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How to Set Up a Conference Call

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A conference call enables you to organize a meeting with other people who are not at the office in a way you can communicate with each one and exchange ideas as if everyone was in the boardroom. You can have a normal conference audio call or a conference video call, depending on the capabilities of your equipment. Different types of equipment and software solutions may have slightly varying methods of setting up a conference call, but many use similar procedures. Here are simple steps to set up a conference call.

Login Into Your Conference Call Account

You need to have a conference calling software to do conference calls. There are several software solutions available in the market today with many offering free trials and cheap subscription rates to their customers. Whatever the software you use, ensure that other participants to the meeting are using a similar program. They do not need to buy the software if you have already bought one, as most providers have easy-to-install versions for phones and computers. You just need to invite them to the meeting through a link to their email addresses from which they can install a client and register to join the call. Most software solutions ask the participants to record their names by saying them aloud when registering for the audio call. This helps you as the host to know who has already registered for the meeting.

Schedule the Time of the Meeting

You need to determine the time of the meeting so that everyone is aware and can adjust their schedules accordingly. The date and time of the meeting should be included in the invite you send out. It can be a calendar invite or through the conference software where the participants get to know the date and time when they register for the meeting. Most software solutions will send a reminder to the participants a day and a few hours before the conference call starts. It is good to remind everybody individually with a short message or an email just in case someone forgot about it.

Join the Meeting

When it is time for the meeting your participants need to log in with their credentials. Some software solutions ask participants to enter their dial-in numbers especially if they are using phones. This option is also available if any participants do not have access to a computer or the app the host is using. Moreover, with VoIP solutions available today, most people now use their computers to set up and run conference calls. It is cheaper and more convenient than holding the call using a phone. Dedicated conference call hardware exists that accepts most of the available software solutions. However, most of the equipment is proprietorial and may require all participants to have similar devices to communicate with each other.

Running the Meeting

Most conference calling software solutions have a range of features that you need to understand to run the conference call conveniently. The common features include:

- The 'mute' feature, which prevents all the other participants from talking when the host or other speaker is talking

- The 'raise a hand' feature that allows participants to capture the attention of the host or interject without disrupting the meeting

- 'Screen sharing' feature on video conferencing calls where participants can share the contents of their computer screen with others. It is essential for sharing data on training sessions.

- 'Screen recording' feature that allows participants to record the proceedings of the meeting and share it with others who did not attend.

Best Practices

Meetings can sometimes be unproductive and conference calls are no exception, especially as people are not in the same room. To have productive calls and ensure everybody gets the most out of them, follow these simple best practices:

Have an agenda

To create an agenda and share it with all participants before the meeting will make the call more efficient. An agenda will make it more unlikely for topics to derail.

Be on time

Being late is impolite in any meeting, but especially in conference calls it can be quite awkward as the call won't start properly until everybody is there.