Skype was founded in 2003. It’s based in Luxembourg, with offices in Europe, the US and Asia. Responsible for 8% of global international calling minutes, and with its users making 3.1 billion minutes of calls to landlines and mobiles in the third quarter of 2009, Skype is a leading global Internet communications company. Millions of people use Skype these days for communicating virtually however many people overlook the basics when setting up a Skype account and using it and therefore do not get the best out of it. Here are our top ten tips for getting the most out of Skype using their free service.

1. Sound check. OK so you have signed up for an account and downloaded the software, you think you are ready to go. Nope! First of all check your sound quality by using the online test service. Simply add ‘echo123′ to your contacts and this will enable you to check your sound. You are no good to anyone if they cannot hear you.
2. Buy a decent headset. Whilst thinking of the age old saying ‘you get what you pay for’, you really do with headsets. Yes you can buy cheap headsets (and we are talking about the ones with the microphones attached here!) from pound shops and other cheap stores but come on, you are getting Skype for free, at least invest a little in your headset. A good quality headset will make all the difference as your voice and sound will be clear, providing you with ease of listening and the person on the other end of the call a clear voice to listen to.
3. Add a picture. We are nosey, it’s human nature. We want to see who we are chatting to, so don’t be shy and add a mugshot of yourself.
4. Fill in your profile. I cannot tell you how many people I talk to who have not completed their profile. If you call me out of the blue, I want to know who you are. Your clients and customers will be thinking the same thing about you, so by completing your profile, all the info is to hand.
5. Add a message. You will see a place next to your photo where you can add a little message. This is extremely handy if you run a business as you can add your website address in there. It also helps identify you from other people easily on someones contact list as this message is shown there too.
6. Rename your contacts. Some people, for reasons only known to them, choose a username that bears no relevance to who they are or what they do. So for ease of use and your own sanity, rename your contacts in your contact list to a more sensible name by right clicking on the name and choosing ‘rename’.
7. Import your contacts. If you don’t want to spend hours manually adding each contact by hand (and who would?) import your contacts from your web based email account, Facebook or other online places.
8. Link your Skype username. Add your Skype username to your emails, forum signatures, business cards, website, Facebook, MySpace etc where ever you would normally show your contact details, add your Skype username.
9. Set your settings. Sometimes the default settings are not the best for you so have a good play with the settings in the Tools > Options page.
10. Sort your contacts by group. Last but not least, by changing the way you view your contact list and setting the contact list to show those who are online first in a group you can see at a very quick glance who is online and who is not. If you have the contact list showing in ‘name’ order it can be hard to see who is online quickly if you have a large contact list.
11. OK so I lied, it’s really 11 top tips, but hey, you get a free one ;) Conference calling. By adding callers to ‘call groups’ you can run conference calls either by voice or text, very handy if you work in a team.

So there you go, hope these tips help. Want to Skype me? Just add me at sally.walker.uk :)