The Basics of Setting up a
Conference Call
Setting up a conference call is fairly easy nowadays,
even if you don't know much about computers. Of course
you can face some difficulties for first time, but with
a little help from your provider you can solve them
easily.
The more participants you have, the more people you have
to coordinate, and arrange the meeting time with them.
This can be very difficult if some of the participants
live in different time zones or perform different tasks.
Of course, setting up a conference call is much more time
efficient and cheaper than organizing a real conference,
which requires that you fly thousands of miles, book rooms
and pay various other costs as well.
Be
sure that every participant has received detailed
information about the conference system you are about to
use, so you don't have to interrupt or delay the meeting
because of technical issues. If you have time, setting up
a test conference is also useful, because you can check
the process before you use it in real-life situations.
There are many types of conference
calls you can choose from and as a result, they have
differences in the setup process. First, let's see the
telephone based conference calls.
Reservationless conference calls are easy to set
up, because they require almost no preparation. All you
have to do is dial a given number and give your access
code. Other participants also use this number with a
different access code.
Operator assisted conference calls have more
options but they are of course more expensive. The
operator can record, broadcast and handle a subconference
as you wish. Starting an operator-assisted conference call
costs more money, and requires reservation, but gives you
full control over the calling process, without diverting
your attention from the topics you are about to discuss.
An operator dialed conference call gives you
even more extra features. The operator dials the
participants and adds them one-by-one to the conference.
This is very useful if some members have never used such
service before. You can also ask for translation and for
many other features.
The web based services are trickier to use, and
you need more time to understand them, but they are much
cheaper and have video features, which make the conference
more life-like and efficient. The programs that can handle
such operations are becoming easier to use. They include,
among others, the well-known Skype and NetMeeting. Skype
also has a VoIP service, which is an Internet protocol
based phone system. You need professional programs for
setting up large conference calls and broadcasts. These
programs are usually rather difficult to set up and need
additional hardware or a provider that can handle and
distribute such an amount of data. These providers offer
almost the same services as the telephone companies, with
all the advantages of digital technology such as video
conference options, file transfer, animated presentations
and digital recordings.
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