Conference Call how to...

Conference Call  Tips

Today…  mobile workforce, and telecommuting on the rise, conference calling—when three or more people in different locations talk on the phone at the same time—is becoming a common way of doing business. We'll show you how you do it.

Method One: Use Your Smart Phone

Call one of the participants in the conference call. You can find them in your contact list, or simply use the keypad to dial the number.

Call the next participant. Again, you can use your contact list, or just dial the number.

Tap Merge Call. This will add the second participant to the call.

• You can conference with up to five people, depending on your carrier.
• This method works with both Apple iPhones and the Android HTC Hero.

Method Two: Find a Conference Call Provider

Find the right service provider. Companies such as GoToMeeting or Skype let you set up audio/video conferences for a number of people. There are various price points available, from free to hundreds of dollars a year, depending on your needs and level of service required.

• You can pay per conference call (and get charged according to how many people call in, how long the call lasts, etc.) or purchase a flat rate service, in which you have unlimited access to a conference bridge at a fixed monthly cost.
  
  
  
• Generally, only the host pays for the service.
• Some services will require you to buy hardware and/or add/switch long distance service, but there are prepaid services that will allow you to use your landline telephone, mobile phone, or computer.
• Consider if you want a toll-free number, or if you want participants to pay long distance charges when they call in.
• Conference calls can also be used in conjunction with web conferences, so participants can view documents or presentations simultaneously while on the call. Some providers offer this as a package, but you can do this separately (e.g. have all participants go to the same URL or open the same e-mail attachment while on the call).

Get all the information that the participants will need to call in. Usually this is a phone number and some kind of password.

• Test the bridge in advance if you are unfamiliar with the tool you’ll be using.

Schedule your conference call and invite other people to attend. See more tips about organizing a conference call in How to Chair a Conference Call.

Set the right environment. Make sure you can make the call from a quiet location with minimal background noise.

Start the call. Be on time, or log on to the conference call ten minutes early if possible. Some tools won’t let you log on until the time scheduled and others won’t let anyone communicate until a leader with a special password logs in.

 

            Wait for everyone to join and then start talking!

Tips

• Keep paper shuffling and typing to a minimum to prevent background noise.
• Avoid gum, chips or any other food while on a conference call.
• Use the mute button when you’re not talking or if you need to sneeze.
  

Warnings

• When searching for a conference call provider, inquire about hidden fees and monthly requirements.
• Be sure to verify the rate for toll-free and toll access numbers, as they may be significantly different.
• If you have clients or employees outside of the USA who plan to join the conference call, be sure that they are able to access/connect to the conference.
  

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How to Make iPhone Conference Calls
Merging iPhone Calls

While it used to require a conference calling service to get more than a couple people in more than a couple of locations onto a single phone call, the iPhone makes creating and hosting a small conference call very easy. And forget about dialing into special phone numbers and long access codes. All you need is everyone's phone number. In the U.S., the iPhone phone app can support up to 5 calls at once on AT&T and up to 2 calls simultaneously on Verizon.

Conference Calls

To use conferencing calling on your iPhone, do the following:

1. Call the first person you want to include on the call (or have them call you)
2. Once they've answered, tap the Add Call button to put them on hold
3. This brings up your contacts list. Browse through it to the person you want to add to the call, tap their name, and then tap their phone number that you want to call. You can also choose the keypad from this screen and dial the next number directly
4. When the next person you're calling has answered, tap the Merge Calls button to conference all the lines together
5. If you're already on the call and another participant calls you, tap the Hold and Answer button that pops up on the screen and the tap Merge Calls to join the calls together into a conference.

Private Lines and Hanging Up Individual Lines

When you use your iPhone to host a conference call, you can speak to one participant privately, or disconnect people from the call individually.

Private Conversation
To speak privately to just one person on the call, tap the arrow next to Conference at the top of the screen. The next screen shows a list of all the people on the call. Tap the Private button next to the person to speak only to them without the rest of the conference participants hearing you.

Disconnect Individual Lines
On the same screen where you enter private conversations you can also disconnect individual callers. Next to each name, there's a red phone icon. To disconnect a caller, tap that icon and then tap the End button. This disconnects that caller while leaving everyone else in the conference.

Swapping Calls

You can also choose to flip between two calls without conferencing them together using the Swap Calls button. If you've got two calls coming into your phone, simply tap the Swap Calls button to put the current call on hold and move to the other. Tap the button again to reverse the process.

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