If you’ve ever had to participate in a conference call on your cell phone, you know how difficult it can be to hear everything and be heard clearly enough by the other participants in the call. Here are 10 tips that will help you optimize your experience with conference calls on your cell phone and make them less of an ordeal, whether they’re business or personal in nature. You may even find yourself enjoying them, who knew?
(1) Pick a Good Time
When you schedule your conference call, be sure to pick a time when you won't be interrupted or distracted. This includes not holding the call during your lunch break at work and not having it at night when you're relaxing with family. When the time comes, make sure that everyone can hear the person speaking by turning off any devices in use. If using a cell phone, make sure to hold it up to your ear and not let it sit on the table. Make sure to speak clearly so everyone can understand you, especially if there are background noises like air conditioning systems. Make sure people know who is talking so they don't interrupt each other too much. Keep in mind that a speaker may need to repeat themselves more often than usual due to connections issues so be patient!
(2) Send an Agenda in Advance
1. Email the Dial-in Number and Password to All Participants: It's important that participants know the dial-in number and password before the call begins, so don't wait until the last minute to send it. 2. Clear a Space in Your Calendar: Schedule at least 15 minutes of time during which you will not be interrupted by meetings or phone calls, even if you're using your cell phone. Have a copy of the agenda printed out so you can refer to it as necessary. 3. Practice Using Skype/Google Voice: When your colleagues are familiar with Skype/Google Voice, they'll feel more comfortable calling into the meeting from their desk phones or cell phones instead of being tied down to their computer screens. 4.
(3) Keep it Short
1. Use the speakerphone to make it easier to hear and speak. It also helps cut down on the amount of battery power you use.
2. Whenever possible, schedule your conference calls at a time when you're likely to be near a landline or have a car charger available so that you can more easily make it through the call without running out of power.
3. Turn your phone off when not in use to conserve battery power and extend your talk time as much as possible. 4. Put your cell phone on airplane mode before connecting to other devices if you want to avoid disruption from text messages and other notifications. 5. Consider using an external Bluetooth headset which will save on battery life because it won't require your device's internal speakers to work nonstop throughout the duration of the call. 6.
(4) Mute Yourself When You're Not Speaking
One of the most common mistakes people make when they're using their phone to hold a conference call is not muting themselves when they're not speaking. This can be distracting and even annoying to other participants, so it's important to mute your mic once you're done talking. Luckily, there are a number of different ways you can do this.
The simplest way to mute your microphone is by pressing and holding the volume down button. Another option is to open up the dialer app, and click on speaker which will automatically turn off your microphone without having to press any buttons. If you have an iPhone with iOS 11 or later, double tap the side button which will bring up Siri and allow you to switch off your microphone as well. There's also an option to use DND (Do Not Disturb) which will silence notifications, calls, and texts until you manually turn it off. When in a meeting or in public, DND is the best way to stay out of trouble.
(5) Put Your Phone on Do Not Disturb
The first thing you should do is set your phone to Do Not Disturb. This will make sure that any notifications or alerts don’t interrupt the call, and will keep people from picking up if they try to call in. You can do this by going into the Settings app and clicking Do Not Disturb under Notifications. You can also select Do Not Disturb During Bedtime, which will help you avoid distractions during off hours. If you really need to check something, then tap on Allow calls from my favorite contacts. Put it on Speakerphone: Now that your phone has been silenced, the next step is to put it onto speakerphone mode. Tap the three lines at the top left corner of your screen and tap Speaker under General. Then choose a time duration such as 30 minutes or 1 hour depending how long the meeting is.
(6) Use Headphones
1. Make sure you're using a Bluetooth headset, so that you don't need to hold your phone up to your ear.
2. If you are using the speakerphone feature, make sure the volume is loud enough so that everyone can hear each other.
3. Ideally, participants should be in a quiet area with minimal background noise and the microphone should be close to their mouth for optimal sound quality. 4. Even if all of these requirements are met, try not to shout because it will distort the voice and make it difficult to understand.
5. Avoid extraneous sounds such as coughing or shuffling papers which might interrupt or distract other people on the call.
6. Be mindful of your time management skills; keep an eye on how long each person speaks as well as how long they take between speaking turns.
(7) Turn Off Background Noise
The first step to optimizing your conference call is to turn off any background noise that might be interfering with the call. This can be done by muting your phone and turning off any other apps that are running, such as music or video. You should also make sure your volume is set at the right level so that you can hear the other people in the call without having to constantly adjust it. Make Sure Everybody Can Hear Each Other: Make sure everybody can hear each other by speaking up, not talking over each other, and pausing between thoughts. It's important to speak slowly if you're nervous about what you're saying so that people have time to think about what they want to say next.
(8) Charge Your Phone
It's important to make sure your phone is fully charged before a conference call. If your phone runs out of battery during the call, you'll be unplugged until it recharges. You might also want to charge your laptop and/or tablet in case you need to send documents or presentations as part of the meeting. Enable Do Not Disturb Mode: Make sure all notifications are turned off while on a conference call. Put your phone on airplane mode when possible so that no notifications pop up. Turn Off Call Waiting: Let's face it—conference calls can't wait! Turn off call waiting (if available) or use an app like Switcharoo for iOS devices so that other incoming calls don't interrupt your meeting. Keep Volume Low Enough: Nobody wants to listen to everybody else sneeze, cough, clear their throat, etc., but this won't happen if you keep volume low enough where everyone can hear without raising the volume too high.
(9) Check Your Connection
Before you dial in to your conference call, make sure that your phone is connected to a Wi-Fi or cellular data connection. Powering up the battery and making sure it's charged are also important things to take care of before the call. If you're not sure what network you're on, toggle over to airplane mode and back again. You'll know if you have a strong signal if the bars light up brightly across the top of your screen. If you don't have a good connection, try switching from WiFi to 3G/4G LTE. Make Sure the Microphone Picks Up Your Voice: Place your phone against your ear with the speaker facing away from your mouth so that the microphone picks up more than just air. Adjust What Appears on Screen: Unless you need constant access to email or Facebook messages during the conference call, turn them off so they won't interrupt conversation.
(10) Have a Backup Plan
Have a backup plan in case you can't get cell reception. Try to find a place where you know your cell phone will work, such as a coffee shop or library. You may also want to invest in an Internet phone service so that you can dial into the conference call from any location, even if there is no Wi-Fi available. 1) Remember What's Important: Make sure that people are aware of the agenda ahead of time. Provide an agenda with times for each presentation and make sure everyone knows how much time they have left before their next session. 2) Save Time: Send out links to relevant information beforehand so that people can review it before the meeting starts and reduce questions during the call.
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