In this article you will learn how to select a suitable provider and how a conference call is organized and conducted.
How to find a suitable provider and set up the conference call?
The first step, even before you set up a conference call, is to find the right provider. To do this, define your requirements and answer questions like:
- How often will conference calls be used?
- How many participants or conference rooms are needed?
- What functions are required?
According to your answers, select a suitable conference call provider. Depending on which provider you have chosen, you will need to register or you can start immediately without registering. Set the date for the conference, book or reserve a virtual conference room, choose an individual PIN to protect the conference room and find out about the available dial-in numbers. Depending on the provider, additional functions are available for your conference call, such as setting a moderator PIN or recording an individual greeting text.
How to organize a conference call?
Once the conference call has been set up in principle and a virtual conference room has been reserved with a PIN, you can invite the participants. For example, you can send the participants the topic and date of the conference call and the additional information required for dialing in, such as the dial-in number and PIN, by e-mail. Professional solutions, such as those from inopla, offer you helpful tools for organizing a telephone conference. For example, an intelligent invitation tool with a web interface is available for you. It sends all necessary information to the invited participants and adds an attachment for easy entry of the appointment in their calendar. You automatically receive the acceptances or rejections and see who will participate in the conference call. Individual participants can receive reminders about the appointment if they wish. If you change the date of the conference call or if the telco is cancelled, all participants will be informed automatically.
How to participate in a conference call?
To participate in a telephone conference, you only need a telephone. You can use a simple analog telephone, an ISDN telephone, a cell phone, a smartphone, a tablet with telephone function, a VoIP telephone or a softphone on a PC. If several people in a meeting room are to be connected to the conference via a single telephone, it is advisable to use a conference telephone, also known as a telephone spider. To join the conference call at the specified time, dial the dial-in number provided and then enter the PIN code when prompted. You are now connected to the conference call and can exchange information with the other participants.
How to control a telephone conference?
- The moderator of the conference call plays a special role. He or she controls the teleconference and can see, for example, the number of participants, their telephone numbers or their status. Depending on the telephone conference solution, the moderator can control the conference directly from the moderator’s telephone keypad or via an administration interface on the computer. With inopla’s web interface, all control functions can be conveniently operated in real time. Mute individual participants or give them the floor with a mouse click. The moderator can also mute or audibly mute himself. Other control options include:
- opening or closing the virtual conference room
- starting and stopping the recording of conversations
- mute or unmute others
- ending the conference
