When was the last time you took part in an audio conference call that set the bar really high for you? 

Perhaps it was a call where attendees were on time, attentive, and on mute when needed, and everyone offered valuable insights, or where decisions were easily taken.

Let’s face it – you want every conference call to be like this! 

Despite what you might think, hosting a meeting via an audio conferencing platform seems simple enough. Getting things right, however, could be the hard part.

Did you know that on average 33% of total conference call time is wasted dealing with distractions and interruptions?

Wondering what that means? 

Well, for a 38-minute call, 13 minutes are wasted dealing with issues such as background noise, interruptions, and other forms of distraction. Add this throughout the year and hundreds of work hours get wasted in this way.

Want to avoid this? Then you’ve come to the right place.

We will share tips to ensure that moving forward, all your conference calls are productive and not a consistent waste of time. In this article, you’ll get ten tips to help you host the best audio conference calls like the seasoned pro you should be.

1. Prep yourself and everyone else sufficiently

It should go without saying that you need to create a plan before any audio conference call.

Here’s why this is important. 

Preparation can make or break anything, even meetings. The more work you do before joining the conference call meeting, the more productive and efficient you’ll be. 

For example, showing up for a meeting without any preparation is bound to waste your participants’ time. It might also give the impression that you don’t respect their time. 

In addition to that, having a plan and material ready beforehand will ensure you stay on track during the meeting. No one wants to waste time on irrelevant topics. 

How do you effectively prepare for a conference call? 

Use the handy meeting prep checklist from Harvard Business Review to prepare yourself for your next or future audio conference meetings.

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Explore everything you need to know about free vs. paid audio conference calls

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2. Build an agenda and try as much as possible to stick to it

Every meeting should have a clear agenda so that participants are aware of what is going to be discussed during the meeting. 

If you skip this step, then your meetings can quickly go off track, get hijacked by a random topic, or include people who shouldn’t be attending. 

An agenda gives the meeting’s host control over the flow of discussions and the issues covered. Similarly, it makes the attendees responsible for reporting specific information at the meeting. 

Here are the five benefits of having an agenda for your meetings:

• Introverts are engaged
• Time is used effectively
• Only essential people get to participate
• Everyone learns to opt out if they don’t feel they’ll provide or extract value
• Your team comes prepared

You should ideally share the agenda with the participants before the meeting starts – preferably hours or even days beforehand.

Also, make sure to follow it during the meeting to avoid deviating toward petty discussions.

People don’t have the time for these since they are not pertinent to the mission at hand. Such discussions could even cause participants to lose attentiveness and stop engaging altogether.

More importantly, be sure to explore the use conference call scripts to help you streamline your meetings.

3. Be conscious of start and finish times

Being punctual for meetings maintains a level of professional expectation. If your in-person meetings start on time, set the same bar high for your audio conference meetings as well. 

Starting on time is important because it maintains the initial energy and focus the participants brought to the meeting. 

Here’s a pro tip. Let go of the need to wait for everyone to join. This will allow you to show some grace and “unsaid” appreciation for those who were early or on time. 

Similarly, finish the meeting on time. This shows that you respect everyone’s time, priorities, and obligations. 

Also read: How to Make Audio Conference Calls on Your Android or iPhone

4. Push for more participant engagement

The best audio conference calls are not one-way streets! For this reason, you need to make it your mission to keep your participants engages. One way of doing this is to ask questions frequently. 

Or better yet, allocate roles to some people, if not everyone. This will do two things: it will encourage participation and make sure those involved do the necessary research on the topic/role assigned to them.

Once the audio call begins, make it more engaging in the following ways:

• Start with good news: ask everyone to share some good news, either work-related or personal.
• Announce facilitator rotation: the normal human being will want to be more active if they know their turn to lead is coming up next week! 
• Challenge the group to solve problems.
• Conduct surveys and polls. 
• Make things fun by asking icebreaker questions.

5. Check for and fix technical glitches beforehand

It’s essential to check your internet connection beforehand and make sure it’s seamless. That’s because nothing is more frustrating and awkward during a conference call than scratchy sounds and call drops

Test your audio jack and microphone to ensure that everything is in place for a smooth audio conferencing experience. In most conferencing systems, there is a way to test your video and audio before the meeting starts, so take full advantage of that. 

6. Identify yourself whenever you speak

It’s very difficult to identify even a voice that you know well during a conference call in case of a spotty internet connection or a crowded audio meeting. 

The simple solution is to always identify yourself before you speak to avoid any awkward situations. You don’t have to make it a big deal. Keep it as simple as: “Hi, I’m John and my opinion is…” 

Not identifying yourself before you speak will have people trying to figure out who you are, instead of listening to what you’re saying.

7. Use the mute button as much as possible

Nothing ruins a conference call faster than the person who forgot to mute themselves. 

The mute button is this century’s best investigation because it cuts off the microphone on your phone. That means that you can still hear the caller but they cannot hear you.

It’s always a good idea to use it when you are not speaking because any background noise can ruin the session for everyone. 

Even if you’re in a quiet location, consider muting yourself when you aren’t speaking for extended periods of time. 

Remember, your chair may squeak when you least expect it! And these subtitle distractions sometimes disturb the flow of the conversation. 

Also read: Conference Call Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make

8. Speak (fairly) loudly and clearly

Not everyone has the same internet connection (or headphones as you do) and while you may be hearing everyone loud and clear, the same may not be true for others. 

Speak in pauses and do it loudly enough and clearly. Remember to sit or lean close to your microphone and periodically ask if everyone can hear you.

9. Send the MoM in the follow-up email

Sending a follow-up email along with minutes of the meeting will outline the main points of the call and actionable items if any. 

The Minutes of the Meeting or the MoM usually includes the list of attendees, issues raised, related responses, and final decisions taken to address the issues. 

Sending it in a follow-up email is a good way to keep the team on the same page.

10. Record the audio conference call

Recording conference calls can be of great help for anyone organising or summarising any meeting notes afterwards. They can also act as archival copies of your team’s meetings.

The recording helps you focus on asking the right questions and staying on topic instead of being preoccupied with jotting down notes during the entire call. 

One thing you must remember is that you need to inform the participants before any recording begins. 

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You should also read:

• Free Conference Calls or Paid? All The Pros And Cons
• How Much You Can Save With Conference Calls
• Mobile Conference Calls Guide For Dummies/Beginners
• Best Apps For Audio Conferences For Large Groups

Ready to make the best audio conference calls ever?

Love them or hate them, audio conference calls are here to stay—especially now that remote work is hardly a foreign concept.

Being able to host the best audio conference calls, however, doesn’t come to all of us by default. 

It takes practice to follow all the rules that we’ve outlined above. But we can assure you that they are bound to make your meetings a much smoother experience for everyone even if to simply support the notion that you, as the host, respect everyone’s time. 

But as important as these rules are, it is also vital to find the best audio conference call service possible. For this reason, you should have a look at the 10 best conference call apps for business to pick the one that best suits your needs. In case you are new to the topic and want to learn more, read this audio conferencing guide.

We suggest you give our very trusty audio conferencing app, grptalk, a shot.

grptalk helps organisations of all sizes connect with their audience in just seconds. And participants don’t even need the app or the internet to join conference calls. 

Learn more about grptalk, or book a free demo to ask all your audio conferencing questions or concerns. We would be happy to help.