Moderators Should Arrive Early
A leader/ moderator should arrive a few minutes early to greet each of the participants and let them know when everyone is present and ready to start the call.
Always Introduce Yourself when Speaking for the First Time
It is important to introduce yourself when first speaking, as other participants may not recognize your voice.
Avoid Putting Your Phone on HOLD
Putting your local phone on hold could introduce music into the conference, so when considering the hold function please use *6 instead. Otherwise your hold music will play into the conference call and make it impossible for the other participants to continue the meeting in your absence! (Remember to un-mute yourself when you come back, by pressing *6 again)
Create an Agenda and Keep to Your Schedule
Remain consistent with the timeline and agenda in order to respect the time of the other participants.
Clearly State When Calls End
If participants linger after you have hung up on the call, you will be billed! Stay on the line and make sure everyone has left the call. By ensuring that all participants understand when a call has ended, you will avoid any possible confusion.
Sound Quality Issues
The Budget Conferencing bridging equipment allows you to speak simultaneously with another caller without any loss of sound quality. This means, however, that any static or disruptive noise that can be picked up through your phone line will affect the conference, so you must ensure that you are speaking in a quiet environment.
How to Prevent Sound Quality Problems
- Avoid speakerphones as they will introduce background noise into the call.
- Avoid mobile or cordless phones as they tend to pick up static.
- In the event that a cell call is required, we recommend a stationary location where the signal strength is high.
How to Eliminate Sound Quality Problems
- Please contact our live operators 24/7, by pressing *0.. It is generally best to contact us while you are experiencing the problem. If we can join you during the call and experience the problem first-hand, it helps us diagnose the cause of the problem.
- You may hang up and dial back in... Generally these sorts of problems clear themselves up when the bad connection is terminated.
- We recommend using the "mute" button on your local phone as this may help isolate the problem. Then only "Un-mute" when you need to speak.
Ensuring Proper Equipment Usage
- If possible, always use a phone with a handset that is hard-wired into the phone lines. Be sure to TEST the working condition of your equipment before an important meeting! Cellular or cordless phones are more likely to cause static or other distracting noises.
- Speakerphones pick up background noise, and sometimes cause "clipping" because of the limitations of the equipment. If you are using a speakerphone, try to find one that is "full digital duplex." This will allow all parties to speak at the same time with no clipping. And if no one in your room needs to speak, use the "mute" button on the phone to prevent background noise from disrupting the meeting. When someone needs to speak, simply release the "mute" button.
- Turn off call waiting. Some of our conferences are set to play a tone as an announcement of a new person entering the conference. If your line starts beeping with call waiting, it can be very confusing and disrupting to the meeting! Most call-waiting features can be deactivated by dialing *70 before dialing. Check with your local phone service provider if you are unsure how to deactivate this function on your phone.
