According to AccuConference, a communications blog, twice as many companies are communicating via audio- and videoconferencing than was the case five years ago. Between 2000 and 2006, the sales of conferencing equipment increased from $2.84 billion to $4.33 billion.
The use of conference calls by the coastal resource management community is following this trend. Coastal organizations want to expand their partnership efforts, yet travel budgets continue to shrink. What’s an organization to do?
Nothing can replace face-to-face interactions, but a conference call has become the next best thing. With a conference call, many of the standard meeting mores are the same—provide an agenda several days in advance, designate a facilitator to keep things on track, give everyone the opportunity to participate—but there are special nuances that both the people on the phone and the group in the conference room should be aware of.
When You Are the Caller
- Mute it. A visitor to your office, sirens in the background, a ringing cell phone—every unintended sound can disrupt the meeting and make the caller look (sound) less than professional. Just remember to undo the mute when you want to speak.
- Stay focused. Callers can answer e-mail while “participating” in the conference call, right? Wrong. Refrain from electronic grazing. For a meeting to be successful, everyone needs to participate, and that includes you, the caller.
- Speak up. Even though participating via the phone can be less than elegant, the meeting organizers asked you to participate for a reason, so don’t be shy about contributing to the discussion.
When You Are the Host
- Ask everyone to state their names. A roll call at the beginning of the meeting is a good idea. Writing down the names of the people on the phone will help the leader remember to call on them when appropriate. Asking everyone to state their names when they talk is also a good practice.
- Stick to the agenda. This rule is especially important for a conference call. Sidebar conversations, conversations that veer off course, and private jokes don’t help callers. Value their time.
- Encourage group participation. Call on those who are on the phone. Ask them to summarize what they are getting out of the meeting. If there is a moment or two of silence, or a lot of head nodding going on, tell the person on the phone what is happening.
- Don’t rustle papers or allow other distracting noises to be made.
- Provide all visuals in advance.
- Send the conference call-in number in advance. Have the participants’ phone numbers available so you can call them if there is a problem.
- Keep the call as short as possible. Conference calls can be very effective, but there is a limit to everyone’s endurance. Many professionals say 90 minutes should be the maximum.
With the proliferation of conference calls, good and bad meeting practices are becoming more obvious. Start paying attention to what works and what doesn’t, and vow to become the Emily Post of conference calling.
