Managing a Large Conference Call Without an Operator

A conference call is inevitable in an organization; we’ve all been part of a conference call one way or another. While organizations grow bigger and teams expand with people in various locations, technology fortunately assists us with our endeavors in communicating our goals and aligning our strategies from one state to another or even country to country. After all, a conference call is the least expensive yet most accessible and convenient way to get numbers of people together. However, as the number of people involved grows, the pressure mounts on effectively managing the large conference call as the regular, mild inconveniences from a small group conference builds up as well. While an operator-assisted call is best, it may also be expensive and out of your budget. What can you do to lead or manage a large conference call and effectively get by without hang ups?

Send out details in advance. Upon finalizing the participants in the conference call, make sure to send out the most important details such as time and date, dial-in numbers and passcodes, as well as the agenda and other necessary details for the meeting. It would be helpful to establish a timeline that would be followed so participants have the flexibility to dial in on the topic relevant to their interest, and they also know when they can opt out in case they have other commitments.

Customize conference notifications as necessary. Set up your call so that there won’t be interruptions of tones announcing who just joined or left the call while the conference is mid-way.  While this can only be a mild annoyance in a regular conference call, a large conference call setting may entail an endless stream of notifications of people joining and going. Make the necessary adjustments so that participants can come and go without interrupting the live session. To compliment this, utilize an event conference call service that would show information of who’s on or who’s left the call so that you can still identify the members in the session. You may visit the home page of our website, https://www.largeconferencecall.com, to learn more.

Notify participants of the do’s and don’ts. Let your participants know the helpful, necessary basics, such as: mute your line when it’s not your turn to speak to avoid unnecessary noise or feedback, identify yourself before speaking, and announce which buttons to press to queue for questions or to ask for assistance.

And last but not least, be a good moderator, and stick to the agenda. Manage the call and moderate  speaking time in case the meeting gets out of hand. Help maintain decorum and direct questions to specific persons to avoid awkward silence or overlaps of answers.

Want more tips? Read this guide and learn how to effectively manage a large group conference call.