Know Your Teleconferencing Best Practices
By Sarah Schmelling
Most of us don't pay a lot of attention to the way we present ourselves over the phone. It's just something we do every day. But all of the little things we might take for granted in a regular conversation—call waiting interruptions, a dog barking, even breathing hard while listening to another person—all become much bigger problems when a meeting is under way.
So what are the right and wrong ways to conduct a teleconference? Susan Friedmann, author of “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies,” and director of the site, TheTradeShowCoach.com, has several suggestions for overcoming teleconferencing pitfalls.
Many Guidelines for Leaders
First, there are many guidelines for the meeting leader or chairperson to follow during the call. At the start, Friedmann says, always take a roll call so that everyone knows who is involved and listening. It's also important to begin with enthusiasm, setting the tone for an upbeat and positive meeting. Then, give participants the basic rules for the call, including time limits and basic etiquette points.
Other suggestions include keeping an eye on the clock at all times, pausing periodically throughout the conference to get feedback and, on long calls, scheduling five- to 10-minute breaks. Always end the teleconference clearly, Friedmann says. "Briefly go over what was discussed, clarify any action the participants need to take and, finally, instruct them to hang up."
As far as "etiquette" goes, what exactly does it mean to have manners during a teleconference? According to Friedmann, one "do" during a meeting is to use your telephone's mute button, if there is one. "Background noise—the dog barking, radio, etc.—could be a problem for other participants," she says.
Even Consider Your Breathing
Then, consider how heavy you breathe. "Most of the heavy breathers don't realize it," she explains, so remember to hold the phone's mouthpiece away from your mouth and nose. "This sounds pretty silly," Friedmann says, "But when you're on a call with a heavy breather, you'll understand why this matters."
Other etiquette rules include turning the ringer off of second phone lines and disabling call waiting, not using speakerphones unless you also use the mute button, and putting pets in another room—especially if you're on a larger call. Friedmann also suggests callers wait to "share" or start talking until they are prompted, and when they do begin to speak, to give their name.
In addition, let the group leader be the "traffic cop." "If another caller says something that you want to comment on or ask more information about, go through the leader, don't speak to the person directly," she says. Always direct your questions to specific people to avoid confusion, and, if you come in late to a call, just be silent until you understand what's being discussed, and wait to ask questions—they may have been asked before you joined the call.
One big "don't," Friedmann says, is putting your phone on hold during a teleconference. Doing this could force the other participants to listen to background music or other sounds, effectively ruining the meeting. Of course, if there is an emergency, you can always put the phone down or simply leave the call.
Infinite Conferencing Can Help
Infinite Conferencing is happy to help its clients conduct successful teleconferences. Michelle Barnes, director of operations for the Millburn, N.J. company, says they make "every effort to educate our clients and make sure they are fully comfortable with our services before they are put to the test."
The ways they do this is first, upon account setup, to email clients conferencing instructions (for both phone and Web), and provide live, one-on-one demonstrations.
To add to this, Infinite's Support Staff is "made up of Best of Breed professionals, who are highly trained and available for technical assistance," she says. "We are delighted that our clients recognize our services as being user friendly, and our staff as customer friendly."
So to make sure your next meeting is as successful as possible, just remember to go in with this kind of assistance and education, a clear understanding of etiquette, and—of course—Fido safely moved to another room.
About the Author
Sarah Schmelling is a Los Angeles-based correspondent for ConferencingNews. She can be reached via email at journalists@BeTuitive.com.
