For many companies, conference calls have become a vital element in their business by keeping employees and customers up-to-date on various happenings while cutting down on travel time. However, when managing a call with so many people on the line, several mistakes will lower the productivity of the call.
By following these simple tips, you can increase efficiency and ensure more participation on your next conference call.
Agenda and Schedule
Planning ahead will set your call off on the right foot and keep everyone on the same page. Let participants know the beginning as well as the end time of the call. Prepare and distribute your agenda to all participants of the call at least 24 hours in advance. This will allow sufficient time for everyone to look over the agenda, as well as prepare any questions or other documents they may need.
Schedule the most important points of the conference call at the beginning. This way, if the call runs out of time, you will have discussed the most important topics first.
Additionally, before the conference call, ask a few key participants to warm up on particular subjects. Inform them ahead of time about questions you may be asking. This way, you will avoid putting people on the spot and your moderator won’t be doing all the talking.
Making the Call
Gather the materials you will need for your call long before dialing in. Find a quiet place free of distractions and background noise. When possible, avoid using a cell phone. It can be quite distracting for you as well as the participants when there is a poor signal.
Start On Time
It’s very important that your call starts as scheduled. Everyone values their time, so show respect by doing your part to dial in and begin the meeting on time. Doing so will also build confidence that future meetings will start on time. This will cut down on members feeling a need to multi-task, as they will trust the meeting will be beneficial and timely.
Set the Stage
When the call has started, begin by first identifying everyone by name, remind callers of the scheduled end time and let them know when and how questions will be answered to avoid people talking over one another.
Ask callers to disable their call waiting. This will help you avoid listening to hold music and beeps during the call. For larger groups, ask callers to mute their phones unless they are speaking.
Laslty, make sure that all participating in the call have recieved and reviewed any special documents or files being discussed. Using a PDF creator to send these documents in PDF format is incredibly useful because they are so easily viewed by phone, tablet, or computer. The last thing you need is to find half way through the meeting that no one has reveiwed the necessary information because they couldn’t review the files.
Moderator Skills
It is the job of the moderator to keep everyone on track and redirect the group when necessary. The moderator can get everyone involved by asking direct questions to individual participants. Instead of asking, “Are sales improving,” try “Mary, why do you think your sales team had such success this past quarter?”
Verbal Cues
Your conference call will likely be over the phone without the use of video. If so, remember people can’t see nodding or other verbal cues. Let them know you are listening by saying “Yes, I understand” or “I see your point.” This can go a long way toward the flow of the conversation.
Additionally, when there is a large group of callers, or you are speaking with others who are unfamiliar with your voice, state your name each time you share something and ask them to do the same.
Ending the Call
Be sure to end your call at the scheduled time. If it seems time will run out before reaching the end of the agenda, begin to wrap things up five minutes early and schedule a follow-up to discuss the final topics.
Give a quick recap of assignments and exchange contact info for further questions and project development.
By making these modifications to your conference calls, you will see an increase in participation and efficiency, which will naturally lead to increased productivity.
Jared Jaureguy is an independent technology consultant. You can find him on Twitter @JaredJaureguy