5 Effective Ways to Run a Productive Teleconference
Teleconferencing has become a common medium of communication in a post-Covid-19 world. Let's have a look at the five best tips to effectively run a successful teleconference.
A teleconference is now one of the most crucial elements of business communication. The popularity and acceptance of teleconferencing and video chats have increased exponentially in a post-Covid phase and is expected to rise even further over time.
Teleconferencing with team members improves business productivity, whereas it also helps to close more deals with remote clients. It is one of the best ways to connect to people when all the concerned persons are not available at one physical space.
Without taking much of your time, let me give you the most effective ways to run a productive and fruitful teleconference.
Mark an Agenda, Stick to It and Clarify the Roles
A meeting without an agenda is worthless, irrespective of the modes of conducting those meetings. If you have an agenda clear in your head and communicate correctly with your team, it is going to prove beneficial and will also help you in prioritizing your tasks.
Moreover, if you have an agenda ready and clearly stated, your employees can make any preparations beforehand, if required, in terms of preparing reports or getting some papers ready.
You can plan the duration of your teleconference call in a way that you can allot more time on the discussion of crucial elements while allocating comparatively lesser time for topics that hold lesser importance. Usually, the teleconference meetings ought to divert from the main agenda or a topic.
Hence, if you are the host, then make sure nobody is directed away from the main topic. Also, watch out for your scheduled time duration. Discussing important things takes more time than average hence you need to keep extra buffer time to adhere to the time frame.
It is an undeniable fact that the participants can contribute well if they are well versed in their roles. This will help you save much time and will also help you in sticking up to the agenda of your goals. Restricting deviations from the agenda also becomes effortless.
Share the Required Documents and Links in Advance
It is always a wise decision to share the essential links and documents that may be required during the teleconference call. This avoids last minute confusions and dilemmas.
Moreover, if you share the required links and documents beforehand, then your team will have an exact idea about the purpose and agenda of the meeting. They will also have enough time to prepare certain things in advance even before the call is scheduled.
Sharing important documents beforehand also helps the participants ask better questions and give their valuable reviews which in return adds value to the purpose of the meeting.
Record the Conference Call
Several conference call companies allow the host of the meeting to record the entire call. Recording a call can be beneficial in many ways. As one of the most prominent benefits of registering a call is that you can revisit the conversation anytime in case you are facing any trouble understanding things or having any sorts of doubts.
The other most crucial benefit is that if any employee could not attend the meeting, then he or she can listen to the meeting and work accordingly.
Also, recording meetings is one of the ways in which you can keep track of the information that was shared and presented. When a call is being recorded, people tend to stick to the points well and don't waste time.
Familiarize Yourself With the Features Beforehand
Features of conference calling tools may vary from one to another. Hence, it is advisable to get familiarized with the features beforehand and brief your employees about the same because it will help you save a lot of time and struggles during the actual call.
Certain teleconference call service providers have an operator assigned to ensure the smooth functioning of the meeting without facing any troubles in communication or even connecting. Moreover, the features of teleconferencing are not that complex to understand; hence, you will be well versed in the elements once you have your first call.
There may be a little complexity in presenting your screen with all the participants, or some of your teammates might face troubles in hearing your voice. These all are temporary and shall go away in a few seconds. If the problem persists, it is a wise thing to disconnect the call and rejoin.
Keep an Icebreaker
Teleconference calls don't have to be boring. If you are connecting with a massive team after a long time, then the probability of your employees being a bit nervous is relatively high. Hence, it is advisable to start with an icebreaker to make everyone comfortable and gel up quickly. This will help everyone to be on the same page, and no one will be left out.
Well, it is essential to note that an icebreaker is always isn't required if you have a team that is well gelled up and working with you for a very long time now. An ice breaker is needed and can be useful if you are connecting with the employees that aren't well versed with the business organization and might be afraid or nervousness of connecting with the entire team at once.
Conclusion
The need and importance of teleconferencing in today's post-Covid world are just undeniable. People are forced to stay at home, and it becomes complicated to discuss the work at ease without having the bliss of teleconferencing.
In the ever-evolving world of technology, it becomes imperative for you to strike a balance between the business needs and modes to take care of them.
Teleconferencing is one of the ideal options to discuss your business in the comfort of your own home.