Use some form of feedback or evaluation tool to help improve subsequent calls. A simple "after action review" (what did we intend to do, what did we do, what would we do differently) can be done at the conclusion of a call, or could be done with forms or email post-call. "Just Three Words" - ask each person for three words that describe their experience on the call.

Conference calls - the curse of every hard working manager. Love or hate them, with today's geographically dispersed teams and travel restrictions, conference call etiquette is a key part of any manager's skill set.

Many people look forward to a conference call with the same enthusiasm as a trip to the dentist. That's because most people have had mediocre or downright terrible experiences with most conference calls - and that isn't surprising because there ARE so many mediocre or downright terrible conference calls that go on every day.

Discuss trivial things by email the week before the call. Discuss important items over the phone one on one, then follow up with the whole group by email and discuss. Whatever's left, discuss on a call.

There are several reasons that you might experience problems with sound quality on a conference call. If you're unable to clear up the problem, contact ConferenceCall.com. If we can join you during the call and experience the problem first-hand, it helps us diagnose the cause of the problem. Customers using Ready-Call® or Operator Assisted services can press *0 to alert an operator to assist them. For all other services, call our Account Managment department at (800) 624-6687, option 5, and they will assist you.

Listen-Only Conference Calls allow you to add a large audience to any conference call without compromising the quality of the meeting. This is great for audiences who need to hear the conference, but who do not need to participate in the discussion.

Ask Yourself--"What specific action do I want to take place as the result of this conference call?" Design your the structure of your meeting and agenda around this goal. Ask Your Callers--to review the agenda so that they will be prepared to address the issues you will be discussing.

Speakerphones and cell phones can interfere with the quality of the call or cause breaks in the conversation that cannot be transcribed. Also, speakerphones pick up background noises such as shuffling papers, scraping chairs, coughing, etc., which can drown out speakers' comments.

Invite a special guest or high-ranking member of your organization to the meeting. Ask your guest to say a few words or field a few questions as an opener before you get down to regular business. This strategy will provide a great jump-start to the discussion that follows. Make sure to tell all your invitees about this special opportunity to speak with your guest so they won't miss it!

Open up your meeting with a roll call. This gets your participants talking from the very beginning, and helps them to learn each other's voices. A good strategy is to ask a question before you begin calling the roll, and ask each person to respond with their answer when their name is called. This can be something relevant to the topic (such as this week's progress towards a goal), or something to relax everyone and create a more personable atmosphere (such as what everyone did over the weekend).