A recent article has been doing the rounds on linked-in called ‘Conference Call Bingo’ , where all the things that can go wrong with a conference call were highlighted.
In this article we highlight conference call hacks for winning at Conference Call Bingo.
You can short cut the article by clicking the three adjacent buttons; including a check list to give to all the delegates before the meeting and another is for checking that the conference system you are using has the features necessary for a profession meeting.
ISSUE 1 - Hi, who just joined? The first thing that’s wrong with the conference call is that it's clear the delegates can’t see each other. In a CeeCloud conference call when delegates join using an app on their smart phone, PC, Mac or dial in using video conferencing technology the software uses the devices camera for video streaming and so the delegates see each other. In addition the person who set up the meeting will see a live list of all the people on the conference call. Click the button below to check whether the conference calling system you are using has all the necessary features for modern conference calls, if not please request a fee demo from CeeLab of their CeeCloud Technology.
ISSUE 2 - Can you email that to me? This conference call definitely doesn’t sound like there’s any easy content sharing ability. It's so much more efficient to share your screen in real-time so people can see documents, websites, video etc . Clearly it’s inefficient to start trying to email delegates content in the middle of a call. Please check that the technology you are using has the ten features listed in the button above.
ISSUE 3 - Are you there? This question is related to ISSUE 1 above, and is solved by the solutions presented there.
ISSUE 4 – Uh, ______, your still sharing. This is a tricky one, as sharing makes the meeting go so well as people can see what you are doing and showing, but yes you have to be careful what you have on your screen. The CeeCloud technology does make it clear that you are sharing.
ISSUE 5 – Hey guys I have to move to another call? Technology is great at solving technological issues, but we at CeeLab understand that we are all people and we over extend what we think we can get done. With the CeeLab Solution you can lock the virtual meeting room, so you gently encourage the delegates to arrive on time so that the meeting can finish on time.
ISSUE 6 – Sounds of someone typing possible with a hammer. Maybe this is one of the easiest problems to solve, because with the CeeCloud solution you have room management, where you can quickly run through a list of the delegates in turn muting each to see ‘who is the guilty party’; we do this all the time, and then we can mute that person. If they are are a PC/Mac then they are probably sharing a video stream so you will be able to see who is typing.
ISSUE 7 – Loud painful feedback. The problem with historical conference calls is that you had no control of the meeting, so the quality of the meeting was at the mercy of the delegate with the poorest hardware or lowest IT skills, now with the room management system you can: mute delegates, lock the room or dismiss delegates!!! Of course use the power judiciously. What we often do is identify the person by muting every one sequentially, when we find the person, we quickly leave them on mute and quickly explain that we are muting them, but will address questions to them directly in the meeting and un-mute them for their actual feedback to the question, rather than their unintentional feedback.
ISSUE 8 – Child or animal noise. As long as the child or animal is not distressed this is the cutest kind of interference, again your room management system allows you to run through all the delegates muting each and determining the source, and politely muting them as described above.
ISSUE 9 – Hi, can you hear me? Most problems with conference calls can be solved by having the delegates going through a pre-meeting check list, see the button below.
ISSUE 10 – No, it’s still loading. The CeeCloud technology allows you to share content from your device to all the delegates, so in part avoiding the need for people to have to upload and download during the meeting, but before the meeting have the delegates run through the checklist, they may be surprised how slow their internet speed is
ISSUE 11 - Next slide please. In the CeeCloud technology you can easily share your screen from your browser so won't end up in the embarrassing scenario of one delegate being the assistant to another delegate.
ISSUE 12 – Can everyone go on mute? The CeeCloud technology means that you will never ask this question again, you will have full room control including muting all delegates.
ISSUE 13 – I’m sorry I was on mute. With the room management technology people shouldn’t have to mute themselves, as you are able to control who is muted or unmuted.
ISSUE 14 – (For over talkers, Sorry go ahead). The CeeCloud Technology of course allows all the delegates to see one another so the visual cues will hopefully stop people over talking, as they will see the expressions of the other delegates, if not you can always use the room management system to mute them!
ISSUE 15 – Hello, Hello!! In this scenario people are not sure whether there are others on the call, with the CeeLab technology it clearly states whether the room has people in it or not, and everyone is clearly seen and listed.
ISSUE 16 – Sorry (faded out). I can’t (unintelligible ) – Clearly this person is having technical difficulties, these can be avoided by a using the pre-conference check list.
ISSUE 17 – Sorry I'm late, insert lame excuse. With the CeeCloud room management system a room can be locked so unfortunate late runners can be locked out.
ISSUE 18 - I have a hard stop at .....This issue to linked to ISSUE FIVE, and can be managed through the CeeCloud room management.
ISSUE 19 – I'm sorry you cut out there. This person has some hard-wear issues and so encouraging the delegates to to the three simple test before call tests in the button below will avoid these issues.
ISSUE 20 - Can we take this off-line? This comment often arises because the conference experience is poor at CeeLab we give you the tools and support to ensure that the experience is great.
ISSUE 21 – I will have to get back to you? This often arises in traditional telephone and video conferencing calls where people have to come to a meeting room and are away from their desks and PCs, often the information that people are referring to in this situation is somehow linked to their PC/work area, so it’s most efficient to let people have these meetings from their desks via the CeeCloud Technology where they can easily access their files etc, and of course when they find the information they can share it live with the other participants.
ISSUE 22 – Can everyone see my screen? There are two possible reasons why people can’t see your screen when using the Cloud technology from CeeLab, firstly you are not sharing your screen or secondly they are not able to see it. Firstly we need to get potential delegates to do a check list and secondly we need to ensure they are trained. See the CeeLab training video.
ISSUE 23 – Sorry I was having connection issues. A connection problem can be discovered ahead of a meeting, by using our speed test in our check list (see above). A delegate who has poor connection speed should consider a hybrid connection, where they use their landline/cell phone for the audio connection and use their PC/Mac for the visual elements. Alternatively for those who have a smart phone on a 4G/5G network could consider attending the meeting on this device.
ISSUE 24 – I think there is a lag. This really comes down to connection speed and the delegates need to perform a check list before the meeting, which includes an internet speed test, see the buttons above.
ISSUE 25 – Sorry I didn’t hear that can you repeat. This is connected to two issues, the bandwidth or their hardware. Again please ask every delegate to go through the check list before the meeting.