Avoiding Some Basic Problems during a Conference Call

There is no hard and fast rule, when it comes to the usage of conference calls. Generally, there can be varied reasons for using conference calls. Moreover, they are not just about communication alone. You can conduct online seminars or you can conduct meetings with people sitting far off places.

Regardless of the reason for the use of conference calls, there is no doubt that during its use you are going to face some problems. By the time you will end up going through this article, you will come to know about techniques to deal with some problems faced during the call.

One of the basic problems you would face while organizing a
conference call is the late arrival of the people. You can consider it as a standard problem in a majority of meetings. However, the probability for the occurrence of this problem during a conference call increases multifold. In a face-to-face meeting you can know that a person is late, if he is actually late and people don’t want to be ashamed being late. However, in case of a conference call, things are different unless you host the call. Even if you are late in this case no one would know. However, if you are firm on the point of timing and keep reminding people time and again, then there are high chances that they will be on time in the meeting. You can have video conferencing in order to avoid this problem.

Yet another common problem during a conference call is the repetitive interruptions due to background noise. For some unknown reasons, despite having used mobile for more than a decade, a majority of people don’t know a proper conference call etiquette of communicating over a conference call. You would often find people talking in their full pitch even in the situation wherein they can be heard just by speaking in a low tone. Before starting the conference call, they don’t bother ensuring that the surrounding is sans any distraction. This is a basic thing, which everyone must know but still you will find it happening in every conference call.

The last but definitely one of the major problems is the lack of active involvement. Most of the people are busy doing something else during a conference call, which acts as a deterrent for a successful call. They aren’t mentally involved in the discussion so there presence is null and void. They can be included in the meeting by having a facilitator who would ensure that everyone is actively involved in the meeting.