Some of the advantages of teleconferences are:
• Reduce or eliminate travel costs
• Increase company efficiency – travel time becomes work time
• Reduce stress levels among employees – work-life balance
• Straightforward and spontaneous
• Environmentally-friendly

• Clear agenda. Send out an agenda and list of participants in good time before the meeting.
• The purpose of the meeting. Be clear about the purpose of the meeting and what you expect from participants. Is this a meeting for providing information, discussion or making decisions?
• Inform. Explain how to join the meeting (telephone number and any PIN code) or whether a call will be made to the participant.
• Test. Before leading your first meeting, have a go at making a few test calls and try out the various functions. It may be the case that your switchboard requires special commands to ring multiple parties – check with your telephony manager.
• The meeting begins. Always start the meeting at the appointed time, even if there are participants missing.
• Documentation. How will the meeting be documented? It is a good idea to use the recording feature.
• Keep it simple. If the meeting is a recurring one, add the participants as a group in the conference guide or add individual contacts to the phonebook.

Be clear about the purpose of the meeting and what you expect from participants.

• Introductions. Welcome and introduce everyone. This gets the meeting off to a good start and ensures an inclusive atmosphere, even for those people who are off-site. If the meeting is not very big (up to 10 or so participants), ask participants to introduce themselves briefly to get an ear for their voice. Always try to create an atmosphere that gives people the sense of sitting all together, even those participating at other locations.
• Minutes. Take notes or appoint a secretary who can take minutes and has access to the recording if one is made.
• Agenda. The person leading the meeting explains what the meeting is about and how long it will run and provides a brief summary of the agenda.
• Breaks. If the meeting runs for longer than 45 minutes, take a break to allow people to stretch their legs for 10-15 minutes before continuing.
• Reach an agreement. Before moving on to a new item, check with the various participants to see if anyone wants to say anything. This makes everyone feel involved.
• Time for questions. Set aside time to deal with any questions.
• New meeting. If there are matters that need to be followed up, agree a time for the next meeting.
• Explain. If something happens in the room (that could perhaps get a laugh), explain what is happening to anyone who is participating by phone to ensure that everyone feels included.
• Feedback. Send out a copy of the minutes/a summary of the meeting as soon as possible afterwards.

Before moving on to a new item, check with the various participants to see if anyone wants to say anything. This makes everyone feel involved.

• Peace and quiet. Try to find as quiet a place to sit as possible.
• Park up. If you are participating from your car, park up safely, e.g. in a car park, before joining the meeting.
• Turn off the microphone. If you are sitting somewhere with a lot of background noise, e.g. at an airport or in a car or café, turn off the microphone (mute) when you are not speaking.
• Be ready in plenty of time. Make sure you are in good time for the meeting to give yourself the chance to chat with other participants before the meeting starts (in the same way as people in a conference room together would do).
• Introduce yourself. If you have something to say, make sure people recognise your voice by introducing yourself first.
• Keep people informed. If you get disconnected (poor reception, etc.), call back immediately and, at a convenient moment, let the other participants know that you have been away for a while.
• Focus. Concentrate on the meeting. Do not read e-mails or do other things during the meeting.

• Record your meeting/use the dictaphone function
The Konftel 300 series supports recording to an SD memory card – perfect for interviews, documentation or simply as a reminder of important calls and meetings. Can also be used as a dictaphone.
Read more in the Konftel quick reference guide or manual.
Download a digital version here: http://www.konftel.com/Support/Manuals

• Conference guide
The conference guide, which is included as a function in the Konftel 300 series, rings up all parties simultaneously at the touch of a button. A useful function if you make regular calls. Individual contacts are saved in the phonebook.
Read more in the Konftel quick reference guide or manual.
Download a digital version here: http://www.konftel.com/Support/Manuals

• Show a presentation
Teleconferences are a simple and spontaneous way to conduct business. All you need is a phone. However, occasionally we may need to see one another or share documents. There are a number of web meeting services that can be used together with your Konftel phone, with everything from freeware to licensed software.
Find out more at: http://www.konftel.com/Situations/Solutions/Web-and-video