So! Conference calling! Is it an art? Or is it science with the specified formula to master it? Well, that’s a topic of debate which is best kept closed. However, a conference call is one in which more than two parties are involved at the same time. It is when the caller, calls up more than a single opponent to talk to or discuss a particular plan. It is majorly classified into two parts, one in which all the callers linked up to the call can participate in the conversation and provide valuable input and the other where the people who have been called, merely gets to listen to a pre-recorded call on the phone.
Be it science or be it arts, conference calls definitely requires certain set of skills to be performed successfully. You may want to blame it on the technology, but with the advancement of technology in the field of communication, conference calls have become an inevitable part of modern business, where several parties all over the world would just need to connect over phone in order to discuss a new idea or venture. It prevents the time lapse due to travelling to a selected venue in order to meet the others. It saves time as well as allows the various involved parties to talk to each other, just like they would in case of an actual meeting.
We will take the opportunity of this article to provide you with some of the best trips and tricks so that you can conduct a conference call with perfect ease.
- Smile: A conference call is just like you are presenting something on stage or on a visual platform. However, if you are on the phone, the other parties will not be able to see your phase, but if you are smiling while describing your content, the positive energy is sure to reverberate through your words. So whenever you are on a conference call with others, make sure you smile and it will be reflected in your voice.
- Energy: While you are engaged in a conference call, people may not be able to see your face, but they will be hearing your voice and it acts as a mirror of your expressions. So if you are really into an idea or excited about a venture, make sure your voice reflects the energy. This will help you to get back the same level of energy in response to your contents.
- Be Yourself: Conference calls help you to save a lot of time on travelling as you can set up a meeting with delegates all over the world by just sitting at your office. You can invest a certain part of this saved time to enhance the quality of your conference call. Avoid trying to impersonate someone while you are on call and be yourself as much as possible and this will help you to set up a rapport with your delegates over phone.
- Focus: As you do not have to go through all the hassles of setting up an actual meeting, you could invest or focus all this saved time and energy into the meeting which is being held over the conference call. Providing valuable input in the things being discussed will make sure that your partners are aware of your interest in the venture which will ultimately gain you accolades and profits.
- Technology:Technology is one of the most powerful weapons when it comes to conference calls. Before you plan to set up a conference call, make sure that you are well educated about the technology you will be using to do the same. Dial up early and check the various settings of the technology you are using so that you do not have to waste time or miss part of the meeting while the conference call is on.
- Plan: Before you are setting up a conference call, make sure you have planned what the agenda of your call is and who are the members who need to be on the call. If you feel that a certain person or team is useless to the agenda of the call, feel free to drop him from the conference call list in order to ensure a better meeting.
- Set Objectives: As soon as you get on the conference call and the introduction of the various participants are done (if needed), you need to set up the objective of the particular conference call by discussing it with everyone. You need to understand the fact that a conference call is like a meeting (which is being held over a phone and is devoid of the physical presence of the participants at a room) and not some kind of speech delivery, so the various participants needs o have input into the call i.e. it should be multidirectional.
- Respond Well: When you are on a conference call, there are high chances that your attention will be drifting elsewhere as the calls may be pretty lengthy. However, being on the phone gives you a huge opportunity to manage the situations. Never apologize by saying “I’m sorry, could you please repeat?” Instead try to manage the situation by claiming that you weren’t very clear on the discussed bit and hence it needs further explanations for better understanding.
- Set Rules: like all meetings, conference calls should also have a set of rules which should be followed in order to make the process smooth. Make sure that all the participants are well aware of the rules. The basics however, are that a person speaks at a time and interruptions are to be kept at a minimal.
- Advanced Notice: Make sure the participants and organizer have prior information so that they can prepare for the conference call.
We hope that the information provided to you in this article will aid you to set up a conference call with utmost ease and allow you to flourish in your purpose.