Hints for Successful Conference Calls

As someone who participates and has run more than his share of conference calls, I’ve become all too familiar with most of these 27 hints at Web Worker Daily on my own.  I would add a couple hints to this list:

Test your conference bridge and tools beforehand.  I’ve been on calls where NetMeeting and similar tools were used to present slides. There was some kind of NetMeeting or VPN problem that prevents the tools from working correctly. Instead of troubleshooting this live during a meeting, especially if this is a tool that is not frequently used in the meeting, do a dry run beforehand to make sure it all works.

Be prepared for things to go sideways. This can be anything from conference bridge troubles to missing, key participants to a lack of prepartion on someone’s part. Have a plan B, in case your tools fail, or if a key participant is missing. Keep their numbers handy so you can call/SMS them out of band.