’t notice how the time passes by as you get carried away with work and frequent traveling plans.

Even though remote work gives you an opportunity for a flexible schedule, it can get overwhelming over a long period of time.

To enrich your nomadic lifestyle with more self-education and exploration you can always take a breather and switch to a part-time job. Here’s how to do it

Where to start?

Prioritize all your skills and choose the ones you would like to proceed with as a side work.

For example, if you love writing, you can work as a part-time content writer or a copywriter.

And if you’re thinking of spicing up things a little you can always take online courses and acquire new skills that will help in your pursue of part-time job.

Another option is to look for part-time job openings and choose whichever sounds good for you and fits your requirements. From this you can identify the areas and skills that you need to improve before you apply.

Before starting your search for a part-time job, also think about what kind of schedule do you want to have. Some part-time jobs require working in shifts. This might be a great option if you have a flexible schedule and are able to work for a variety of hours during day or night.

However, if you’re looking for part-time job for certain hours, make sure to check that in advance. After all, finding a part-time job is about making your digital nomad lifestyle more convenient.

Keep in mind that the process of finding a part-time job is very much the same as finding full-time jobs. So make sure your resume is up-to-date and your cover letter reflects your strong sides when you apply for a position.

Industries that offer part-time jobs

Pretty much all industries offer part-time jobs ranging from entry-level to managerial positions. However, some industries such as technology, education, management and administration are well-known for hiring part-time workers.

The majority of popular jobs for digital nomads are within these industries. So if you already have a skill-set connected to these spheres – all you have to do is pinpoint the differences between part-time and full-time positions to be able to estimate your workload more flexibly.

Note: You can use Working Nomads platform and filter out all the part-time remote nomad jobs in your preferred categories.

• Education

If you love teaching and passing on your knowledge to others, tutoring is a great part-time option. You can teach short-term or long-term language courses to students through online telecommunication platforms and help them prepare for upcoming exams.

You will be able to set up the work schedule yourself and make changes in case of emergencies. You can also make your calls more productive by using the Krisp app. No matter what telecommunications platform you use for tutoring, you can use Krisp to mute background noise from you and all the other participants.

• Technology

Since technology covers a big variety of job positions connected to creating, promoting and managing technology and media, you will find a match for your skill in any project.

Whether you are a web developer, graphic designer, social media/content manager you can join a small project and work part-time to deliver a limited set of tasks on a day-to-day basis. Part-time openings are usually available in fiverr or upwork.

This option is also fairly flexible and will allow you to prioritize your work tasks and personal activities accordingly and save more time.

Note: There are useful productivity apps that will help you manage your time and keep track of your work at all times. These will help automate the technical aspect of your work and leave more space for your nomad activities.

• Management & Administration

If you have a knack for managing and want to participate in projects outside of the technology field, you can always opt for part-time project manager positions and engage in event organization. Experience in these fields will be a great plus, but keep in mind that the work schedule may take more time and effort to set up and manage.

Otherwise administrative jobs such as virtual assistance, customer service representative, personal or executive assistant can benefit you just as well.

Note: There are plenty of remote work websites that offer full-time and part-time jobs at all times.To find the best opportunities at the right time, go over the ones that are fit for you the most and you’ll encounter your lucky find.

Part-time hiring companies

Kaplan

If you have experience with passing tests, you’ve probably heard of Kaplan. Kaplan is the world’s largest test preparation organization. The part-time jobs they offer include but don’t limit to professional education, teachers, tutors, marketing, sales, customer service. To apply for these positions you’re required to have a bachelor degree and at least some educational experience.

Abbott

Abbott is famous for its products in the healthcare industry. It has offices in the USA, Europe, Canada, Middle East, and Africa so the time-zones vary.

If you have experience in marketing, software development, analysis, and accounting or any other sphere, make sure to send your CV, they usually look for different kinds of telecommuters.

LanguageLineSolution

No matter which language you know – English, Russian, Spanish, or Somali – you can find a suitable job at Language Line Solution, which is the world’s largest interpretational platform.

They provide phone, video and onsite interpretation services as well as localization and translation services. You can join and work together with professional linguists who specialize in more than 240 languages and facilitate over 35 million interactions.

Vipkids

Another great option for those who want to work in the education sphere is Vipkid The company is based in China and is focused on teaching English to children between 4-12 years old in an international atmosphere.

The classes are held on one-on-one basis and you have a possibility to teach different students for each session. You can have a flexible work schedule since the classes are booked based on the availability of the tutor and the length of one class is only half an hour.

We hope that you’ll get inspired by the big variety of job opportunities in the world! Find the one that fits you best and enjoy your life!

The post Fantastic Digital Nomad Part-time Jobs and Where to Find Them appeared first on Krisp.

Generally speaking, companies can save about 30% on travel expenses and time with the help of conference calls. If we talk numbers, over 163 billion hours were spent on conference calls in the UK and the USA alone in 2016.

What makes it so long or rather what do people do to make it longer?

InterCall has conducted a major survey to find out what US employees are really up to during conference calls. Let’s discuss each of them:

1. Sending Emails

While conference call etiquette suggests that participants should stay on topic and not get distracted, 63% of the surveyed people admitted they were checking their inbox and sending emails while on a conference call.

In reality, multitasking is difficult especially when you have to form your thoughts both orally and verbally. There is a high risk of having a split second of attention and sending a wrong email or falling back on an important topic during the call.

It’s better if the emails are sent either before or after the call to keep focus on one thing at a time.

2. Eating or Making Food

Conference calls can get long and somewhat boring. It’s natural that people will  seek for alternative activities to burn time. Snacking is one of them.

According to InterCall, 55% of people are either eating or making food during conference calls. No matter the situation, it’s inevitable that at some point people will hear the chewing, shuffling or any other noise in the process.

Staying hungry is not the best option, but it’s better to avoid eating any foods during a conference call. Otherwise only opt for soft foods and get Krisp to mute all the noise you make. And if you fell a victim to this circumstance, Krisp will even help remove the chewing noises from other participants as well.

[demo-new]

3. Going to the Restroom

Bathroom breaks are a common issue during conference calls. 47% of respondents admitted to going to the restroom during the call.

Of course, desperate times call for desperate measures, but it’s better to double check if you’re on mute and if you have no other choice, pick a moment when you won’t be required to make a speech or answer questions.

Otherwise, if the call is short then it’s better to wait it out instead of possibly losing important info from the discussions.

4. Texting & checking social media

This is another widespread phenomenon that can be considered a force of habit. Often times we don’t notice how we start texting other people. Given the convenience of texting, many people prefer to have long texting sessions rather than short and concise calls.

Texting happens during conference calls as well since 44% of the surveyed by InterCall mentioned they frequently text in the process. This type of multitasking is closely interconnected to sending emails.

It’s easy to confuse which message goes to whom and whether its verbal or oral. It’s better to snooze the notifications during the call and send texts afterwards to avoid any miscommunication.

Same happens when we frequently check social media. Sometimes we don’t even look for anything specific – we just keep scrolling until we get completely bored.

43% of people check their social media during conference calls. It can negatively affect the performance during the call and shorten the attention span. Let’s save the endless scrolling for later and doodle during conference calls if we need a change of thought.

Read next: Fun Things to Do During Boring Conference Calls

5. Playing Video Games & Exercising

26% of the employees said they spend time playing video games during conference calls, while some respondents (9%) have intense workouts in gym.

Activities like this can certainly be risky, because it will be more difficult to engage in conversations, answer questions or express an opinion while your mind and body are mentally and physically busy with something else.

6. Taking another call

6% of people multitask through answering another call while participating to their conference calls. Another high risk situation where you can forget who to mute/unmute, especially if you are addressed both in the conference call and your personal call at the same time. It’s better to only take urgent calls and keep them short, so that it doesn’t interfere with the main conversation.

What other things have you seen people do during conference calls? Let us know in the comments!

Useful Links:

https://loopup.com/app/uploads/2018/01/enterprise-conferencing-impact-report-2017.pdf

https://www.statista.com/statistics/323678/what-us-employees-are-doing-in-a-conference-call/

The post 6 Things People Do During Conference Calls appeared first on Krisp.

You’ve seen those hard working guys checking their email or doing business calls during a friends’ gatherings, right? Without proper weekends the week can’t be productive, so here are some exciting ways to spend your day off being a digital nomad!

Travel

Yes, traveling is the essential part of digital nomads – you work and travel at the same time. But do you remember the last time you just purely enjoyed the magnificent views without getting a phone call or thinking about deadlines? Since traveling is so relatable to digital nomads, you can often get the illusion that there’s no need to travel when you are in a new location. Trust me, it will make you feel better.

Turn off your laptop, turn on auto messaging, pack your backpack and go to travel during your weekends. It’s important to dedicate some time to yourself every now and then. Go to small local villages, visit that famous temple on the top of the mountain, hitchhike and get to know locals better. Don’t think about your work and don’t let it disturb you while you enjoy your travel time.

Clean up

Is there a better feeling than laying on freshly ironed bedsheets, looking at polished floors and organized desk, eating homemade food and having everything put together? Spend your weekends to clean your house: there is no clean mind if you’re living in a mess. Clean the windows so you can enjoy the magnificent sunrises.

Take care of your wardrobe by washing your clothes and organizing them. Throw away everything you don’t need or don’t enjoy anymore. If you don’t want to get rid of your clothes, give some for charity. This will make both your backpack lighter and will be a plus to your karma.

All you have to do is turn on the music you like and just spend time by yourself, dedicating it to your house – the very center of your energy.

Try homemade food

When was the last time you’ve cooked a meal? Due to traveling a lot, most of the time it’s easier to save time and eat out rather than prepare it by yourself. If you have close friends nearby you or just people you hang out with, invite them over for a dinner.

This can be a great way to spend time together and enjoy the magic of the process of homemade food preparation. . Who doesn’t like a cozy evening with friends, fresh homemade food, candles, and calm music?

Explore new things

There is one certain thing in our lives – life gets a bit boring if you don’t learn on a constant basis. Even if you’re a world class professional in your field, there is always room to expand your interests. Take some time to read books, listen to podcasts and practice what you learned. The best option will be to explore interests that aren’t connected to your profession.

If you’re obsessed with Spanish, open your exercise book or app and dedicate time to learning new words and phrases. You can take online courses that are taught online. In case you struggle with taking calls in noisy environments like coffeeshops, coworking spaces or simply outside, you can get Krisp.

It will mute all the background noise during the call from both sides so that you focus on learning easily. Find people with a set of skills you’re interested in and spend some time with them – you’ll learn more from a person rather than a book.

Create art

When you some some free time, visit galleries and exhibitions or make art yourself. It can be anything: pottery, photography, poetry, painting or even some doodle sketches in your notebook. All people have the need for beauty and thoughtfulness in their lives.When you spend lots of time working and caring about business, there’s no room for fulfilling your needs of art.

Go to a one-time drawing session or pottery making classes. Spend some time with a pencil in your hands to write a poem or a short story, make something for your home with your hands. Creating something new from scratch helps to relieve the stress, boosts creativity and produces pleasure.

Observe the surrounding nature

There’s something philosophical in this point, but it’s worth trying.

Have you ever noticed the old man sitting near the supermarket and selling flowers? Did you notice that the building in front of yours is freshly painted into a new color? Can you see that the flowers are already blooming?

Our lives are so intense, full of work and other worries that we forget one of the most important senses gifted to us by nature – sight. You can look at everything, but can you really notice every detail? Take a couple of hours, go out to your neighborhood and just observe what’s going on around you.

Don’t listen to music, don’t use your phone, don’t do anything except looking for and appreciating you glance at. Life around us is so beautiful if we start paying attention to it.

Make a difference in your community

The heartwarming feeling of gratitude is fantastic. You’re happy when strangers tell you the right road, when the small boy hands you the wallet that fell out of your bag, when the man you’re hitchhiking with shares their food with you.

Dedicate your free day to volunteering in a local refugee camp, help the old people in the nursing home, feed stray cats and dogs on streets. These small actions will help you to make an impact in the community you’re living in and get to know the local culture better.

Every small action counts for making the world a better place. We promise you; you’ll get so much energy from the universe that your whole upcoming week will be full of passion and pleasure.

We hope that these recommendations will help you have great weekends which will be both useful and enjoyable.

The post Cool Ways to Spend a Day Off as a Digital Nomad appeared first on Krisp.

That’s why it’s crucial for nomads to have a clear and planned bucket list to have a new fresh look on the life, and fulfill their dreams anew.

1. Brainstorm

What can be better than thinking about all the things you want to do in this life? No work is done without brainstorming first, especially when it comes to creating a bucket list. Go to the place that you enjoy, like your favorite coffee shop or park, and start brainstorming.

Take your time to think about every desire you have and write all of them down no matter how small or big they are. You can even create a mind map of everything you would want to do. This will help you visualize what’s on your mind and make your dreams seem real and accomplishable.

2. Get inspired

Go to Pinterest, Tumblr, Youtube or visit different digital nomad blogs. Surf the web and find things that sparkle interest in you. Passions of different people can trigger a certain emotion in you or result in inspiration that will guide you.

A split second is enough to become a whole new point in your bucket list. Sometimes dreams don’t come to us until we search for them, so take your time with your inspiration quest.

3. Prioritize your bucket list

By now you should already have a few pages filled up with all the things you want to do. If you’re confused with the amount and where to start, don’t worry. Take a look at your list after a couple of days and try to understand what points you’re most excited about.

Think about the location you’re at, your free time and the specifics of the area. Next, choose 3 to 5 points that are best to be accomplished in that destination and motivate yourself to start. It’s hard in the beginning but once you do, you won’t be able to stop.

4. Connect dreams to countries

For a perfect nomad bucket list, you change destinations a lot, so you need to make sure you know about all the things you can do in f your new destination. If you want to see a real elephant and do sandboarding, then maybe it’s time to visit Africa? Or if you want to hike for a week and try the best chocolates in the world, then Switzerland sounds like an option for you.

Connect all your wishes to specific countries where you can do the things from your bucket list and choose your next travel destination based on those pinpoints.

5. Dreams have deadlines

Coming up with the dreams is half of the work, but in order to start accomplishing them you need deadlines. Create plans for a limited time period, so that your dreams don’t look like distant and impossible tasks with no accomplishment.

If you want to live and embrace the life in the nature, summer is the best visiting season for you. If you want to reach a particular position in your work, get a new degree or start new courses and trainings, set a time limit. After all, deadlines push us to do things, right?

6. Plan in advance

If there are dreams that need more time and preparation for realizing, you need to write down all the details and start getting prepared for that. Let’s take climbing the Everest as an example. If you’re not an alpinist, you will need extra time for preparations.

Ask yourself these or similar questions to have more clarity on your objective:

• How much time will I need to get prepared?
• Should I attend courses of alpinism in my current location?
• How much are the tickets to China?
• When do I plan to go to China?
• What are other bucket list items I should do in China?
• Who am I going with?
• How long will I stay there?
• Will I be able to work from there?
• Will it interfere with my work?

Note: If you’re worried that frequent traveling and dreaming may interfere with your work, we have many tools that can help you out along the way. You can also get an AI software for Mac called Krisp that will help you mute background noise in conference calls. You could even take a call from the summit!

7. Make it digital

There are a couple of websites and apps that are designed to make a perfect nomad bucket listing easy. Visit bucketlist.org or BucketList.net for joining the community of people who make their dreams come true. You’ll get inspired by their achievements, share yours and get tons of new ideas to add to your list.

8. Share your bucketlist

Share your bucket list with your friends and relatives or in your social media (if it’s not a secret of course).  The point is you can tell about your dreams to people. You can be a great inspiration for your community; maybe they’ll start to do things they planned years ago.

Besides, if you tell people about your plans, the probability of doing it highly increases because you start to feel responsibility for your words and actions.

9. Dream, Plan and Repeat!

A bucket list is like a to-do list, but with a significant difference – you aren’t required to finish all the points. A good bucket list is the one that gets more and more points throughout its existence.

Whenever you accomplish one of your dreams, cross it out of the bucket list and add another instead. The joy of the process is that you never stop dreaming and try to reach as much pleasure and happiness as possible.

We hope this blog post will inspire you to start filling in your bucket list. Think big, dream big and make it happen!

The post 9 Steps to Create a Perfect Nomad Bucket List appeared first on Krisp.

Many creative people express their creativity and passion for remote work through running their own blogs about travel and work. We have collected the most interesting ones to settle you for a nomadic journey.

Become a nomad

Become a nomad can be considered one of the most famous blogs among digital nomads. Eli, the founder of the blog, has been traveling since 2010 and has great experience to share. He Along with his staff, Eli writes about all aspects of location independent lifestyle.

You can learn how to become a nomad and get started with your profession. You will also have acquire new skills and be on the lookout for hacks and recommendations. Become a nomad also has podcasts to fill the newcomers in on all the important info.

Digitalnomadwannabe

Family is an important factor when it comes to starting a location independent lifestyle. But take a look at Sharon – a mom of three who risked it all and became a highly successful nomad. She started running her blog long before she became a digital nomad.

Sharon shares everything on her blog, whether it’s her successes or failures, ups and downs and lessons that brought her to where she is now. She mainly focuses on run a blog and gain audience, rank high on search engine pages, create niche sites and much more. If you think of starting a blog, Digitalnomadwannabe is one of the great blogs to look up to.

Makingitanywhere

Mish and Rob started their blog in 2012. Their main idea was to inspire and encourage more people to start a happier life by working and traveling at the same time. They both quit their jobs in the UK and launched their new lifestyle without any guidance.

In their blog, you can learn how to travel without many possessions and costs of living in different places while building a light business that’ll support you in your travels. If you want to know more about the remote travel life of digital nomads, their blog is a must read!

Untemplater

Untemplater aims to get rid of the templated lifestyle most people adopt and introduce them to a unique and fascinating life waiting for them. Although the blog isn’t specifically for digital nomads, there is a lot to learn from it for location independent life seekers.

Sydney, the founder of the blog, shares essential information on becoming a blogger, introduces all the nuances connected to the entrepreneurship and teaches her community about financing as well.

Nomadic Matt

Have you heard about the New York Times bestseller “ How to travel the world on 50% a day?” The book is written by Matt, the founder of the Nomadic Matt blog. Facing lots of struggles during his nomadic lifespan, he writes about traveling on a budget, choosing good destinations, accommodations and flights. He also has a media school where he teaches how to become an aspiring blogger and reach success.

Digital nomad soul

Denise, like most of the other bloggers, quit her job for the hope of the best life. She started as a part-time content writer but ended up making it a full-time profession. Her blog is entirely dedicated to step-by-step guidance to become a digital nomad.

She writes about all the stages of transitioning from office based to location independent lifestyle. You can find useful information on trending professions, methods of earning money, recommendations and else. Also, her blog has a delightful design, which will make reading her posts even more enjoyable.

Nomad Capitalist

The name says it all. One of the reasons Andrew started his location independent life was the words of his father “go where you’re treated best.” That’s why he traveled to more than 90 countries, got different citizenships and created his unique blog.

He teaches starting entrepreneurs how to reduce their taxes, get more money and have location flexibility. The coolest part is Andrew does that in an exciting way – he gives away 95% of his stuff for free. You can know how that helps him by reading his blog and listening to podcasts.

Hobo With Laptop

Spouses Mike and Oshin – the founders of Hobo with Laptop, run a quite personal blog. They talk about their lifestyle, difficulties and success in a manner that each reader will feel themselves in their shoes.

If you want to get background information about digital nomad lifestyle, see what nomad life looks like, how to do business and much more then their blog will be a perfect choice. It’s engaging and easy to read, so you’ll enjoy it regardless of your decision of becoming a nomad.

Bonus tip:

Being a digital nomad means working on the go for a significant amount of time. If you happen to take conference calls in noisy environments like coffeeshops, coworking spaces or plainly outside – you can mute all the background noise during the real-time call using Krisp. It works with any conferencing app and will help you mute noise from both sides. It’s in public preview, so give it a go!

All of the blogs listed above are unique in their own way and we hope you’ll find the right one that will accompany you in your digital nomad journey!

Useful Links:

Become a nomad

Digitalnomadwannabe

Makingitanywhere

Untemplater

Nomadic Matt

Digital nomad soul

Nomad Capitalist

Hobo With Laptop

The post Useful Digital Nomad Blogs to Follow in 2022 appeared first on Krisp.