Business Connections by Adams

6 F A L L 2 0 2 0 Call Together Now Since the start of the pandemic, in-person meetings have become increasingly rare. Many people are working from home all or part of the time, and business travel has dropped dramatically. Yet the need for group conversations is still here—for brainstorming, customer presentations, employee trainings, planning sessions, and more—and this need is being met by both conference calls and video conferencing. Conference Call Tips We’ve all experienced poorly run conference calls and know well how frustrating and time-consuming they can be. To make your conference calls more productive, do the following: Make it easy for people to attend. Set up the meeting in advance, and send an email or meeting request with the dial-in number, passcode, and other pertinent information. Circulate a detailed agenda and any supporting materials so participants will know what to expect and how to prepare for the conference call. Stay on track. As the leader of the meeting, start the call on time and stick to the agenda. When the discussion starts to wander off topic, be assertive in bringing participants back to the task at hand. You may also need to occasionally stop and verify, “Did everyone hear and understand that last point?” Compensate for the lack of visual cues. Rather than the nods or glances you might employ in a live meeting, use your voice to indicate how you would like people to participate. Ask for input from each person individually, using his or her name. If some of the participants are gathered together in one room, let those on the phone know what’s happening during silences and what is being said in side conversations. Know your technology. Be sure to test your technology before the meeting and have a technology backup plan in case something fails. It’s a good idea to make a recording of the conference call that can be played for those unable to attend, used to compose written minutes, and referred to later should questions arise about a discussed subject. Video Conferencing Tips Video conferencing allows you to connect “face to face” with participants in multiple locations. Review these tips to have more professional and effective meetings: Make sure you have a fast and stable Internet connection. If the Internet connection is slow at your location, it can adversely affect the video conference with visual disruptions and inconsistent audio. Put your camera at eye level and be aware of lighting. Make sure your room is well lit—side lighting is the best—since participants don’t want to feel like they’re talking to someone in a dungeon. Use natural light from windows or simply turn on the overhead light in the room to brighten up the video conference. Take advantage of what conference calls and video conferencing have to offer