• The equipment you use will have a great impact on the quality of the call. In most video conferences, you will be using equipment that is permanently installed in a videoconferencing room. Occasionally you may be involved in a videoconference from a home office or when traveling. In this case, you will likely use a web camera connected to a laptop. Make sure that the web camera has the ability to focus and that you set the camera the correct distance away from you so that the other people see your whole face and upper body. For teleconferences there is more equipment choice and your preference in order should be:
• Wired phone – this will give the best quality, make sure that the wires are in good condition so the signal is clear
• Cordless Phone – the newer cordless phones are better than the older ones because they operate at different frequencies. Make sure that you have a good connection and know how to switch the channel if you get interference during the call
• Cellular Phone – a digital cell phone will give quite a good connection as long as there is not too much interference from buildings or equipment. Don’t connect to a call while driving unless you have a hands-free attachment and it is allowed by law in your area.
• Speaker Phone – a speaker phone is the last alternative because most speaker phones have an echo sound to them and it is hard for others to hear what is being said on a speaker phone. Speaker phones also tend to pick up a lot more background noise which can be distracting to others on the call.
• Test the bridge before the call – The bridge refers to the technology you use to connect multiple people to a single call. Some phone systems have a bridge built in and you can rent phone bridges with the cost depending on how many people you connect and how long you need the line for. Many business phone systems allow conferencing between three parties as a built-in feature. If you are using a built-in conference feature of your phone, make sure you check how many internal and external callers you can connect and how the feature works. If you need to rent a conference call bridge, contact your local phone company since almost all of them offer this service. For videoconferences, the type of connection usually depends on the equipment. Inside larger organizations, you will have dedicated high-speed video conference lines and the instructions as to how to connect to a certain location will usually be given or stated close to the equipment. For more public connections you will likely connect through the Internet. You can use a direct connection between IP addresses through the Internet or you can use a gateway provided by one of the large online portals, such as Yahoo! or MSN. There are also special video conference web sites that aim to ease the connections but they usually have a cost associated with them. Decide which connection you will use and become familiar with it well in advance of the call.
• Know the features of your equipment – Each phone has different features and how you use them. The two most important features to know how to use are the volume setting and the ability to mute your phone so that any background noise in your environment does not get picked up by the phone. For video conferences, if you are connecting through the Internet at less than high-speed, you may consider using one phone connection for the video link and a second phone connection for the voice part of the call. Slower speed connections will have a very hard time passing both video and audio information fast enough for a good quality call.
• Headsets – If possible, for your teleconference use a headset for your phone that has one or two earphones and a microphone that is in front of your mouth. A headset allows you to hear better and the microphone tends to only pick up your voice and not background noise. If you are doing a videoconference, a headset would only be appropriate if you are using a remote connection where you are in a hotel room or remote office and the only one in that location. People will see the headset during the call, so consider your appearance as well.

• Send all materials 3 days ahead – If you will want to refer to any documents during the call, make sure that you send them far enough in advance that people have an opportunity to review them. It is always a good idea to have a title for each document, page numbers on each document and figure numbers so you can refer to something uniquely during the call. If you are sending documents by mail instead of e-mail or courier, increase the lead time to 7 days ahead of the call.
• Send a reminder one day ahead – In your reminder, send the telephone number and call procedures 24 hrs ahead to help ensure everyone is ready when the call time comes.
• Key Materials for All Calls:
• Agenda with clear items identified and a named moderator & minute taker.
• Ground rules for the call, such as:
• State your name before speaking during the call
• Reduce noise levels in your environment
• One speaker at a time
• When referring to a document, always state the document title and page number and figure number if applicable
• Come prepared – read the materials in advance
• Have the documents in front of you on the call

• Have all materials for the call at hand on your desk, in the room or on your computer screen before the call.
• Print the reminder notice so that you have the phone number and access codes available in case you lose your phone or video link and your computer goes down and you can’t access the reminder e-mail.
• Have a backup phone available (ie. cell phone) in case your phone fails.
• End any conversations or meetings at least 10 minutes before the call is to begin.
• Go to the bathroom before the call.
• For a videoconference, check your appearance before the call.
• Have a glass or bottle of water handy because talking dries out your mouth.
• Have a list of who is supposed to be on the call.
• Find a quiet place for the call – close doors, turn off radio, etc.

• Check that everyone is on the call, wait no more than 5 minutes for anyone.
• Remind everyone of the rules that have been distributed.
• Moderator controls the flow through the agenda.
• Appoint someone other than moderator to take meeting minutes. Whoever is taking minutes should have their phone muted because the clicking of typing will be too distracting for others.
• If you are taping the call inform everyone and get their consent at the start of the call.
• Make sure everyone agrees the call is over and then everyone hangs up.

• Distribute the meeting minutes within 24 hours.
• Send action items to everyone within 2 hours so that action can get started quickly.

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© MMIII Dave Paradi