How to Make Conference Calls From Your Couch

Addison Albert October 6, 2020January 27, 2023

Remote working has now become common place. Before the coronavirus pandemic, over 7 million people were working from home in America, however, that figure has now increased exponentially.

It is estimated that up to 40% of Americans or as many as 132 million people are now working from home in some capacity.

This is why conference calls are the best way in which many employees and colleagues communicate these days. In this article, we will take you through exactly how to make conference calls from home and what you need to do. Read on to find out more.

Choose Your Location Carefully in Your Home

If you are going to be in a day of back to back conference calls, choosing where you set up your work station is key in ensuring productivity and comfort. You want to choose a location that has a neutral background and doesn’t have too many objects.

Also if you are speaking with clients, you will need to make sure that your background is tidy and well organized to show professionalism. It can be distracting or off-putting for those on a conference call with you if your home is untidy or cluttered.

You will also need to choose a seat or chair that has plenty of back support and allows you to sit comfortably with your laptop which doesn’t put any strain on your body.

If you do want to work from your couch that is okay, just ensure that you have plenty of pillows to support your lower back and spine. The position of your body is also key to preventing any back injuries. Sit with your feet on the floor and use extra pillows to prop your laptop up so that it’s at eye level.

The angle of your laptop is crucial so that your face is comfortably visible on the screen. If your laptop is too low the people will get a rather unflattering image of your nose and chin! Test out your angles beforehand to check whether you need to reposition your laptop or make it higher.

What to Wear?

As working from home becomes the dominant mode of working, this is also reflected in the types of clothes people are wearing for work. There has been a shift away from office attire and more towards casual and comfortable workwear.

Loose blouses and shirts give that air of professionalism, however, are still comfortable to wear at home. Make sure that the neckline of your shirt or blouse isn’t too low but also gives you space to breathe and feel relaxed.

In terms of your bottom half, it isn’t something that you will be broadcasting to anyone on the conference call. Loose-fitting linen trousers, tracksuit bottoms, and even pajamas are all perfectly acceptable wear for online meetings!

You might want to make a distinction between workwear and things you wear at home to feel more focused when you are working.

Although everybody works differently, so it’s important to take your own feelings into account concerning your work attire. As long as you aren’t turning up to a client meeting in a vest then it’s usually a passable outfit!

Making a Conference Call

When making a conference call there are many service providers out there that can support conference calls. One of the best ways can be by hosting a group FaceTime for all your attendees. You can even host it on a Mac laptop and it is so straight forward and easy to do.

First, check your wifi connection strength and speed. You want to ensure that you can host a conference call without any interference or poor connection. Bad internet can be incredibly frustrating to mediate and can lead to embarrassing silences and a failure to communicate properly.

If you do have poor internet quality, it might be worth switching providers to a faster and more reliable service.

The next thing you need to do is invite all your attendees at the same time and ensure that everyone can make it. This needs to be done a few days beforehand so that people can rearrange or move other appointments around if required.

If it is an essential meeting, its common courtesy to give people enough prior warning.

You can then conduct the meeting like you would face-to-face with an agenda and points that need to be raised and discussed. If you are hosting the meeting, you must keep on top of moderating the meeting and ensuring that everyone has their say.

With online meetings, there can be a slight delay in terms of receiving audio so you need to be extra vigilant so that people aren’t talking over each other.

And remember, don’t beat yourself up if you feel a meeting is not going to plan! People are still trying to navigate the etiquette of online meetings and how they can work effectively.

Taking regular breaks away from the screen is also recommended to prevent burnout and feeling fatigued.

How to Make Conference Calls: Where Can I Find Out More?

We hope this article on how to make conference calls has given you plenty to think about when it comes to working better from home.

Reports have shown that many people are enjoying the benefits of working from home. It’s meant that more people can spend more time with loved ones and less time commuting to the office. It not only saves precious time but money as well in commuting costs.

Having a productivity workplace set up at home as well as utilizing the benefits of conference calls have also contributed to a better working environment.

If you enjoyed this article, check out our previous blog posts!