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It’s tough to be heard on conference calls especially when so many people are doing other things besides paying attention to your brilliant ideas.

Check this out

• 82% of people are likely to do something unrelated while on a conference call such as email or even chasing their dog down the street.
• Women are 3x more likely to mute a call to shop online while men are more likely to use the restroom.

Research has shown that people are not engaged because the emotional elements and stimuli are removed from most conference calls. When people are on mute, their immediate response to humor is gone. When people are not on the screen, you can’t see their facial expressions. And when you only see slides, you don’t get the same sense of connection with other humans. Therefore, if you want to participate successfully, try taking some steps to enhance the human side of meetings, add what’s missing to your voice, and encourage others to do the same.

Conference call tips and etiquette

• First, set yourself up to be accountable to participate. Get away from the computer and other distractions unless you are looking at slides or showing up on video.
• Allow 5 minutes at the beginning of the meeting for everyone to say a few words about what’s going on in their lives.
• Turn on your video and use a good headset and mic for good sound quality.
• Chime in at least every 10-15 minutes to let others know you are there, and participate if there is an interactive moment.
• Use expressive language when sharing ideas. i.e. I am delighted with the terrific results, or, conversely, we have a critical issue that requires our undivided attention.

For more on how to add pizazz to your presence, please see my post 9 Ways to Make Your Topic Sound Exciting Even When It’s Not.

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