Preparing for the flu: 4 Conference Call Tips

Today is my first day back to the office, so the flu still dominates my thoughts.  Last week I talked about how Webinars don't share flu germs.  Today, let's focus on one of the most basic collaboration tools - the telephone conference call.  If you don't already have a conference call number, sign up for a Dimdim free web conferencing account.  Every account includes a free telephone conference call number.

Most people are comfortable using a telephone and it can be the fastest way to bring a group together.  Meeting by phone can also challenge anyone's attention when the meetings run long or whether there are complex topics being discussed.  Here are some tips I've found work well in making my meeting more productive:

• Work from an agenda.  It helps to give the meeting structure and keep people focused.  An agenda sent before the meeting lets people think about the topics to be covered. 
• Everyone says their name before speaking, every time. Some people are incredibly good at distinguishing voices.  I'm personally not one of them, so I go out of my way to say "This is Kevin..." each time I speak.  It gets redundant, but no one gets confused over who said it.
  
• Split the responsibilities.  Being a call moderator can take your full attention by itself.  Having someone responsible for keeping an eye on the clock can help prevent a 30 minute meeting from taking 60 minutes.
• Share your desktop to focus attention.  To help keep the meeting focused, I've often done things as simple as sharing my desktop in Dimdim with Microsoft Word open so people can see the agenda and my meeting notes as I type.  It's a visual reminder during the meeting and gives everyone a record after the meeting of what was discussed and what actions are needed.  [To make it a bit easier on the eyes, I'll typically Zoom the document in to about 160%.  It also gives the added benefit of keeping people's eyes on the portion of the notes you're focused on.]

For those used to web conferencing, this advice may be a bit "old school".  I'm a huge fan of making it as easy as possible.  Most people are able to make a call and click a link to see visuals.  If it works, why not take advantage of that.

 

Stay healthy! Good luck!

-k
Kevin Micalizzi, Community Manager
Dimdim Web Conferencing
e: kevin@dimdim.com
twitter: @dimdim

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