As a conference call company, of course we can go on for days about the benefits of using conferencing for your business. The potential to use the features of a phone or web conference service to make life for employees more efficient, flexible, and productive is vast—according to many people who use it for their day-to-day communication and collaboration.
However, we’re not deaf to the common conception that conference calls are a “waste of time” or dreaded as an unproductive activity that takes one away from other important work. We get it! Just because the technology is useful doesn’t mean it’s going to be used in a productive, enjoyable way. Instead, it can become an event that just breeds boredom or fruitless arguments.
Here’s how to fix that. These are a few tips for conference hosts to deal with some of the common conflict surrounding conference calls, as well as make the call itself more efficient, enjoyable, and worthwhile—so you can be free of those negative opinions in the first place.
However, we’re not deaf to the common conception that conference calls are a “waste of time” or dreaded as an unproductive activity that takes one away from other important work. We get it! Just because the technology is useful doesn’t mean it’s going to be used in a productive, enjoyable way. Instead, it can become an event that just breeds boredom or fruitless arguments.
Here’s how to fix that. These are a few tips for conference hosts to deal with some of the common conflict surrounding conference calls, as well as make the call itself more efficient, enjoyable, and worthwhile—so you can be free of those negative opinions in the first place.
Use direct speech
Of course the key to any productive conversation is clear, direct, honest speech. But when it comes to conference calling, this requires a new sort of focus. In an in-person meeting, body language and eye contact go a long way in communicating nuances, complexities of information, and even sarcasm and jokes. And if an employee voices frustration or even anger, it’s a lot easier to convey emotional understanding to resolve the issue.
In a meeting where some or all of the participants join virtually via video or just audio, however, much of that nuance is lost. Jokes are misinterpreted, complex information isn’t communicated properly, and voices get mixed up and drown each other out when there aren’t faces to match them to. This can create conflict or animosity towards virtual meetings in general.
The key to combating this is to make an extra effort to convey all the emotional and physical cues of an in-person meeting with just your voice. Take the time to explain concepts more thoroughly, using multiple approaches or methods to dissect an issue. Listen patiently and ask for feedback from specific people if it seems like they might be getting drowned out on a conference or take issue with any of the content. Address negativity honestly and ask more questions to get to the root of the problem.
Narrow your focus
The main complaint of any one phone or web conference is simply that it is too long. Meetings and events that drag on, seem to veer away from the main topic or purpose, or just aren’t relevant or interesting to a significant portion of attendees are naturally going to be met with dread, boredom, or resentment.
It’s easy enough to say “Make your conferences shorter” as a solution to this problem. But how do you do that? To keep conferences short, productive, and relevant, your main objective should be to narrow the focus of your conference calls. There are a few ways to do that before, during, and after the call.
Before the conference, you should plan out a schedule for regular meetings or other events you hold virtually, and email clear information and reminders to your participants. Aim for more frequent conferences if it helps to shorten the duration of each.
Of course, most people don’t want to attend a meeting every day if they don’t have to. But it may be helpful to break up a regular weekly or monthly meeting that has become a catch-all for a lot of different issues. Try holding separate sessions for different departments or topics to help focus and shorten the content.
For instance, you could hold three 20-minute conferences focusing on different topics, goals, or departments in the same day or week. In the same amount of time it takes to hold a 1-hour conference that may drag on or not be relevant for many attendees, you will have effectively focused information into three digestible portions that need only be attended by those for whom it’s relevant.
During the conference, be diligent in sticking to your agenda and steering the flow of conversation to the points you need to cover. Keep to a timeline if you set one out for your attendees, and use feedback features like chat and polling to keep everyone engaged and on track. Designate a portion of the conference to Q&A to keep questions from running rampant.
That said, it can be natural and productive to go with the organic flow of questions and side topics that come up during a meeting. Your best bet is to address them wholeheartedly and briefly, without coming across as brushing anything under the rug. If it seems like a side topic is going to carry on at greater length, offer those that are interested in it to stay on after the conference is over, or schedule another time, to give your full attention to it.
After the conference, reach out to anyone who had more to say about a topic on the conference call or took issue with any of the content. Speak to them personally to show that you care and you listen, even on a big conference with a lot of voices and opinions.
If you’ve offered to stay online or on the phone with an employee or group of employees after the main conference is over, do so with a similar level of diligence toward moving the conversation along efficiently, but with an even greater degree of patience, as those that stick around are showing that they want and need to spend more time discussing an issue at length. Honor and support that by giving your time to hear them out.
Provide enjoyment with incentives
Lastly, the best way to counteract a negative view of conference calls is simply to make them fun! You don’t need to sacrifice professionalism or spend much extra time to offer a little incentive and thanks for your employees for showing up to a conference in the first place.
If you can, provide some sort of monetary incentive from time to time. Maybe a small bonus or gift card is made available to attendees, or everyone on a call is entered into a drawing and winners are announced at the end of the conference. Even if you only do this sporadically, it gets people dial in or login regularly if they never know when they might have a chance to get a little something extra.
Even if you can’t offer monetary value, you can still promote other perks to showing up on a call. Maybe a special guest speaker is available for questions and networking opportunities, or conference attendees get access to the first pick of assignments or other coveted information related to the business. Anything desirable to your participants will work well.
We hope these tips can help shift user experience away from some of the more negative stereotypes of conference calls and make them feel like a valuable use of time. With a little extra effort, you can ensure participants feel listened to and respected on conference calls, which is always a must in business. Learn more and start using web and phone conferencing more productively by checking out our quality services at Conference Calls Unlimited.