Title:

The Many Uses of Phone Cards

Word Count:

608

Summary:

The Many Uses of Phone Cards

Keywords:

Technology, blog, articles, Phone Cards

Article Body:

One of the best ways to keep in touch with your family, kids and employees without having to pay for a sky rocketing phone bill when the month ends is to have a phone card. Most people who have been using phone cards found out that using it for long distance calling really make sense. Phone cards have various practical uses such as:

For your kids or Employees to Stay in Touch with You
If you’re the type of person that gives phone cards so that your kids or your employees can keep in touch with you, be very sure that the cards have been purchased from a trusted company. You’ll find some phone cards undesirable due to their busy signals. This means that, when you call in, you will hear a recording that says the circuits are all busy at the moment and you should try to call up again later. This kind of phone cards can’t do any good especially if the call is very important or urgent and you are unable to contact someone.

You want to know how your child is doing from time to time, but you are worried that he/she is unable to memorize the number of the phone card? This trouble is easy to work out. You can retain their phone cards and just recharge it every now and then so that your child can call you up anytime. If you are recharging the same phone card consistently, there is no need for your kid to memorize more than one contact number. Should you plan to do this, just see to it that the phone card has been purchased from a highly-reputable phone card company that will be around over time so that you can keep on recharging the card.

For travel
Among the most common uses of phone cards is for traveling. This will save you from paying big bucks on hotel incidentals particularly if there’s a need for you to call in your office or home or any person that you want to talk to while you are on travel. Phone cards are extremely used for journey overseas.

For students
Students, especially those who are taking their college studies in another country or state, usually use phone cards to call home from their dormitories. Phone cards are advisable in case you do not have a long-distance provider. Some people choose phone cards than long distance service providers for the reason that these cards help minimize the use of phone for the month.

For home use
If you find it hard to get an excellent long distance phone service at a reasonable cost, then phone cards can surely help you out. These cards can be the answer to your needs for various reasons. With phone cards, you pay as you go so there will never be a chance that you have to pay for a gigantic long distance phone bill when the month ends. As long as you charge your long distance calls on your phone card, expect that you only have to pay for basic service. However, you have to go through the hassle of dialing first the phone card number before you can make a call.

Another downside of using phone cards is that the calls made using these cards usually give uncommon caller identification number to the call recipient. So if you are calling a person who simply does not answer the phone if they don’t know the caller, make sure you inform them that you are using phone cards so your home number will not appear on their caller ID.

Title:

How to Engage Someone in a Lively Conversation

Word Count:

516

Summary:

Meeting new people can be quite intimidating for most people. If you make it a game, it can actually be fun.

Keywords:

conversation, small talk, personality skills

Article Body:

I have found that the best way to get someone to respond positively to you is to LIKE them!

Seriously! It is so easy!!! Plus, it works.

I’ve recently started a new position as a professional headhunter. I’ve always done professional networking and marketing for individuals but now have joined a new firm. Most of what I’m doing now is COLD CALLING. UGH..the dreaded COLD CALL.

What does it consist of? Hi! My name is Mary Gardner and I’m with XYZ company, … who is the Director of Operations? From there I ask questions and gather information until I get the right person on the phone that might have a serious interest in my candidate that I’m marketing.

The difference that I’ve seen in my first few days is that the first day I was TERRIFIED to call. I didn’t feel ready. I felt unprepared. I wasn’t clear of the procedures and I didn’t even feel comfortable with the phone. Here is what happened: the first few calls.. people almost hung up on me. They didn’t have the tolerance for a person with no confidence.

Today, I relaxed. I committed to myself that I was going to have FUN and to make the people enjoy our encounter. I’d do that by showing them favor over the phone and acting excited to talk with them, even though I had no idea of who they were and what they did. And guess what? It worked! I spoke with numerous “gatekeepers” as we call them, or administrative people who shared all of the information that I wanted about the company. I used their NAME in the conversation! I asked how they were doing and didn’t ignore them. I asked about the weather when they were in south Florida and laughed with them when they forgot whether it was morning or afternoon in their greeting. I truly just enjoyed all of the people I met.. and guess what?

They liked me back!!! I expressed enthusiasm when speaking WITH them and TO them, and they responded in kind. It was so much more fun to speak with them when I stopped thinking OF MYSELF and my nerves, and started thinking about THEM!!!

Of course I did all of the standard things you do in small talk! I asked them questions and I listened to them intently. I asked about them, or their company or the weather or if they were having a good day, but I showed interest in THEM and their lives. That was the total key today to enjoying new people and getting them to feel comfortable with me.

I liked them.

How about you? Are you expressing interest and curiosity in others? Are you excited to speak with them? Do you show interest in their response? Do you laugh at their jokes? Do you sincerely want to show that person that they are OK in your book?

You might find what I found. A day of potential stress can turn into a day full of fun.