The Right Way to Set Up Conference Call

If you want to talk to a lot of people at the same time, you will have to set up conference call. First of all, you have to make sure that you have the necessary hardware and services to make this type of call. A regular phone line might not allow this feature and you will have to pay extra to get this feature. You can also avail this feature on internet line but you will need an application to be able to talk to several people at once. Conference calls are not a rarity anymore. Almost everyone knows about them and uses them too. Businesses are benefitting the most with this amazing innovation.

They can now have all of their employees on the phone to have a meeting, explain a new product, etc. In fact, they can set up conference call to talk to a client and give presentations as well. Modern conference calls allow them to share files, give live presentations, and save their interactions for future references. However, you have to know the right way to set up a conference call to ensure that it is successful. Let’s take a look at the proper method of doing that.

Setting up Conference Call the Right Way

Decide a Time of the Conference Call

The first thing you have to do is decide a time when you will need everyone to join you in the conference call. You want to be as organized as you can be with your setup. Not only do you want to take into account people in different times zones, but you also have to ensure that you are not even a minute late from the time you give others. Share the time of the conference with everyone either on a shared platform like WhatsApp or in their emails. Ask them to confirm that they have received the information about the time of the call and they don’t have any issues with the time and date.

Share the Method to Join

The method of joining the call can different based on which method you are using for the conference call. When it comes to internet based conferences, you might have to create and share a link. Everyone who clicks on that link directly gets included into the conference call. In addition to that, you have to provide a call-in numbers and PIN that every participant will have to use to be a part of the call. PIN is important because you don’t want unauthorized people to join your call. Make sure that the PIN and dial-in number are correct before you send them to the invitees.

Make Adequate Preparations

When you set up conference call, you have to make sure that everything that will be discussed during the conference is in writing. You want to create a full presentation or bullet points for that. This is your agenda and you have to guarantee that you stay on this agenda throughout the conference. Allocate some time for every component of the agenda. This will ensure that your call starts and ends on time, and that everything important gets discussed before you have to wrap up everything.

It would be mistake if you think you can deliver everything without having an agenda in writing. You can go completely blank at times and some written material can come in handy during those times. Not to mention, unorganized conference will not be very effective either.

Do Last Minute Setup Checkups

This is one of the most important things that you have to do before every conference. You have to be sure that component that is going to be a part of the conference call is working. Make sure all the connections are tight. In addition to that, you want to do a mockup call to know that your voice is going clearly to the recipients. Having a good speakerphone is a great idea at this point so everyone in the conference can clear hear the people on the other side. Jabra Speak 510 is a good choice. If you are going to switch hosts during the conference call, you should check those options as well. You don’t want to encounter these issues during the call because that’s going to put off your attendees. Not to mention, it is going to waste a lot of time for everyone.

Allow Everyone to Give Input

This part is not really included in the setup part but you have to pay attention to it if you want your conference call to be successful. When you set up conference call, you have to decide whether or not you will allow others to give their input during the call. If you set up conference call using the internet, you can allow people to type their questions and answer them in a chat box too. When you listen to the attendees and their ideas, and respond to them during the conference, it creates a collaborative environment. That’s what the motive of most corporate conference calls is.

Most of the companies around the world set up conference calls because they want collaboration among their employees. If they did not, they would just conduct meetings with them separately.

Analyze and Improve

After you have completed your conference, you have to do some analysis. You want to know how successful or unsuccessful the call was. Did the number of attendees match the number you had expected? Were you able to talk about everything that you had planned? Did everything happen without any technical difficulties? Has your conference call made any impact on the attendees? You can even do a survey to get the feedback from the people who participated in the conference.

Bottom Line

You might have to do a lot of research before you can finally pick the best service for your conference calls. It is true that some companies make it easy to set up conference call whereas others make it quite difficult. It is best that you go with the service that makes it easy for you to set up conference calls and manage any other options thereof. Combine difficulty of managing the call with technical difficulties, and you have the perfect recipe to fail the purpose for which you had set up the conference call.