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Business Protocol: Becoming the Vanderbilt of Conference
by Jerome Henchley
http://www.fedconference.com
Many times, it's easy to forget common courtesies in our
fast-paced business world. As rapid, streamlined and
efficient become the catchwords of today's business, we
have to strive to maintain the common courtesies that were
once a part of everyday life. One of these is in the area
of conference calls. Yes, they save time and money, but
Let's not lose sight of the importance of using proper
etiquette when dealing with clients. You'll be projecting
your company's image and you need to leave a good
impression, just as in a face-to-face meeting.
The first thing you should do, in whatever locale you hold
your conference call, is introduce yourself and the other
participants prior opening any business, just as you would
if the meeting were held in a conference room or some other
setting. There may be participants who do not know you,
even among those who do, don't expect them to recognize
your voice. When you do the introductions, include company
names, titles and functions within the organization.
The first order of business after your introductions should
be to outline the guidelines and expectations of the
conference call. You want to be clear on this before any
conversations take place, because you don't want the
attendees stepping all over each other's conversations.
In addition, you should outline any the specific goals of
the meeting, just as you normally would. To avoid taking
time away from the conference call,you may properly ask the
operator or the individual who connects your participants
to review the rules before they're connected to the call.
The reason you want to introduce the various members of the
conference call to each other is to clarify everyone's role
in the telephone meeting. This brief description of each
person's title, responsibilities and relationship to the
others will clarify everyone's role. This will be very
important when one or more of the members are guests or
new to your company.
Most people, especially business people, operate in many
arenas of communications nowadays. You must assume that
your conference call participants will keep their cell
phones available, and so, before the conference begins,
caution each of the participating members to turn their
cell phones off until the meeting is completed. Answering
a cell phone during a conference call will not only disrupt
the flow of conversation, but cell phones may cause
connection problems or static on the phone lines. Ask
participants to lower speaker or paging devices on their
phones, also, unless they are using them as part of the
conference call. Some may also be required to keep phone
paging systems on in case of emergencies.
Disable your call-waiting feature, if you have one on your
phone system. The beeping can distract others and the
conference call should be your priority for the length of
the call. In fact, nothing should assert itself into the
conference call arena that will detract from the call
itself, or from your attention to your guests.
All businesspeople usually find themselves quite busy. That
should never be an excuse to keep others waiting once a
conference call has been scheduled. Each participant's time
is as important as the next. You, as the host, must arrive
on the line in advance, and encourage others to arrive on
time by communicating with them prior to the meeting.
One of the rudest things that one can do is to put the
other participants on hold during a conference call. Other
participants won't know if you've stepped away, and they
will continue the meeting without you. Also, If comments
or questions are directed to you, they will be left
unanswered. On top of that they may be forced to listen
to on hold music or messages, which are very distracting.
Take a pro active role in maintaining good etiquette and
set firm guidelines during anyconference calls you may be
responsible for. Participants will be left with a positive
impression of you and your company.
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