Some startup employees do not know how to host a teleconference, as they have only known a simple 3-way call. The 3-way call or old form of teleconference has been replaced by more sophisticated multi-call phone teleconferencing and online teleconferencing.
Teleconferencing Basics
The following basics can be adapted to fit any kind of teleconference call. You need to understand:
- Before the teleconference
- Distribute call-in information
- At the beginning (or before):
- Distribute an agenda
- Note any ground rules
- Confirm that all required attendees have arrived
- When a person joins or leaves a teleconference, typically you will hear a beep indicating that a person has entered or left the teleconference.
- The host should greet every person who joins the conference.
- The host needs to be patient, but also enforce order.
- In some cases, at the beginning of a teleconference, a person should be appointed to take notes and distribute minutes.
- You might require that each person joining a teleconference should state “Hi this is their name”.
- The host of the teleconference is the individual who starts the meeting.
- The host also closes out the conference.
- The host should allow an appropriate question and answer period, usually at the end.
- The host needs to keep track of subject matter addressed and ensure that all of the required topics have been included. Did everyone have the chance to speak briefly on their important topics?
- The host needs to be sure that all needed follow-up instructions/agreement have been arranged before ending the call.
- One indicator of attendee interest is the number of individuals who are still connected at the end of the teleconference call.
- After the end of the teleconference the host can assess how well the above topics were addressed and “score” the conference.
So, learning how to host a teleconference is not difficult. But it requires using a check-list such as this one to keep track of the relevant details.
References
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