Business and organizations around the world have begun utilizing conference calls and video calls at a much higher rate in 2020 due to the influx of remote workers. They are an essential tool for communicating, especially when everyone cannot be in the same office space. One thing many companies around the world are seeing, is that working remote and communicating remotely can help a team function just as well as in-person work.
An effective conference call can allow teams to do more in less time and with fewer resources (time, energy, and money) wasted. Let take a look at 8 specific tips for leading an effective conference call, allowing you to get more done when needed.
Before The Call
1. Have an agenda
An easy way to kickstart the conversation, stay organized, and keep everyone on track is to offer an agenda. Sending the agenda ahead of time will give the participants a good idea of the timeline and flow of the conference call. By sending it early, you also give participants the opportunity to add new items onto the agenda if they have something important to add. You can control the meeting better and avoid wasting time by having an agenda.
2. Understand your software/hardware
Making sure that you fully understand the software and hardware that you will be using during your conference call is essential. Learn where all the buttons are located ahead of time. Even hopping onto a “test conference” before the actual call can be helpful, especially if you are utilizing video features.
3. Decide the parameters
In addition to #2, you should also set up and decide the parameters ahead of time. Things can get awkward if some people are sharing video and some aren’t. Make in known what you want from your participants, how you want audio to be shared, and what the schedule looks like. If it’s a larger call covering multiple topics, decide how you want specific people to be involved, or if you will need scree sharing materials and presentations.
4. Join ahead of the set time
As the leader of the conference call, you should always be the first one on. Having things set up and organized before people start joining is crucial. No one wants to be waiting around after the start time for you to be uploading your presentation or figuring out how to share your screen. Be smart, and be prepared! Engage in some small talk as participants start joining, and then wait until everyone is on for the formal introduction and start.
During The Call
5. State agenda & make introductions
Start the meeting by stating the agenda and making introductions. Share your screen with the agenda up if it is a video call, or ask everyone to pull it up and follow along if it is a phone call. Make introductions and take a roll call so everyone knows who else is on the call if that is something important. This can be skipped if it is a regular meeting with the same participants as always, or if it is a larger conference and the participants don’t need to know introductions for the other participants.
6. Refer to people by name
If it is a both way conference call where people will be asking questions and engaging in conversation, be sure to refer to people by name so everyone is aware of who is asking questions or engaging in specific conversations. This will help everyone feel more involved, and keep things organized and less confusing.
7. Make time checks throughout the conference call
If you’re the one who sent out an agenda, people are going to be expecting you to stick to it. Make sure you keep an eye on the time throughout the conference call to avoid messy time limits, or running out of time at the end. If you announce the time while you are moving from topic to topic it will keep things extra organized and also give people a little reminder of where you are at in the meeting.
8. Conclude properly
When it is time for the meeting to conclude, make the conclusion good. Wrap things up, summarize anything that people may need to touch back on, and hand out responsibility if necessary. If this is a recurring conference call, remind all of the participants on when the next meeting date and time is.
Leading a conference call can seem like a scary position to be in, but if you come prepared, have an organized agenda, and feel comfortable with the calling software ahead of time, everything else will fall into place. Check out a related article on why conference calls are pushing business travel out of the spotlight: Using Video Conferencing Instead of Business Travel.