In today’s time-constrained environment, conference calling enables you accomplish more with less. By connecting people together quickly, you can speed decision making, handle routine business, or manage a crisis …all while saving the time and expense of travel.
Conference calls can be hosted from your office, at home or on-the-road (in other words, anywhere, anytime). Calls can include participants from around the corner or around the world. The following tips will help make your calls successful.
Find a Conference Calling Company You Can Rely On
1. Arrange services with a conference calling company that provides high-quality, reliable audio conferencing service, security for your calls and 24/7 technical support. This avoids call disconnection, static on the line, and frustrated call attendees. They should also provide moderator controls via the touch-tone pad on your phone (e.g., muting, volume controls, and operator assistance).
What to Do Before the Call
2. Provide your participants the date, time and expected duration of the call and give them the dial-in numbers and participant passcodes.
3. Advise participants of the agenda and that the call will begin promptly.
4. Forward any written documents or presentation copies your participants may need ahead of time.
5. Position a speakerphone (if used) near your key participants. Use the best speakerphone equipment available to maximize sound quality.
6. The call moderator (host) should dial-in 5 minutes prior to the call as a courtesy. In many services, participants will hear music-on-hold until the moderator joins the conference, a security feature that prevents unauthorized use of your bridge (the service provider’s equipment that connects all the callers).
7. Initiate conference call recording, if needed. This might be used for writing meeting minutes or for allowing people who could not join the call to listen at a later time. If call recording is used, your service provider should have an announcement to participants that the call is being recorded.
During the Call
8. Begin with a roll call to confirm attendance and inform all participants who is on the call.
9. Review the agenda and any meeting ground rules.
10. Advise participants to mute phones when not speaking and to avoid creating background noise such as rustling papers or side conversations. Cellular phones may be disruptive to other participants and may need to be muted when the cell phone user is not speaking. Cellular and cordless phones should not be used around microwaves, as this will cause static.
11. Ask participants to please
a.Identify themselves when speaking
b.Address people by name when asking questions
c.Avoid placing phones on hold…music-on-hold will disrupt the call
12. Divert side issues to a sub-conference or schedule a follow-up call.
13. Before closing, agree to date and time of next call. Many teleconferencing providers give the host the ability to automatically end the call using the touch-tone pad on the phone, in case a participant forgets to hang up.
After the Call
14. Send a follow-up e-mail or note with minutes of the call and any action items.
15. For recorded calls, provide information to anyone you want to hear the recording. When needed, order CD(s) of the recorded call.
About the author of this article:
tom ireland has worked 25 years in the telecommunications industry and is the managing partner of best conferencing which offers the full range of conference calling services. more information is on their website http://bestconferencing.com
