Best Practice: Complete Instructions for Your Guests

Make it easy for your guest to attend your conference call. Send them complete instructions. By complete, we mean complete. That's complete with:

Date

Start Time with Time Zone

Length of Conference Call

Agenda

Conference dial-in number

Whether that number is tollfree (Their call is free to them.) or toll (They pay for the cost of their call.)

The voice prompt they'll hear after they dial the above conference dial-in number

The code(s) they should enter at the voice prompt

What they will experience after entering their code. Some options for your guests' experience after they enter their code includes:

* Music-on-Hold: "You'll hear music until I join the conference call".

* Name Announcement on Entry with Public Playback: "You'll be prompted to say your name followed by the # sign on your telephone's keypad. Your name will be played to the group as you enter and depart the conference call". (A private playback option, heard only by the host, is also available.)

* Unrestricted: "You'll be able to talk with each other until the start of the conference call."

* Conference Lock: Once the conference call has started no further guests will be allowed to join the call. Should you need to leave during the conference call you will not be allowed to re-enter.

Length of Conference Call

At least 3 reminders: 1 week before, 1 day before, 1 hour before the start of the conference call. Why so many? People are busy. People forget. People are mobile.

Why so much detail? Again, people are busy. People have other priorities than ours. The more information you provide them gains more share of their attention, communicates the importance of the conference call, increases their confidence that it's a good use of their time and communicates you respect their time by providing all this information. It helps them help you make your conference call a success.