Conference calls are becoming more and more common and everyone needs to know how to handle a conference call. Here are nine tips that can help you handle a conference call well:

1. If you are late in joining a conference call, resist the temptation to eavesdrop and announce yourself as soon as you join.
 
2. If you are the first to enter the conference call, try to wait patiently. It may be irritating to wait silently but it is best to do it. Don’t hang up or keep asking if anyone is there.

3. If other participants are late in joining the conference call, you can commence the meeting after waiting for at least five minutes, provided a minimum of three people are present. Avoid chatting and focus on the subject of the conference, while you wait.

4. Don’t talk about subjects that are not related to the conference. If you have to convey some important information to a participant, don’t do it during the conference.

5. If you want to speak to a participant about a personal matter at the end of the conference, do it after the conference is over. It is expensive to hold a conversation between two people during a conference call and it is not meant for this.

6. People who participate in conference calls need to state their names before they speak, to save time and to avoid confusion. If you don’t know who is speaking, avoid commenting on what is said.

7. Every conference call needs to have a clearly designated leader and all participants must be informed about who the leader is. Participants may not be allowed to join the conference by the operator, if they are not aware of the name of the leader.

8. If you have to leave a conference call early, announce that you will be leaving in five minutes. This will prompt participants to discuss matters concerning you, before you leave. Don’t announce that you will be leaving early as this might give people a poor impression about your loyalty and commitment.

9. If you must leave the conference call for a short while, you must announce that you are leaving. If you sneak out without informing anyone, someone might ask you a question and the other participants may get the wrong idea about why you are not answering. They may jump to the conclusion that you are not alert or are not willing to part with information.

Knowing how to handle situations like this will help you to participate more effectively and to make conference calls more fruitful.

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