Separate tracks let an editor work on each speaker. They also need a useful timing reference. A short shared cue can make it easier to see where recordings begin, especially when one person joins or starts recording later than another.
Make the cue clear
After everyone is recording, the host can count down and make one distinct clap or spoken cue. Ask participants to stay quiet around it. The goal is one easy-to-find event, not a long series of overlapping claps.
A remote participant hears that cue after network delay. Do not assume that all recorded peaks represent the same physical moment. Use the cue as a starting reference and check the conversation itself. Listen to a brief exchange and compare the spacing between questions and answers.
Label the cue in session notes if the tool provides markers or if you keep a separate note file. Tell the editor whether a participant restarted recording later.
Verify at more than one point
Check alignment near the beginning and again toward the end. If the tracks slowly move apart, that is a different problem from a fixed starting offset. Moving an entire track can correct a fixed offset; it does not automatically solve changing drift.
Leave the reference in the original files. Remove it only from the edited listening version. Before exporting, listen around the first real sentence to make sure the cue and count-in are gone without cutting the speaker's opening word. Keep a copy of the unedited tracks so the timing decision can be checked again if the editor later changes the structure.