Whether youâ²re meeting with a remote team or a foreign client, a phone conference is a great way for teams to overcome distance and connect. But if youâ²re not careful, phone conferences can easily turn into long, drawn-out time wasters, and people will dread attending your meetings.
But if you run your phone conferences properly, youâ²ll not only get enthusiastic responses to your meeting requests, youâ²ll also be able to hold enjoyable and effective meetings that arenâ²t a total waste of peopleâ²s time.
1. Remember Everyone
Unless your manager is lurking in a phone conference incognito, itâ²s only polite to let the other party know just who is in the room with them. You donâ²t even need to be all that specific. Just a name and job title is okay. Thereâ²s no need to let them know youâ²re breaking in the new guy unless they find that information important.
2. Respect the Mute Button
Iâ²ve been in a couple of meetings where the guy manning the phone conferencing unit used the mute button liberally. Heâ²d mute our end of the conversation and make snide comments about the other party while they were still speaking. It got a laugh from our side of the room, but it was very disrespectful. And can you imagine what wouldâ²ve happened if he thought the phone was muted when it actually wasnâ²t? That wouldâ²ve caused real problemsand even lost business.
If you want to talk to your team in private, save it for after the call. If it canâ²t wait, then let the other party know that you need to briefly consult with your team.
3. Be On the Same Page
I cringe whenever I hear someone ask what are we going to talk about? If you donâ²t know what youâ²re meeting about, why did you accept the invite? Send an agenda prior to every meeting, and if youâ²re discussing a document, make sure you both have the same version. This minimizes any verbal stumbles and keeps the meeting focused, which is a great way of keeping peopleâ²s attention.
4. Be Considerate
Always remember to be polite. At a phone conference, you donâ²t have body language to communicate interest. Instead, you have to do it by keeping silent while other people are talkingno talking, no shuffling papers, and no tapping on the keyboard (unless youâ²re taking notes). Donâ²t interrupt people in mid-sentence, and try not to be too loud, either.
5. Watch the Clock
Itâ²s easy to lose track of time when youâ²re in a phone conference because everyoneâ²s attention is focused on the phone at the center of the table. But do try to keep a watch handy, and respect peopleâ²s commitments. Allow people to bow out gracefully if they have to leave in the middle of a meeting, and do offer to continue the meeting at another time if it looks like it will run long.
Do you have other tips for a great phone conference? Share them in the comments below!