How to Connect an Outside Attendee into a Global Conference Call

Connecting attendees as needed — It’s often desirable to connect an expert, speaker, or individual as needed.

Businessman on conference call from India.
Businessman on conference call from India.

Global conference calls involve attendees from various countries.

In most cases using our global conferencing service, attendees would be given a regional or toll free access number specific to their countries.

However, there are a few scenarios where you may want or need to connect an outside attendee into your call.

Fortunately, doing so is a simple matter.

Here’s how to connect attendees into a global conference call that’s in progress.

Why You Might Need to Manually Connect Attendees

You may need to manually patch attendees into an international conference call for several reasons such as:

  • No local access number available in the attendee’s country — More than 150 countries are supported in our Expanded plan. However, some smaller countries are not. Manually connecting them is a good way to ensure their participation or keep them from incurring costs.
  • Overcoming technical difficulties — In some countries, phone networks may be in poor condition, making it difficult for callers to get a good connection. By using our global network and dialing those attendees directly, those attendees will likely have a better experience. Likewise, if a caller cannot connect for some reason (perhaps they’re unfamiliar with international exit and country codes), connecting them manually is an easy option.
  • Getting a lower per minute rate — Our dial-out rates tend to be lower than the per minute rates for many countries. When practical, manually connecting international attendees located in countries with high calling costs can be a money saver.
  • Connecting attendees as needed — It’s often desirable to connect an expert, speaker, or individual as needed. For example, if you’re holding a regional sales meeting and would like an outside account manager to present information about a new product offering, that person would not be needed for the entire conference call. Connecting the attendee at the appropriate time allows your team to discuss important business matters amongst themselves as well as hear the information when the time comes. At the same time, the attendee does not need to be present for an extended time period.

How to Connect Outside Attendees into a Global Conference Call

The three main ways to connect attendees into your conference call are via the phone’s keypad, by requesting live operator assistance, or by using the free Connect app.

  • Using the dial-out feature via the phone’s key — You need to remember just two commands for this feature: *1 and *2. Press *1 followed by the global phone number. Once the attendee answers and is ready to join the call, press *2 which will return you back to the call and instantly add the attendee to it. Repeat as needed for additional attendees. If you have one or two attendees, this manual process shouldn’t be too much of a burden or impact the progress of the call too much. However, it can become more challenging and time-consuming with a larger group, so use the next method if you have several individuals to connect at once.
  • Using operator assistance — The universal *0 keypad command will bring up a live, US-based operator (available 24/7/365) who will be happy to connect attendees on your behalf.
  • Using the free Connect app — Both you and participants can use the free Connect app to connect to your global conference calls. This option bypasses the need for an access number all together (dial-out rates apply), making it a great choice for attendees in countries with high calling rates or excessively long access numbers. It also gives you greater control over all of your conference calls. This free app is available upon activation of one of our international conference calling plans.

With low per minute rates, a reliable, high quality global network, support for more than 100 countries, and no contracts, connecting with people from around the world in a conference call has never been easier.

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