In our increasingly connected world, it’s easier and cheaper than ever to meet via conference call. And the rules on how to conduct, and participate in, those meetings are quite different from those we attend in person.
Because there may be many more people on the call than could fit comfortably in a meeting space, it’s very easy to have a conference call spin out of control. Below are some tips to help keep that from happening, and keep people from falling asleep at the switch!
Conference calls do’s and don’ts
- Call in early. If your call includes a web presentation, you will not only have to dial into the call itself, but also input a bunch of numbers to gain access to the webinar. There is nothing worse than making an error and having to start all over again. It’s aggravating and will make you anxious.
- Disable call waiting. Most systems allow you to send your incoming call directly to voice mail if you hit *70. If you forget to do so, and answer the incoming call, you could disable the bridge-line connection for everyone on the call.
- Introduce yourself as soon as the call is live, and as soon as there is “space” to do so. Say “hello” and give your name.
- If you’re late, be silent until you come up to speed. If your arrival on the call isn’t acknowledged by the moderator, wait until there is a break in the conversation, then introduce yourself. And it’s good manners to apologize for being late!
Another point: Please don’t ask for a recap of everything that’s gone on ahead of your arrival. You’ll need to catch up later. And you may end up asking questions that have already been covered, which (a) makes you sound like a dummy and (b) wastes everyone’s time.
- Mute your phone if you are in a noisy area. While most webinar providers allow moderators to mute all participants, you may be on a call that allows for (or encourages) your comments. If so, remember that background noises — barking dogs, screaming kids, TV, etc. — for some reason are always louder on conference calls. Most phones these days have a mute button; if not, press *6 to mute your phone, and *6 to unmute.
- No speaker phones, please! These are annoying enough when there are just two people on a call, but when you have a dozen or more, it’s distracting and disruptive.
- Always ask for permission to speak. If the point of the meeting is to give and get feedback, as opposed to just presenting information, and you want to say something, start by identifying yourself to the moderator. Say, “John, this is Mary,” for example; wait to be acknowledged, and then speak.
- Always go through the moderator. Maybe someone has just said something you’d like to comment on. Use the same process as above. Don’t comment directly to the previous speaker; let the moderator be the traffic cop. You can say something like, “John, this is Mary. Could I get some clarification around that last point?” This is especially important if there are more than a handful of people on the call.
Do you have a conference call coming up? Feel free to share these tips.