It’s frustrating trying to explain a written document to someone who can’t see it. Even more so when you’re trying to give a presentation while on a conference call and everyone else is trying to open your slides. As annoying as all of that can be, there is a better way with Windows NetMeeting. Just five steps will keep you and your conference calls from falling apart.

Anyone with Microsoft Windows can use it to get things back on track. It can be used on anything everything from presentations to group chats to collaborative editing of documents. Literally working with people around the world, resources can be pooled to make conference calls fast, productive, and maybe even fun. Using a simple IP address, NetMeeting is a complete Internet conference call solution for all Windows users.

These capabilities allow you to make conference calls and share information between two or more participants in real-time. Two ways that the information comes in can be either directly from applications and files on your computer as other participants watch your movements, or you can send files to them using the binary file transfer capability.

Free and available to Windows users anywhere, NetMeeting 3 is included in Windows 2000 and Windows XP. You can also download NetMeeting. Once the simple registration process is done (which takes just minutes), you're ready!

The first time saving feature of the NetMeeting conference call solution, helps you collaborate with shared files, since conference calls usually have several participants who all need to see the same file at the same time. The second feature allows others to control your files. It’s not always easy to give up control of things in life, but with NetMeeting it's pretty simple. If someone else on the conference call needs to make adjustments to your shared file during the call, it's a quick process.

We all do it… chatting with others during the conference call! But sometimes, to help move a meeting along, it's necessary to chat with others while the presenter is speaking. NetMeeting's Chat feature can come in handy when you don’t want to interrupt the presentation, or you don't want everyone on the conference call to hear your comment.

Most meeting rooms have a large whiteboard or easel for drawing a few visuals to ensure that everyone is on the same page. The Whiteboard feature gives you a mini drawing program that allows you to create visual concepts with everyone on the phone watching. In this way, you can collaborate in real-time using graphics, and a variety of basic drawing elements allow you to create simple drawings in seconds.

Don't have time to wait for e-mail during your conference call if you decide to transfer a particular file to other conference call participants? Just transfer files through NetMeeting’s fifth time saving feature. Easily send files to individuals or everyone, as well as view files others send to you.

NetMeeting has additional features that are worth looking into, but the ones highlighted here can be used most often in day-to-day business. Try it out during your next conference call.