Six Tips to Better Teleconferencing
The Coronavirus pandemic has many people working from home who previously didn’t. Whether or not this trend will last, or even how long it will last, is unknown. One thing’s for certain: people still need to connect, collaborate, and meet to do business. Many of those meetings are moving online and oftentimes they’re not very productive.
As a seasoned veteran of Zoom calls, here are six tips to better teleconferencing.
Have an Objective
Remarkably, many folks head into their online meet up with no clear goal. Before you summons the troops or send a link to your clients, ask (and answer!) this simple question: What do you intend to accomplish and why are these people being assembled?
State the objective so everyone involved knows exactly why they’re coming together. Way too much time is wasted in meetings with no purpose. Have a specific stated objective.
Put Someone In Charge
When everyone is in charge, no one is in charge. That’s one of my favorite go-to sayings. Meetings quickly fall into disarray without leadership. Put someone in charge — maybe it’s you — and make that person not only understand the objective of the meeting, but keep the congregation moving toward it.
Turn Off The Chat Feature
I refuse to participate in online meetings if they are using the chat feature. Here’s why: the presenter becomes sidetracked with ridiculous, unrelated messages. “OK, now that I’ve updated our progress on the the XYZ project, lets move…Oh wait, Gary says, ‘I like your cuff links, where’d you get them?’ I think I got them at Macy’s but, it might have been…Oh, I see Maria is typing a message…‘I hate Macy’s, they don’t sell Michael Kors!’ But I thought they did sell Kors…anyway, what were we talking about?”
On and on it goes, as your attendees type in random idiocy that the presenter responds to like a hyperactive child chasing rabbits. The solution: tell folks to write down their questions or thoughts (old school, pen and paper, imagine!) then call for input after each topic has been presented.
Equally bad as the chat feature is the option of “holding up your hand,” which is another path to endless distractions.
Make Attendees Power Down Other Devices
You’re attending a meeting. Granted it’s online but it’s a meeting nonetheless. At this meeting, others are investing their time. Don’t waste theirs or yours by texting or playing video games on your phone. It’s rude and distracting. Also, multi-tasking is a myth — you can’t really do two things at once, at least not well.
Have a Time Limit
Meetings with no time limit generally run long. They’re also less efficient and less likely to get to a resolution. State ahead of time exactly how much time this meeting will take. Then stick to it. Distractions and unnecessary chatter are minimized by instituting a time limit. Bonus: you’re more likely to get people to show up and be attentive if they know this won’t be a marathon meeting.
Get To An Outcome
You’ll likely have more online meetings in the future. Want others to attend and be interested in doing so? Get to an outcome at this meeting, thereby setting the precedent for future meet ups. Now people know their input of time and insights won’t be wasted in the future. They know this because meetings you’re in charge of get results!
The Future
The coronavirus issue has turned the world upside down in many ways. We can’t change that. All we can do is respond and adapt. Your business must move forward as best it can. Maybe that requires teleconferencing. If so, use these six tips to better teleconferencing to make your next online meeting a productive one.
Damian Mason is a Businessman, Agriculturalist, Keynote Speaker, Author, Podcaster, and Teleconferencer. For speaking engagements, consultation, books, and more go to www.damianmason.com