CONFERENCE CALLING PROVIDERS
Phone Conference Calling
So you’ve {spin]scheduled|set up[/spin] a conference call, what next? Here are some ideas to make the most out of the time you spend in the teleconference.
Pick a Leader: Whether in person or on the phone your meeting needs a leader. The leader does not necessarily need to be the boss, but instead a person who can moderate the meeting by controlling who has the floor and keeping things running smoothly and on time.
Identify Yourself: Although many of the participants on the call may know your voice distortion in the telephone connection or bridge may render voice identification difficult or impossible. Get used to identifying yourself before you talk, at leastuntil everyone says they can recognize who is speaking.
Who’s Next? When meeting in person it’s common to use your eyes or body language to indicate who is expected to respond to a question or speak next. On the phone these tools are no longer available. When using conference calling you’ll need to verbally tell the person you wish to respond or speak next, such as… “Bill, what do you think of that plan?” or “Jacque, please tell us about last quarter.”
Keep it Together: It’s best to hand out a schedule prior to a conference call, both so that all the people involved knows what will be covered and can be prepared and so that nothing is forgotten.
Try printing out visual aides, graphics/diagrams and other handouts and giving them out to your participants before the call. These are great to explain what’s being talked about and are essential if you’re holding a call where most of the participants are in the same room and only a few remote callers are involved.
The remote attendees can feel very left out if they aren’t able to see the same visuals as the rest of the meeting.
Another trick for dealing with remote participants is to place their pictures, or even just a large sign with their names on it, in the main meeting room. Out of sight is out of mind and this way nobody will forget to include the remote callers in the meeting.
Many cheap conferencing vendors also have an option to have the call recorded, and a copy of a well managed meeting can prevent a lot of questions and mistakes down the road.
Cheap conferencing does not have to mean a cheap meeting. Do all the things you already know you should do for a great meeting, and add in a few of these tips to adapt to the conference call style!