20 Ways for making Conference calls effective so that everyone listens to each other

“I am good at listening in person but when it comes to listening on a conference call, I want to improve because my work involves having a lot of conference calls,” said Pratima, a participant in one of our “Listen to understand” workshops.

I surely gave her few tips from things I had read and from my experience. However, I felt more things could be added and that is the reason I started researching on this topic. This article is not just based on my research and experience but also of others - I had posted on LinkedIn asking people to share their views.

A Big Thank You to all the people who responded and shared their valuable input. I have shared their ideas by taking a screenshot and adding those pictures in the article wherever I found them relevant.

It’s a sad thing to observe that people take listening on phone for granted. We rarely multitask while listening in person but while on call, we always try to do some or other activity.

Therefore many points in this article will seem obvious but still, you will notice many ignoring them.

Today as the world is going virtual, many in-person meetings are getting replaced by the phone. In fact, even talking at certain places is substituted by chatting (learn to improve your listening skills while chatting - https://goo.gl/YBm1A3), but the voice will always be preferred over chatting when it comes to brainstorming, discussing over important issues or discussing things where more than two people are involved. That is why it becomes important to improve our listening skills on a con call.

These 20 guidelines will improve your listening skills on a concall. I have written all these guidelines from a conference call perspective, however many of these tips are also applicable to a call of just two people. (I have used the words call and concall interchangeably for my writing convenience)

Watch this video which in a funny way highlights how things go wrong on a concall if not organized properly- https://youtu.be/DYu_bGbZiiQ

I have broken the guidelines into 3 parts – Pre Concall, Concall and Post Concall

A- Pre concall requirement

A good communication takes place only when environment supports it. An in-person meeting, all people have the same background and so it’s the organizer’s job to make sure environment is peaceful. But on concall, everyone is in a different environment. Therefore it is necessary for everyone to follow these guidelines and not just for the organizer.

 1 – Peaceful environment

“Can you speak loudly? I can’t hear you as there isa lot of background noise.” I am sure you have complained about background noise in some call or the other. Plus it’s not convenient from the speaker point of view as s/he has to speak loudly and continuously avoid the noise and focus on the call. Therefore be in an environment where there is no/less background noise.

 2– Be in Range

“Can you repeat the last point again, sorry I could not hear you. What time you said? 8.30 am or pm?I could not get you, wait a sec… let me come in range and talk.” The call then goes on hold for few seconds and it disturbs the flow. Therefore before the call, make sure to be in the optimum range of your cellular network/Wifi.

3– No Travelling

Unless and until it’s an emergency, please avoid travelling. Because you might be in the right environment when the call begins but as you travel there is a chance of the next place being noise or having network issues.

 4 – Share the agenda

Sharing the agenda helps to keep the focus on the important topics. Agenda gives everyone the clarity what they can expect from the call and thus can prepare nicely. Make sure to share the agenda in detail and not just the main topic – “Rather than saying we need to discuss about social media marketing, also share what specific things to discuss in that – budgeting/work allocation/ content creation etc.” In case you need to share any document, please email them before. Before sharing, convert it into a document format which works in all operating system – Windows, IOS and Linux (In my experience pdf format works in all).

 5- Share the exact time and the time limit for the call

Knowing the exact time for the con-call, helps to manage other tasks accordingly. Knowing the time limit helps to prepare for the talk accordingly. If the meeting time is less, then keep your points short and share as many things as possible prior to call via Email. In case of having any doubts while others are speaking, but the time for the call is less, then unless it’s very important don’t ask your doubts on a con-call. You can ask that individual later via call or email. Similarl,y if the time limit is more, you can explain your points in detail and also ask doubts. Thus knowing the time limit helps to plan accordingly.

6 – Mentally rehearse the discussions

Assume the con-call is about discussing the new social media strategy, definite,ly one question which others will ask is – how is this better than previous one? And usual,ly the person answers in the format of - “This is definitely better than previous one? Umm… like… budget wise… (Silence foa r couple of seconds)… al,so reach wise... Umm…Al,so the content is engaging and …” in this way the person takes time to answer.

It’s not that this is a difficult question. It’s also clear that the person knows the answer but, it’s just the person did not prepare a clear cut answer for that question. From a listener’s point of view it becomes difficult to comprehend. Therefore, before the actual discussion, think about the questions which could be asked and prepare a reply for that.

7 – Keep pen and Paper ready

Raj – “Ruhi, you need to raise invoice on the name of Mr. Manoj Madanmohan, make sure to write his full name and not just Manoj.” Ruhi – “Wait a sec, let me get a pen and paper and write the name or else I may forget. Just hold for a sec (usually it takes 15-20 seconds for a person to find pen and paper). Hey can you please spell out his surname?”

This pause is unnecessary if Ruhi was ready with pen and paper is ready before the call. Plus pen and paper also helps to note down your views while others are speaking, more on that in point no. 15

8 – Mental calmness

First requirement of listening is paying attention. You can never do that if you are distracted by other thoughts. Therefore you need to calm your mind down before any important con call. Few things which can quickly help you to calm down are – writing down all your thoughts (this works for me), meditation or listening to a calm music.

 9 – Check Headphone/earphone mic distance

“Can you keep earphone mic a bit away from your mouth, I can hear your breaths” I have made this request many times (definitely in a polite way – it seems your headphone/earphone mic is too sensitive, can you please hold it a bit far from your mouth?”).Therefore please get hold it at an appropriate distance. If the earphone/headphone is new, then start your talk by asking – Is my voice audible and comfortable to listen?

 10 – Be 10 minutes before the con call time

“Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the face.” – Mike Tyson

No matter how carefully you plan, there might few last minute challenges. Sometimes, you just can’t find the earphones/headphones or writing material or sometimes there is some addition/deletion in call agenda at the last moment. Being before time gives you sufficient time to solve any problem and helps you to be relaxed.

All these seem to be a common sense tips but isn’t common sense less common these days? Once you have created the ideal atmosphere for listening, it’s time to discuss about the con-call.

Concall

In a concall someone should take the lead and make sure all the guidelines are followed. It can be the person who is organizing or any person who is willing to volunteer. In the following points, for the sake of my writing simplicity, I have used the word organizer but it can anyone who is willingly to volunteer.

 

11- Introduction

If the concall members already know each other than a “Hello, Raj here” will do. In case of a new member or all are new to each other than at least a 15 seconds introduction should be done. The reason being it is easy for our mind to listen to a known person rather than unknown.

“Hello Raj here. I am new digital marketing head for your company. I have worked for about a decade in the same field with different companies. I have done my MBA from IIM-Ahmedabad. I have been resident of Mumbai from last 5 years” you get the point how this can drag on. Therefore request the participant to keep the introduction short. In my con call I prefer that the organizer introduces new member to the team. In this way, organizer knows how much time to speak for and also what points from the introduction the team would be interested in.

If you wish people should introduce themselves then give them a format to follow. For example – please introduce yourself in half a minute – share your name, work experience, present work profile, agenda from this call and anything other if you feel necessary.

 

12- Introduction break

Raj -“So this month our focus will be more on promoting ourselves on”

Sam -(interrupts) “Hello, this Sam here. Sorry for joining in late.”

Raj – It’s okay, welcome Sam. What I was sharing was this month we will be promoting ourselves more on”

Keira (interrupts) – “Finally I got connected. Hello everyone! Keira here.”

This interruption continues as there are always few people who join in late. Therefore set a guideline that whenever a new person joins, he has to wait till the organizer asks to introduce. A simple way can be taking a break after first five minutes and asking for introduction for the people who joined late. If there is a possibility of people joining late then decide the introduction break accordingly - after 15/20/25 minutes.

13- Decide the flow and stick to flow

Raj – “So anyone wish to know more about the strategy?”

Keira – “I want to know about ….”

Sam (interrupts) – “I have a couple of question. Oh so sorry to interrupt you Keira. Please continue.”

Keira – “no it’s okay you can go ahead. I will ask after you.”

Sam- “no, please continue, I will ask after you.”

Keira – “okay. I want to know is how long we will ….”

If the flow of talk is not decided then it’s possible that people interrupting each other. And no will be able to listen to anyone. Therefore decide a flow and stick to it. Raj – “So anyone wish to know more about the strategy, please ask. Let’s start with Keira, then Sam, then Jay, then Raj and finally Ruhi. I will start answering once everyone is done asking questions.”

 

14 - Wait for your turn to Speak

When others are talking, at that time if you want to ask an important question or share some important information then it’s difficult to listen. As part of your mind is focused on making sure about not forgetting that question/information when your turn comes. Therefore a simple way to avoid that is by writing. When your turn comes, you can refer the writing material and talk about it. Thus writing makes sure that you don’t forget to share the information and thus you can listen to others without any worry.

 15- Keep Writing

One of the main reasons why we can’t listen nicely is because our mind operates at faster speeds as compared to speaking speed. That is why we get lost in our own thoughts while others are speaking. Therefore to keep your brain engage in a conversation, keep it involved by some activity that helps you to be focused. Thus writing down the important points of the conversation helps you to be actively engaged in the conversation.

16- Summarize in between

Summarizing is one of the best way to check your understanding. It also helps to confirm with the other person that you are on the same page. Therefore summarize whatever you have understood before suggesting your ideas. When we are in person, body language and facial expressions helps to check person’s attention but on call it is difficult. Therefore you can also ask the other person to summarise what s/he understood from your talk and check. As an organizer, try to summarize of what has been discussed every 15-20 minutes. This helps everyone to revise and be on same page.

17- Mute when you are not speaking

Raj - “I think we all should hire an outside consultant for this work, what do you guys think?

Keira - “Hey I requested for Cappuccino and not lemon Tea… sorry Raj, the waitress gave me a wrong order, please continue”

I am sure you had this experience where someone is having a con call in a coffee shop and you hear the entire conversation from ordering food/beverage till paying the bill. This creates a bad impression of that person and also distracts others. Ideally you should never do multitasking but sometimes you have to carry out some task/conversation while on call. That is fine, just don’t allow people on phone to listen to it. That is where the mute button comes to the rescue. By pressing a mute button, you will be able to hear others on phone but they won’t be able to hear you talk. Don’t forget to unmute it when your turn comes to speak on phone.  

 

18- Interject only when it is necessary

Communication always involves giving response or else it just becomes broadcasting. Interject when you feel you need some more clarity on what the person is talking or to motivate speaker to share more. Incase your interjecting might come out as judging or advising then please avoid it. Read more about interjecting here – https://goo.gl/jozTmJ

 

19- Take a feedback before summarizing 

As it has been rightly quoted by Author and Management expert,Ken Blanchard, – “Feedback is the breakfast of champions” therefore a feedback from members is important. A feedback from all the members makes the meet more complete and helps to plan better for future. Make sure that you set a guideline before asking for feedback or else some people would start talking about their own opinions and deviate from the crux of the meet. You definitely don’t want to end up with something like this –

Raj – “Sam, can you give us your general feedback?”

Sam- “Sure, I liked the sales funnel feature used in xyz company that you described and I think we must implement it as soon as possible.”

Keira- “I think that’s a good idea that we can implement!”

Sonny – “Yes, that’s the best thing to do”

Here you observe that Keira was influenced by what Sam had said. Therefore, instead of giving a general feedback for the meet, Keira ended up giving feedback for Sam’s feedback. Similarly, Sonny was influenced by both and hence ended up with a similar response.

You can ask them to email you their individual feedback to avoid getting influenced by each other. But this might not always be a feasible option. So, you can do something as follows:- Announce the important points and ask people for their feedback individually. This brings us to the next most important aspect - Get the entire discussion summarized by the organizer or the lead member and email it to all the members after the call.

20 - Record Maintaining and handling

Some organizations also make it mandatory to record any official call (whether it is an individual or a conference call). Recording the call not only has some elements of security or safety but also has some elements of documentation. So, make sure you record the call as a final touch and send it with discretion to the intentional members of the meet or organization.

Post Con Call

Any meet whether an official or an unofficial one, has an agenda. As rightly said by Tim Berry, an American Entrepreneur and Author – Good business planning consists of 9 parts of execution for every 1 part of strategy. You definitely don’t want your business to grow only on Con call! This brings us to the Action step. 

Usually, people are not motivated to attend meetings or con-call if no changes are made as per the discussions of the meeting. Therefore after the call, make sure action is being taken on the decisions made. You have to put your spirit into every verb that has been committed from your side.

I hope that now you have got some clarity and confidence for attending a conference call! I would really appreciate if you could share more tips which you have learnt from experience.

Thank you Derick Soans for your help in simplifying this article and making it impactful.

If you wish to get such articles and inspirational stories via WhatsApp, message your name and "grow" to 91-8286-211-823 (Rupak) and save that number. More than 4,500 people are a part of it.