Conference Call Best Practices

Always use your manners

• Normal personal and professional manners always apply - introduce yourself, speak clearly, don't interrupt, don’t monopolize the conversation, limit distractions

Always begin the call promptly at the scheduled time and finish it on schedule

• Formally begin the call with introductions and agenda overview and bring it to an end thanking all of the conference attendees for their time

Always introduce all participants

• If you are a participant and have to leave the meeting before it’s over, let everyone know upfront when you introduce yourself

Always set a time limit and stick to it

• If you find yourself going over the time, you may need to postpone the rest of the call to accommodate everyone’s schedules

Always pay attention to file size during webinars

• If someone is using dial-up the desktop portion may be substantially delayed

Always resist the urge to surf the internet or follow-up on emails

• You may be required to provide input, so pay attention

Never eat, drink, shuffle papers, click your pen or use a “clicky” keyboard

• Be considerate of background noise, as participants can hear everything that’s not muted

Always avoid the “hold” feature

• Music often plays and makes it impossible for the other participants to continue the meeting

Always pick up the telephone handset for clear conversation and avoid the urge to use your speakerphone, unless muted

• Most speaker phones are not two way, so if there are sounds in the room, your phone will stop receiving the speaker

Always state your name prior to speaking

• Don’t presume that all teleconference attendees recognize your voice