Before you conduct a conference call, it's recommended that you go through a checklist to make sure that everything is in order. These checklist items fall into two time periods: shortly before a conference call and one or more days before. The collective checklist is split up into two categories, as indicated below.

1. Place and time.
   Is a meeting room required for local participants and if so, has it been booked? Is it is easy to get to and from? If it is not located in the same building as local participants work in, will getting to and from it affect the rest of their work day? Can the meeting be scheduled for the beginning or the end of the day to reduce parking problems?
   
   
2. Equipment.
   Does the room have the appropriate audio conferencing equipment and telecommunication lines? Will a laptop be necessary for visual presentations? What about for taking minutes? Power bars and extension cords? Overhead projectors? Who will bring this equipment and return it after the meeting? Can they be obtained with the room?
   
   
3. Communications.
   Is an Internet connection required in the meeting room and does it have one? Have the conference line, speaker phone, and Internet connection been tested?
   
   
4. Remote view.
   Will visual presentations be viewable by remote participants, or will they have to rely on previously forwarded documents, either by email, fax or delivered in printed form? Will this be sufficient for their participation in the meeting?
   
   
5. Comfort.
   If the meeting is to be over 30 minutes, are the meeting room seats comfortable? Uncomfortable seats distract participants and potentially cause neck or back problems. Either could mean more breaks, thus possibly prolonging a meeting and the costs of the teleconference.
   
   
6. Convenience.
   Are there tables in the meeting room at which participants easily take notes, either on paper or on a laptop? At the least, the meeting minutes taker should have a convenient spot.

1. Timing.
   Have time zones been taken into consideration? If remote participants are located in distant time zones, their ability to attend the conference call may be reduced. Has a time been settled and this communicated to intended participants?
   
   
2. Invitations and attendance.
   Has everyone that should be participating been invited? Have invitees acknowledged their intent to attend, or will the meeting have to be rescheduled due to a key participant unable to meet? (Web-based tools like Google Calendar are free and events shareable, making the scheduling of meetings far simpler.)
   
   
3. Meeting moderation.
   Has a moderator been assigned? Moderators play an important role in facilitating meetings, making sure that speakers are introduced and that other participants have a say when necessary.
   
   
4. Minutes taking.
   Has a meeting minutes taker been assigned? While the moderator and minute taker should be different people, sometimes this is not an option.
   
   
5. Conference details.
   Have all remote participants been properly informed and given access to the call? Do the they have the teleconference phone number, the extension, and any required passcodes? This may be an issue if the teleconference is booked at the last minute. If a participant has to make a long distance call to reach the conference number, have they been given the work authorization to do so?