Conference calls are an important part of doing business around the world.
These calls allow people to connect in different locations and share ideas to solve problems. But the truth is that they can be unproductive unless you use your time wisely.
In fact, one study found that participants spent approximately 31 hours each month in unproductive meetings.
How can you ensure you aren’t making the same mistake?
Read on to learn 5 creative ways how to make a conference call extremely productive!
1. Be Punctual
It’s important to make sure that your conference call starts on time. If you are hosting a call and you aren’t on time, it reflects poorly on you but that’s not all.
While people are waiting for the call to begin, they can lose focus on the purpose of the call. That’s because they can do things like checking their email or text message on their cell phones.
By the time your meeting begins late, you may have already lost your audience.
2. Be Prepared
Being prepared is an often overlooked way for how to make conference calls more productive.
You should be prepared to the point that you can speak confidently about the subject matter you plan to discuss. The last thing you want is to under prepare and struggle through a call.
Like being punctual, if you don’t sound like an authority on the topic, you may lose the attention of your audience.
3. Follow an Agenda
An agenda is a great way to stay on task while also giving participants a road map of where the call will go.
To make your agenda most effective, you should avoid including too much verbiage. If you include too much information on your agenda, you run the risk of others not reading it of it becoming a distraction from your message.
4. Keep It Short
You may wish you had unlimited conference call time, but the truth is that you should keep things short over the phone.
By keeping your call short and to the point, you increase the chance of keeping participants engaged. You can draw the attention of your audience by introducing a concept or topic with a creative story or joke.
The average attention span can be as low as eight seconds in today’s digital world, so you must capture someone’s attention early.
5. Encourage Participation
Encouraging people to actively participate in your conference call is a good way to keep people motivated.
If you conduct a call that consists almost solely of you speaking, other audience members may feel like they are more distant. By allowing other callers to participate in your call, this creates a more cohesive environment for all.
Wrapping Up: How To Make a Conference Call Extremely Productive
You can learn how to make a conference call extremely productive by taking the right approach from the start.
By preparing for your call, you help ensure you confidently deliver your message. Starting your call on time and sticking to your agenda keeps the conference call fast-paced and engaging.
Are you looking for other ways to improve your business?
Check out our blog post on 4 creative ways to collect customer reviews!
