How to attend a
Teleconference (Phone,
Internet ect.) Meetings
Guidelines
Here are some
thoughts on how to participate in a conference-call meeting:
- Make sure you are someplace quiet, where you wont be disturbed.
If you are home, make sure that the rest of the household knows that you are talking
project/programme purpose and cannot leave the phone. Make sure
that others in the office or the household or wherever you happen to be do
not interrupt you while you are on the conference call.
- If you have call interrupt, or call waiting, turn it off. If you dont
know how to do so, call the operator and ask for help. When someone new enters into a
conference call there is often a beep or tone which can sound like the beep or tone that
is produced with call waiting or call interrupt. It can be confusing. If for some reason
you cannot turn it off, and another call comes in, youll have to decide if you can
ignore it, or if you have to leave the meeting temporarily to deal with it.
- It is better to use a handset that is hard-wired into the phone line than
either a portable or cell phone. Cordless and cell phones are more prone to create or pick
up static on conference calls.
- Test the equipment before you use it by making a less-important conference
call.
- Be extra careful if you are using a speakerphone.
- They tend to pick up background noise and sometimes cause clipping,
cutting off what someone is saying when someone else starts to talk. If you have to use a
speakerphone, look for one with full digital duplex. This will let more
than one person to speak at a time without clipping.
- If no one in your room is talking, press the Mute button on the
speakerphone to prevent background noise from your end going out on the line. When someone
needs to talk, release the Mute button.
- If you are calling in, call in a few minutes early. If you are waiting
to be called, be ready a few minutes early. It always takes a few minutes for everyone to
be introduced and to settle in.
- Introduce yourself when you start speaking. It can be as simple as
Sandra, here. Other people might not recognize your voice, especially if
several people on the call have similar voices, or if the phone connections have a lot of
static.
- Do not use the Hold button, even if you have to leave for a
minute or two. Even if your own hold music doesnt come on the line,
using that phone feature could still cause interference.
- Stick to the agenda.
- Make sure you and everyone else knows when the meeting is officially over.
- Make sure you know what to doand what number to callif you get
cut off.