Setting up a room for a conference call

Setting up a teleconference call or a video conference call used to be a terribly complex and convoluted process and the outcome was not always the most dependable communications tool for individuals and businesses. But as technology has developed, conference calling has become much easier and now thousands of people enjoy problem-free conference calls every day. Setting your own call up is very straightforward.

Location

The first consideration when planning a conference call is the room you are planning to hold the call in. Of all your conference call requirements, the room will completely define the call in terms of your experience and that of the other people involved. Pick the wrong setting and you might find that your audio is poor quality, your video unclear, and your conference call equipment not catered for. You need a room with enough space for all the people at your end of the call to sit comfortably and be within range of any audio and video devices, without being cramped around the equipment.

The key to making your audio device delivers a clear, crisp output to the other people involved in your conference call is to eliminate background noise. Most microphones don’t discriminate between noise in the foreground and the background, so if there are phones ringing, printers whirring or cars passing by within earshot of your conference call, you could experience problems when trying to establish a clear, audible line. Ideally, hold your conference call in a quiet room with the doors and windows closed. Soft surfaces are better for dampening sound than hard, shiny ones, so a fully carpeted room with curtains is ideal.

The cameras utilised by conference call equipment, whether being used on a computer, a laptop or a mobile phone, tend to be very sensitive to small changes in lighting. A large amount of natural daylight is the best way to make sure your video conference call runs smoothly in terms of visuals. Electric lighting tends to cast a pale yellow light that is far from flattering, and the spotlights typically used in offices tend to create a lot of shadows. Try to set up your video conference call with natural light shining on the people involved, with the camera facing away from windows. Having conferencing cameras pointed directly towards light sources will create unwanted glare on the image.

Technical glitches are always liable to ruin even the best-organised conferences and teleconferences. For this reason, it is best to have IT experts on hand to step in and rescue those moments when nothing seems to work. However, if you are responsible for your own conference call equipment, make sure you perform at least one thorough test before the day of the conference call. Ensure you have enough power points and telephone points in the room, as well as a solid internet connection if you are running a web conference. Don’t leave it to the last minute to check that your conference phone is in full working order – nothing takes the momentum out of a conference call quite like an hour spent waiting for equipment to work.