1. Tricks & Tips Of
Teleconferencing
Contents About this presentation
Before the conference We’re pretty convinced about the advantages of teleconferencing or ‘conference calling’.
The Basics In comparison to traditional ‘face to face’ meetings, where participants sometimes have to travel long distances to
Best Laid Plans
attend (and take additional time out of their already hectic schedule to allow for that travel), conference calling can
Well Prepared
save both time and money.
During the Conference
Getting Started Our experience shows that organisations that conference call more tend to travel less and collaborate more. They
Call Etiquette work smarter, make decisions faster, free up more time and help save the planet.
Speaking Easy But how can you get even more out of your conference call? With Tricks and Tips of Teleconferencing from
Being Occupied, Not Distracted 03TIPS at your side, you can reap all the benefits of conference calling and more.
Ending the Conference We honestly believe that there doesn’t have to be pain to be gain!
Final Touches
Close The Call
About 03TALK
WHY PAY?
Why pay for conference calls when you really don’t have to? That’s the question we try to answer. With the
response, “You shouldn’t!”
Unlike other “free” conference services which are operated on special rate 0844 and 0871 numbers (excluded from
bundled minutes and often charged at a much higher rate), calls to 03TALK are included in your free minutes
allowance - whether you’re calling from a fixed or mobile telephone.
03TIPS
It’s quite simple... We’re as good as anyone. And cheaper than everyone.
from 03TALK
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2. WHY PAY?
Before the conference
The basics
1. Choose The Right Service
Conference calls still cost money, depending where you’re calling from. Consider where your
participants will be when choosing a conference service provider. If most of your callers will be
dialling in on a mobile, ensure they won’t be hit with massive charges when they get their next bill.
Look for a provider that offers mobile-friendly dial-in numbers such as local rate 01, 02 and 03
numbers.
2. Be Clear About Costs
Whichever provider you choose, be sure that your participants are aware of what it’s going to cost
them to call into the conference.
3. Don’t Overcrowd
Who do you need to talk to and when? Some providers allow unlimited participants, but that’s not a
reason to invite everybody all at once. Think about what you want to achieve and who you need to
achieve it. What’s the most effective way to get those decisions made? It might make sense to hold
multiple calls with different participants than invite everyone to one big teleconference.
4. Decide Who’s Doing What
Just because you’re organising the conference, doesn’t mean you have to chair it. Be clear about
who’s doing what and make sure you have back-ups just in case somebody has to leave early.
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3. WHY PAY?
Before the conference, cont...
Best Laid Plans
5. Send An Invitation
Let everybody know well in advance when the call is due to take place. Some conference providers
such as 03TALK provide a scheduler online to save you the hassle of sending invites and reminders.
Make sure it includes the access number and any passcodes needed to dial in.
6. Create An Agenda
Be as specific as you can about what you want to talk about on your conference. Set goals,
timings, responsibilities. You don’t have to stick to it like glue, but everybody will appreciate knowing
what you want to get out of the call. And remember to send it to your callers well in advance (and
ask them to read it!), so they feel prepared.
7. Be Realistic About Timings
Meetings overrun, and teleconferences are particularly prone to this. It’s probably because people
tend to want a decision to be made before they hang up, whereas face-to-face meetings often end
with an agreement to regroup later. Whatever the reason, be realistic about how long it’s going to
last. Think of a duration, and add 10%.
8. Consider ‘Local Time’
When scheduling your conference, be aware of time differences affecting international callers. 3pm
sounds like a reasonable time for a meeting but the callers from the Japan office might not be
feeling too productive at midnight.
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4. WHY PAY?
Before the conference, cont...
Well Prepared
9. Be On Time
Don’t dash off to make a cup of tea or visit the ‘facilities’ 2 minutes before the call is due to begin.
Plan your time in advance, make sure you have everything, including the requisite dose of caffeine,
in place 5 minutes before you’re due to conference.
10. Sit Comfortably
Meetings are noisy by their very nature. Don’t add to it by dialling in from a busy coffee shop or the
midst of a hectic office. Find a quiet place, so you can hear the call and more importantly the call
can hear you. And make sure you’re sitting comfortably, you could be there a while.
11. Know Your Technology
Using a mobile to dial into the conference? Make sure you know how things like mute and on-hold
work on your device, and more importantly how they’ll affect the other participants on the call. For
instance, if you put your phone on-hold while you go make a sandwich, the other callers will
probably hear ‘Greensleeves’, which might be somewhat disruptive to the conference.
12. Be Well Prepared, Prepare Well
Make sure you send out any documents or files well in advance, and list these in your Agenda. Ask
your participants to print them out or have them on screen when they dial into the conference.
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5. WHY PAY?
During the conference
Getting Started
13. Get In Early
If you’re chairing the conference, dial in a few minutes early so you can be sure no-one’s waiting on
their own. Put the call on speakerphone so you can get on with other things while you wait for
people to join you.
14. Say Hello
Greet everybody who joins the call and introduce yourself. It’ll set a precedent for other callers to
greet new arrivals.
15. Don’t Wait
If a couple of minutes has gone past and you’re still waiting for the last person to dial in, get on with
your conference. It costs money to sit on-hold, and you might as well get on with being productive.
16. Start As You Mean To Go On
You created an agenda in TIP #6, so stick to it. Help everybody settle in by running through the
agenda and asking if anybody has any particular time constraints. Ask people to bring up any
queries they have with the agenda, but ask them to leave any other questions until the end.
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6. WHY PAY?
During the conference, cont...
Call Etiquette
17. Introduce Yourself & Call Others By Name
When speaking, start by saying your name. And if you’re speaking in response to something
already said, call others by name too. It’ll make the call run more smoothly if people know when
they’re being addressed.
18. Be Polite, Keep Calm
General meeting etiquette, such as not interrupting, not talking over other people and not raising
your voice, is even more important on a conference call. A few ground rules set out at the start can
work wonders. Establish a protocol for deciding who’s going to speak next, and specify a ‘time out’
signal if things get out of hand. Most importantly, remember to keep calm if it gets heated.
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7. WHY PAY?
During the conference, cont...
Speaking Easy
19. Slow It Down
Sounds simple. But remember to speak slowly. You’ll all have a lot to say, but avoid talking too fast,
especially with the aim of speeding up the call. It’ll only take longer as people constantly ask for
things to be repeated.
20. Och Aye!
Be aware of your accent & dialect, and those of your fellow callers. If you’re struggling to
understand someone on the call, then politely ask for them to slow down or speak more clearly.
And don’t take offence if someone asks the same of you.
21. Don’t Get Lost In Translation
As in TIP #20 above, adjust your speech accordingly for any international callers. You don’t want
anything to be misunderstood.
22. Take Care With Tone
The number of senses in play on a teleconference are fewer than a face-to-face meeting. Those
that remain are heightened. Other callers will pick up if you’re sounding bored, so try to sound
enthusiastic. And don’t be boring either - avoid being monotonous, use your voice to get across
what face & hand gestures can’t.
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8. WHY PAY?
During the conference, cont...
Being Occupied, Not Distracted
23. Pay Attention
If everyone’s talking but you, it’s easy for focus to shift. But try to pay attention - no playing with
games on your phone (especially if you’re calling from it), no shuffling and rustling papers, no
fiddling with pens (particularly the clicky sort). Find something to keep your focus, see TIP #24.
24. Take Notes
Some conference call providers offer call recording but taking notes is a great way of staying
focussed and also ensuring you understand what’s being said. A word of warning though - don’t try
to transcribe the call as you’ll quickly lose track of the conversation, keep notes brief. And use a
pen & paper. The tapping of computer keys might be annoying for other callers.
25. Take A Break
Make sure that at regular points during the call, you stop and ask for any feedback or questions. If
the call’s going to take a long time, you may also want to agree to all hang up and call back after a
short comfort break. There’s no problem doing this with providers such as 03TALK as you get your
own dedicated conference room to call anytime you like.
26. Stay On Track
It’s very easy for the topic of conversation to shift to other issues. Become adept at returning to the
item on the agenda at those times, but remember to make a note of what the side issue was so
you can return to it at a more appropriate time.
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9. WHY PAY?
Ending the conference
Final Touches
27. Leave Time For Questions
It’s OK to have “question and answer” time during the call, but make sure you set aside a few
minutes at the end of the call specifically for this. And make sure everybody knows there’ll be time
for Q&A on the agenda, so if a question can wait then it should.
28. Check The Agenda
Have you achieved all you set out to? Are there any unresolved items or unanswered questions? Go
through the agenda and make sure you’ve covered everything. If necessary, schedule another
conference there and then to resolve any outstanding issues.
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10. WHY PAY?
Ending the conference, cont...
Close The Call
29. Get Back Feed Back
Whether you ask for feedback as part of the call or ask people to drop you an email with their
thoughts, it’s important that everybody’s allowed to have their say. For one thing, it’ll make them feel
like they’ve contributed even if they didn’t speak much during the call. And it’ll also help improve
future calls so they’re even more efficient, and save even more time and money.
30. Say Thank You!
And then say it again. End the call by thanking everybody for their time. And include ‘thanks’ again
in any follow up emails you send or conversations you have. Conference calling may be cheap, but
time isn’t, so show your appreciation. Your callers will appreciate it too.
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11. WHY PAY?
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this edition of 03TIPS, and have found it useful.
If you haven’t conference called before, then why not head to www.03TALK.com? Grab a free
TALKNOW account and try it out! Our TALKNOW accounts are yours to use, wherever, whenever.
Free. Forever.
If you’re a regular teleconferencer, then we’d love it if you used our Cost Saving Calculator to find
out how much you could save if you 03TALK. Find out more about 03TALK, and get more handy
hints & tips, from our website www.03TALK.com.
Or contact us anytime by emailing info@03TALK.com or calling 0330 330 3366.
It’s good to 03TALK.
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12. 03TALK Limited
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Station Road
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Cheshire SK8 7AZ
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