Conference calls are a necessary part of successful business operations and often take place multiple times a day – they have become an essential thread in the fabric of working life. In the telecommunications environment there is a constant drive to make collaboration easier, faster, and better. No one realizes this more than the engineers, programmers, account managers, and software designers that create and build the platforms that host the calls. Here are a few of Compunetix’s own engineers, account managers, and VoIP experts sharing their tips and tricks on optimizing audio collaboration. Share yours with us by emailing csdmarketing@compunetix.com.
“Utilize high definition audio! It absolutely improves voice clarity and understanding while minimizing audio lint. If your provider doesn’t currently offer HD audio, inquire about it.”
“Don’t skip the opportunity to record your name and company for the call. The recording helps the host keep track of who is on the line and enables them to do a roll call of participants. You’re then able to hear who else has joined as well.”
“If you’re not contributing to the conference, mute your line. If everyone does the same, it eliminates background noises and allows the speaker to be heard clearly. It sounds very simple but makes quite a difference.”
“Familiarize yourself with the settings that are available to you on the system that you are using. For example, *0 to access the operator, *6 to mute your line – there are others for adjusting volume, doing a roll call, recording the conference, etc. Compunetix has the capability to mimic call flows for customer retention; email your account manager for details.”
“Be prepared and prompt for your call. Give yourself a few extra minutes to connect and adjust your phone, headset, and call settings. Familiarize yourself with the call procedures for Q&As and/or polling.”
“If you’re planning a conference call, work with a provider that can meet your needs. High quality audio and a high-touch approach to conferencing are always in demand.”
“Make use of your web collaboration tools. Visual aids such as presentations, diagrams, or videos via desktop sharing can really help get your point across. Annotation allows multiple participants to make document changes, decreasing your overall meeting time.”
“Record your calls for playback and data mining; it’s simple to do from your mobile phone. Those that miss the call are able to access and listen to the recording at their convenience.”
“Make sure you have configured and tested your microphone correctly when using a headset, talk across the microphone rather than into it, this reduces popping of your audio and the infamous ‘heavy-breather’ sound.”
“When using speaker phones, be sure that all attending parties have adequate access to a microphone so that everyone can be heard, and take the time to announce the participants so that everyone knows who is on the other end of your important calls.”
“Make use of the tools available to you, many conference providers can deliver web based solutions which allow a conference host to control their meeting from a webpage, rather than having to recall specific DTMF sequences. When using large conferences, provide an access page to your participant allowing users to enter their own information rather than utilizing expensive operations teams.”
“Road-warriors can leverage more advanced features for their calls in order to prevent mass disconnects of their meetings. Due to cellular coverage issues, whether you’re in a dead-spot or travelling through a tunnel, cellular outages can occur but you can be prepared with advanced features that prevent your call breaking down due to a loss in your connection.* Likewise, when you have back-to-back calls using the same passcode, why not use additional security to lock-out early participants for your next call using Conference Level Passcode*?”
*Chair Disconnect Delay and Conference Level Passcode are features of the Summit Olympus platform, click here for more information.
