How to Hold a Conference Call
Conference calls have become an integral tool in the business world. Conference calls allow people to participate in meetings held across town, in another state, or another country from anywhere in the world. This cuts down on travel and times expenditures that are associated with attending a meeting in person.
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Instructions
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Send an email or other written notification to all intended participants. The notification should include the date, time, time zone, and topics to be discussed as well as the phone number that the participant should dial to joint the call. If your office telephone system has specific features such as authorization codes that the participant must dial to join the conference, state these specific instructions in your initial correspondence.
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Create a bullet point list of the topics that must be addressed during the conference call. Creating a written list helps to ensure that you do not get sidetracked from your meeting agenda or forget to make an important point. Additionally, spending some time planning what you will say ahead of time will help the conference run smoothly.
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Dial into the conference call at least 5 to 10 minutes before the stated time. Start the meeting promptly. It is acceptable to wait for a minute or two for participants to join in, however, you should not keep the present participants waiting more than five minutes. Move through the topics on your agenda in an efficient manner. Conclude topics that have been debated or discussed for too long. Topics have been discussed too long when frivolous debates occur for extended periods of time without resolution. After the meeting, send an email to all participants thanking them for attending and summarizing the topics discussed during the conference call.
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References
- Photo Credit conference image by Andrey Kiselev from Fotolia.com
