by Colleen McCarty, VP Talent & Organization

Remember the days when it was nothing to fly cross country for a 3-hour meeting? Sure, you tried to meet up with other colleagues or customers to fill up your day, but sometimes you went just for the one meeting. So yes, the ability to conduct business over conference calls is one of my favorite technological advances. I’m thankful that business culture has embraced the idea – or – perhaps conference calls are one silver lining of recessions!

However, there are times when I have to remind myself how much I love conference calls because they aren’t always pleasant:

• Barking dogs and crying kids. Bad enough but even when someone screams “be quiet” into your ear. Ouch.
• Participants who use the freedom of conference calls as an excuse to travel somewhere else, traffic noises, dead zones, and cops (in states with Bluetooth laws).
• Hold vs. Mute. If you need a minute to answer the door, put your phone on mute. Using hold frequently treats everyone else to your annoying Muzak service.

Here are some tips we can all benefit from:

Leading the Meeting:

• Do set up the meeting in advance and communicate the dial in number, passcodes, agenda, and any other information.
• Do manage the call as a real meeting. Prepare an agenda, take notes and send a wrap up email - especially if you want people to complete follow up actions.
• Do start the meeting on time. Determine who is present and don’t punish those who arrived on time by starting the call over or repeating what’s already been said. Make the latecomers figure out where you are on the agenda.
• Do close the meeting formally, thanking everybody for participating. Summarize next steps and send out to-do’s generated in the call.

Attending the Meeting:

• Do use the right phone in a quiet, undisturbed room. Don’t attend a call while taking a walk or driving (even if you are a passenger in a cab). It may be more convenient for you but it is disruptive (and annoying) for everyone else.
• Do join the call on time and if you are late, don’t monopolize the meeting by making excuses for why you are late. Simply announce yourself and listen to determine where the call is on the agenda.
• Do use the mute button appropriately and only when necessary. Then remember when you did mute the phone so you don’t cause everyone to wait while you fumble for the mute button.

For additional tips read Conference Call Etiquette – 15 Dos and Don’ts of Multi-Way Phone Conversations.