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Planning the perfect conference call

Admin 2nd November 2017

Conference calls are becoming a far more common occurrence for businesses today, with many executive members of staff taking part in at least one call a day. These calls can prove difficult for assistants to organise – participants are in different locations and people can accidentally dial a different number or forget the pin for the call. However arranging conference calls need not be a stressful experience, below are a few tips on how organisation can ensure the meeting runs smoothly.

Schedule the call

Before organising a conference call, it is vital that the date and time of it is suitable for everyone participating. It is important to get to grips with different people’s schedules and make sure that everyone can actually make the call. Organisers should take into account issues such as different timezones of participants who may be abroad – you can’t expect people to be attend conference calls at 3am. Similarly try and choose a time of day where participants are likely to be focused – holding a call in the last twenty minutes of the working day is unlikely to be productive as everyone will be itching to go home.

Clarity is key

Although technology today has made conference calling today extremely accessible and straightforward, it is amazing how many people don’t follow conference call instructions. It is therefore crucial to make the guide on how to join the conference call as simple as possible. Include step-by-step instructions alongside the meeting invite. Also request confirmation emails from all of the participants to ensure that everyone has actually seen the email and made note of the date and time that the call will take place.

Choose a suitable location

It can be tricky to control issues such as noise interference in conference calls, but problems can be reduced by selecting suitable locations for the call to take place. Book a meeting room in advance if a large number of participants are based in the same place and ensure that the main conference call phone is situated close to the chair of the meeting. Also request that everyone participating switches their phones to silent to make sure there are no disruptions to the call.

Delegate roles

In order to optimise conference call productivity and ensure the purpose of the meeting has been met by the time the call ends, delegate different tasks to different participants prior to the conference. Employ someone to keep track of the time in order to allow the chair speaker to focus solely on matters presented in the agenda. Similarly, ask just one person to make notes throughout the call, meaning that all the other participants only need to concentrate on what is being discussed as opposed to scribbling everything down – this will encourage engagement from more people.

Should you hold conference calls or a video calls?

Admin 12th March 2021

A lot of us often wonder about whether to choose conference calls or video calls. There are big benefits on both sides, and some shared across the two. After all, there’s no doubt that advancements in call technology have paved the way for new communication methods at work. They allow us to host keynote presentations from across the world, offering inclusivity to those with accessibility needs. Any type of group phone call also provides a sense of connection when teammates are working apart – something particularly valuable through COVID-related lockdowns and social distancing.

But while jumping on a video call has become a knee-jerk reaction for many, it’s not without its drawbacks. Video brings some complications that traditional conference calls simply don’t have. If you’re wondering whether to organise a conference call or video call, don’t forget that sometimes just picking up the phone is the better option.

Business Conference Calls, Remote Working

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How to encourage conference call participation

Admin 2nd March 2021

With telecommuting become part and parcel of daily life, the need to encourage conference call participation is on all our radars. Whether you are a developer, manager, director or client, you will probably understand the challenges that conference call participation can pose. Meeting dynamics often solidify rather quickly, as extraverted participants take centre stage and readily express their opinions. Bolder characters may be excellent for producing new ideas. Unfortunately, though, it can cause participants who are more reserved to fade into the background. If you want to enhance your team’s productivity and unity, implementing some of the following solutions can work wonders. After all, we all want to learn how to have more effective conference calls.

Both the call’s leader and its participants can make a huge difference in encouraging conference call participation. Read on to discover some tips and tactics to improve your team’s conference call participation.

Business Conference Calls, Business Tips and Advice, Conference Call Tips, Remote Working

How do you make a conference call more fun?

Admin 11th February 2021

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.

Conference Call Tips, Remote Working