Conference Call Etiquette For A Business Meeting

Here, I will share my experience with you on the decorum required. I learnt what not to do from my first conference call and what to do from the second.

My first experience with a conference call was on sales strategy with corporate office. I logged into the conference bridge as per the agreed schedule, but soon realized that most of the other attendees were late. Some people I could not identify were talking, adding to the noise in the background. Some were even eating and drinking maybe tea or coffee, making the environment less than business-like. To top it all, I found the leader had no control over the proceedings. Needless to say, there was no outcome of the conference call. The whole session was unorganized, there were unnecessary arguments and misunderstandings and no decision could be taken

Soon there was a mail from VP- planning office, rescheduling the same conference to a week later. This time, there was a 7 point agenda for the conference call clearly listed, along with the expected duration of the call.

This is how my second experience with conference calls was, on the same issue with VP- planning as host:

The VP logged in on time and he introduced himself first along with other people who were with him. Surprisingly people from other offices were also logged in on time. I understood the role of punctuality in a conference call.

Secretary to the VP presented the agenda of the meeting, mentioning that she was going to be the time keeper of the meeting and that she was also responsible for circulating the minutes of the meeting.

Every body in the meeting this time was extremely well mannered, starting to talk only after stating his/her name. There was no back ground chattering. I realized that a quiet back ground is the key to good conference call.

Before we moved to the next topic on the agenda, the VP summarized the decision taken, issues still open for that topic and clearly mentioned who was responsible for closure of a particular open issue. Thus, we agreed on several issues in a short time span. I learnt that organizing and controlling is the basis of a successful conference call.

I noticed some people were going offline for few minutes after pressing the mute button in the conference bridge. This way, they were part of the conference call and yet able to discuss internally without disturbing others. This helped us to take clear decisions.

This time around, we were able to meet the agenda of the conference call.

After 2 days, I got a mail from the office of our VP-planning along with a small note on conference call etiquette.

Here are some helpful tips on "Conference Call Etiquette for A Successful Conference Call"

• Please participate in a conference call from a quiet room; there should not be any other surrounding noise.

• You should use good telephone equipment and should familiarize yourself with the same.

• You should log in on time and introduce yourself.

• Conference call is paid service and several people attend the call, so make optimum use of the time by remaining focused on the agenda.

I found this note extremely helpful. Did you?

I regularly update my site and blog on different aspects on conference calls.