8 Mistakes You Should Avoid on Your Next Conference Call
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When planning a conference call, many businesses make the same mistakes. They book an inconvenient time, fail to prepare and end up wasting time discussing logistics rather than reaching a decision on key issues. Without fail, these calls are also plagued by too many tangents and unhelpful side comments. And at some point, someone invariably asks whether anyone’s listening—just before hanging up in embarrassment. With that in mind, here are some dos and don’ts when it comes to organizing your next conference call:
8 Mistakes You Should Avoid on Your Next Conference Call
#1. Don’t book an inconvenient time
The first Mistakes You Should Avoid on Your Next Conference Call is don’t book an inconvenient time.
If you’re going to be productive, you need to select an appropriate meeting time. But choosing a meeting slot is not always straightforward. Since most companies operate on a 9-to-5 schedule, you’ll probably find yourself constrained to those hours. However, you should also consider your attendees’ time zones and scheduling conflicts. You definitely don’t want to put people in a position where they have to rush to attend or leave early due to other commitments. You also don’t want to have a meeting slot that’s so early that it throws off attendees’ circadian rhythms and makes them groggy.If you’re prone to having long meetings, you’re more likely to encounter attendance issues. So to avoid unnecessary distractions, you may want to schedule shorter meetings more often.
#2. Don’t forget to prepare
The next Mistakes You Should Avoid on Your Next Conference Call is don’t forget to prepare ahead of the conference
Before booking your conference call, you should always review your goals and objectives. Are you trying to reach a decision? Or is the call meant to build consensus? You should also prepare questions and make sure you have all the right people on the call. It’s also a good idea to prepare a list of action items that your team can take away from the call. You can even send out a document ahead of the call to help everyone prepare.If you’re leading the meeting, you should always come prepared with an agenda. And if you’re facilitating a meeting, you should encourage agenda items. But if you’re facilitating a meeting where the agenda is off the rails, you should encourage a return to the agenda.
#3. Don’t let tangents derail the meeting
Conference calls can be chaotic and unstructured. If you don’t take steps to keep things on track, you’re more likely to navigate a side discussion. To avoid this, you should create a culture of disciplined dialogue. And the best way to do that is by setting clear expectations for how people should participate in the call.You can set expectations by sending out a meeting pre-call checklist. You can also set guidelines for what you expect participants to discuss. You can even ask people to sign a virtual contract and hold them accountable to abiding by it. You can also decide when and how to interrupt a commentary.You should also set ground rules on topics where diverging conversations are likely:
#4. Don’t hesitate to use a mute button
Whenever a conversation becomes irrelevant or off-topic, you should consider pressing the mute button. You can also press the mute button when you need to take notes. Some meeting leaders may feel hesitant to use the mute button because they want to model good behaviour. While that’s commendable, you’ll also want to discourage the rest of the group from interrupting the person who was being muted.Some meeting leaders choose to mute themselves, which is a nice gesture. But others may simply want to press the mute button, even if it means interrupting their own conversation.
#5. Don’t forget to set boundaries on off-topic discussions
If you want to avoid an off-topic discussion, you can set boundaries early on. You can do so by asking for participation and by clearly stating the meeting’s agenda. If a topic doesn’t directly align with your meeting objectives, you should politely let the group know.You can also set boundaries by creating a culture of disciplined dialogue. You can do this by setting expectations for how people are supposed to participate. And you should also be prepared to re-direct a conversation and bring it back to the agenda.
#6. Don’t forget to enforce your ground rules.
Even if a side discussion is both relevant and valuable, you should still enforce boundaries. If a conversation starts to stray, you should be prepared to re-direct it. You can do so by thanking the group for the discussion and then moving back to the agenda.You should also keep an eye on the clock. If your meeting has gone on too long, you should let the group know that you’re coming up to the end of your scheduled meeting time.
#7. Don’t assume everyone knows what you mean.
If you’re leading a meeting that involves remote participants, you may be tempted to assume that your team knows everything you mean. And you may feel tempted to speak slowly and use simple language. But you should resist that urge. When you lead a meeting, you want to speak clearly and use language that everyone can understand.Your words should be precise and convey the right sentiment. Remember that even though your attendees are in the same room, they may be listening on different devices. So to be as clear as possible, you can use a bit of humor. You can also ask your team to repeat back what they heard in order to make sure everyone is on the same page.
#8 Don’t forget to prepare an agenda.
The last of the 8 Mistakes You Should Avoid on Your Next Conference Call is don’t forget to have an agenda
You should always prepare an agenda when you’re hosting a conference call. And you should share it with everyone who will be on the call. The agenda should include the meeting’s purpose, the expected outcomes and the meeting format. When you’re leading a meeting, your agenda should reflect your discussion style. You should make sure that you’re ready for any tangents that could derail your meeting. You should also be prepared for questions, objections and comments.
Now that you know what mistakes to avoid when hosting a conference call, you can have more productive meetings. And with these tips, you can avoid common pitfalls that derail meetings.
READ: 10 Must-Dos and 3 Tips for Planning an Effective Conference Call
Do your best to keep these 10 Mistakes You Should Avoid on Your Next Conference Call in mind when planning.
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