It’s Tuesday afternoon and you’re already four conference calls into the week. Of course, conference calls are important for so many businesses. But making conference calls more fun should be a bigger priority. Otherwise, they can become tedious and repetitive, and morale and productivity will drop.

Whether you’re working from home and need to catch up with colleagues, or you’re calling clients, these tips will help to make your next conference call more fun.

Set aside time for some casual conversation beforehand

Conference calls can be daunting for some participants, so it’s always a good idea to set aside a couple of minutes beforehand to ask some personal questions. You can keep it simple. “How was your weekend?” or “what are your plans for the rest of the week?” can strike up a conversation. You’ll set participants at ease and make your conference call a little more fun before you get into the real meeting agenda.

Icebreakers can be a fun way to start a conference call

If friendly questions aren’t enough, icebreakers could be a great way to start your next call. Conference calls can be a little awkward when everyone is trying to introduce themselves at once. To streamline things, we’ve put together some of our favourite icebreakers for conference calls.

A quickfire quiz

Virtual quizzes were all the rage during the first coronavirus lockdown. Why not carry on the tradition to inject some fun into your conference calls? As the host, it’s your job to pick out a few pop-culture questions based on events this week. You only need to set aside a few minutes or so for this, but it really is one of the most effective icebreakers for fun conference calls.

Two truths and a lie

Two truths and a lie is a fun conference call game that’s ideal when there are just a handful of participants that don’t know each other very well. Ask each participant to think of three statements, two to be true and one to be a lie. It’s up to the rest of the call to identify the two statements which are true, and the lie. You can get involved as the host, too!

Ask some fun and intriguing questions

If you’re looking for an icebreaker that’s a little more casual, why not try asking the group some fun questions such as: 

• If you were stranded on a desert island, what 3 items would you take with you?
• Which 5 celebrities would you invited to a dream dinner party and why?

These questions are designed to spark some creative thinking amongst the conference call participants. They also help everyone get to know each other better and make your conference call fun.

Choose the right conference call service for fun conference calls 

Choosing the right service can actually bring an element of fun to your calls! With WHYPAY?’s Pro plan, you can add your own custom branding to your 03/01 dial-in number. This means you can record a fun welcome message to greet participants. You can even select waiting music to really kick-start the conversation! 

For more information on our conference call service, visit our conference call features page. There’s a package for everyone, whatever your budget. That includes a free plan with a generic 03 dial-in number and up to 50 participants per call! The more the merrier, we think, when you’re hosting a fun conference call. 

Plus, we won’t cut your fun short! All WHYPAY? conference calls are totally unlimited in their duration. That will help avoid frustration. Just imagine getting cut off just as a tricky answer was revealed. Or worse yet, the winner was about to be crowned!

Don’t expect participants to pay to join the fun!

A key part of choosing the right service for a fun conference call is avoiding call charges for your participants. But while hosting a party might entail a few expenses, hosting a fun conference call doesn’t have to.

All WHYPAY? conference calls are accessed by dialling an 03 number. According to Ofcom regulations, these have to be charged at the standard rate for UK landlines. For the vast majority of callers, that means the calls are included in their bundled minutes. They don’t have to pay a penny to join in the fun on your conference call. No entry fees at this party!

The host also joins by dialling the same 03 number as the participants. Many other services do require hosts to pay a premium in order to cover their guests’ costs. At WHYPAY?, we ensure everyone is treated equally. So even if you’ve opted for a paid subscription, you won’t be charged per minute on the call, or having to pay for other people’s presence. If you opt for the free service, you won’t be parting with any money at all. And if that sounds too good to be true, you can find out how we can provide our services for free here.

Don’t forget to browse our conference call reviews to see how we’ve helped others like you make their calls more fun!

Here are some more useful resources you might like:

• How to avoid working from home distractions
• What’s the best time for a conference call?
• Conference call interview tips for success

Photo by Pineapple Supply Co. on Unsplash