Making a conference call or calling multiple people from a phone is important if you need to have a conversation with multiple friends at the same time or need to convene a business meeting without leaving your location. Most home phone systems and cell phones allow calls to be made between multiple parties. However, remember that each call is billed as a separate call, so conference calls can quickly use the minutes available on a cell phone plan. Additionally, you may incur long-distance charges if multiple call participants require a long-distance call.
Step 1
Call the first party. Once the call is initiated, inform the first party that you will be adding other callers to the line.
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Step 2
Dial the next party's number. If you are calling from a landline phone, press the "Flash" button on the phone to get a second dial tone. If you are using a cell phone, place the first party on hold and dial the second number or select it from your phone book. On smartphones (such as the iPhone and Palm models), an "Add Call" feature is available, which allows you to automatically put the first party on hold while you dial the second party. This feature appears on the screen when you are on a phone call.
Step 3
Verify the connection. Press the "Send" or "Talk" button and wait for the second party to pick up the phone. Once the second person answers, you may inform him that you will be adding the first party who you called in Step 1.
Step 4
Merge the calls. Once on the phone with the third party, press the Flash button again on a home phone to merge the two calls. On a cell phone, press the "Merge Calls" or "Three-Way Call" option on the screen.
Step 5
Verify the connection. Make sure that all parties can communicate with each other. If not, it may be necessary to abort and reattempt the conference call.
Step 6
Add additional parties. If your cell phone or home phone plan allows it, you can add more participants to your conference call. On a home phone, press the Flash button to get a dial tone, and continue adding parties by following Steps 2 through 4.
Step 7
Disconnect the call. As you initiated the conference call, your hanging up will force the call to end immediately. If other parties gradually hang up, they will be removed from the call, but all other participants remain connected.
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