Skype Conference Calls - How to start one
August 13th, 2008Skype Conference calls are limited to 25 people.
There are different ways of starting a conference call depending on where you want to start a call from.
- If you want to start a conference call with random contacts on your contact list, click on “conference” Just above your list of contacts.
- If you want to start a conference call from a Public Chat Room, go to “Options” and click on “Conference Call”
A new window will open with a list of your contacts - either all your contacts, or the Public Chat Room Contacts, depending on where you are starting the call from. When you double click on the names of the contacts you want to add, their names will appear in the right hand window next to your contact list. If you accidentally added an incorrect name, click on the name and then click “REMOVE”, and the name will be removed from the list.
When you have added everyone who wants to participate, click on “START” below the list of contacts to start calling everyone. It will take a while for everyone to answer. During the call you can use the same options as in any other Skype-to-Skype call. (E.g. You can click on a contact to view their profile, see your chat history, or send a file.) You can add more people while you are busy on the call up to the limit of 25 in total.
Unlike in another Conference Room situation, where you need to click on the talk button to be able to speak, anyone may talk at any time on a Skype Conference Call.
TIP: All background noises can be heard on a Skype Call, so if you are in a place with a lot of noise (like kids crying or construction work going on) you can mute your microphone by clicking on the mic sign in the lower left corner of your main Skype window that appears when the call is started. You can see that it is muted by a notification that appears above the microphone sign - “Microphone Muted”. To un-mute, click on the same picture of the microphone again and you will be able to talk. This action is merely to prevent background noise being a distraction to others.
To end the conference click the big red button. A confirmation window will open first, so you can’t end the call by accident.