Have you ever been one of the first to turn up for a party where you don\u2019t know many other people apart from the hosts? Once a drink has been thrust into your hand, you\u2019re left to try and make stilted conversation as no-one ever knows quite when to speak or what to say – well conference calling can be a lot like that.<\/p>\n
Apart from having a drink thrust into your hand\u2026<\/p>\n
But it doesn\u2019t have to be – simply follow our three top tips below for proper conference call<\/a> etiquette.<\/p>\n But first…<\/p>\n If you’re distracted on a call, there’s a good chance you’ll miss vital details and need to get them repeated to you at some point. This will interfere with the agenda and the call may overrun or might not cover everything that was intended.<\/p>\n When on a conference call, you don’t have the physical cues of an in-person meeting, so you need to observe proper conference call etiquette to make sure the call goes as planned.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re late for a meeting, you feel obliged to do that apologetic, slightly hunched walk as you enter the room, all the while looking for an inconspicuous place to sit where you can clatter around getting your papers ready further disrupting the meeting.<\/p>\n Being late for a meeting i pretty bad form and won\u2019t endear you to anyone, and the same is true for a conference call – you may not have to put up with the disapproving stares but you\u2019ll still feel the brow-beating if you click into the conference part way through the call.<\/p>\n And while it\u2019s up to you to make sure you\u2019re not late, if you\u2019re chairing the meeting you can do your bit to minimize disruption, for instance, use a conference call provider that offers free SMS reminders<\/a> 15 minutes before the conference starts and then let participants know that if they are going to be late, then join the conference in 5 minute increments from the start time – this is a good way to minimize disruptions.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, many people don\u2019t treat conference call meetings as seriously as their face-to-face boardroom equivalents and so may not prepare quite as thoroughly as they should do and may even use the call as an opportunity to extend their lunch break.<\/p>\n Conference calls are a convenient and cost-effective way to get people together to discuss important business matters and so they should be treated with the same level of importance as any other meeting – this means preparing as you would for a face-to-face meeting, paying attention and not stuffing your face while discussing strategies.<\/p>\n Although you can\u2019t see the other people involved in a conference call, this doesn\u2019t mean that you can\u2019t hear everything everyone is doing – those receivers can be pretty sensitive.<\/p>\n So if you are going to be doing other things while on the conference call, such as typing, taking notes or sorting other business matters (not eating!) then make sure you hit the mute button so that everyone else doesn\u2019t hear the click-clacking of your keyboard or you shouting out instructions to other office workers.<\/p>\n However, it\u2019s important to keep paying attention to the call and remember to unmute the phone when it\u2019s your turn to talk!<\/p>\n Here are an extra 7 top tips in this short video.<\/p>\nWhy is conference call etiquette important?<\/h2>\n
Three tips for conference call etiquette<\/h2>\n
1. Be on time<\/h3>\n
2. Be prepared<\/h3>\n
3. Be aware of the mute button<\/h3>\n