How To Run A Conference Call Without Driving Everyone Else Crazy

How To Run A Conference Call Without Driving Everyone Else Crazy Conference calls are a fact of life in a distributed team environment, Robert Duffy VP of Engineering at Time Inc. talks to PowerToFly about how to survive them.With a team distributed across three continents, we make heavy use of audio and video conferencing, its part of the daily rhythm of business. In any meeting that requires a group of people gathering you want to make sure that things go smoothly, and that the least amount of time is spent messing with technology or running the meeting. Conference calls are no exception and there are a couple of things you can do to help.Equipment iskey.Buy the best audio equipment you can afford. Conference calls are about audio and the difference it makes being on a good line vs a bad line is well worth the extra spend. If you are hard to hear it can lose you business or credibility. There is nothing mora frustrating than someone on a conference call that sounds like they are ta lking to you from the inside of a potato. If you are calling from a cell phone the biggest difference you can make is just using the manufacturers supplied headphones that have a mic built in.Trial Run New Technology.Always do a dry run of new technology before your calls. You dont want to start using something and have it not work. If you are switching any piece of technology like a new phone, new headtischset or new conference line, get with a friend or colleague before your calls and try it out. Its important to find out how you sound using the new equipment, so compare it to the old equipment. Weve found that different voices work better on different devices, so even if a piece of technology is working for one person it might not work for others.Speak up, and stay close to speaker phones.Only use the speaker-phone on your cell phone as a last resort. Its hard to listen to in a group setting and the microphone doesnt plektrum up nearly as much of the conversation as you think it does. If you are going to be on conference calls frequently invest in some of the polycom gear, its really good.Call EtiquetteKnow Who is DrivingIf your conference calls are anything like mine, you have a short time to get a lot done. Its important to quickly identify who is driving the call and who will keep people on track. The leader should tell everyone what is going to happen, the call should happen and then the leader summarizes the actions.If you are the leader, be early and take roll call. Know in advance who needs to be on the call to get the outcome you need. Wait for a quorum but then know you can get started early. If you have enough people on the call, ask someone to chase late-comers down while you make small talk.Always summarize the next steps on the call and in a follow up email and make sure every action has an owner.Have Your Intro Nailed.Most conference calls with new people meeting each other start with a round of intros. Have a quick (less than 30s) intro in yo ur back pocket and youll be prepared for this if it comes up. Keep your intro short and tailor it to the audience and project. I always like to let people know why Im interested in the meeting and what Im looking for.Stay on mute, until you dont need to.Remember to place yourself on mute. There is nothing worse that trying to listen to someone speak while some other caller is typing, driving or trying to eat lunch. If someone else doesnt mute and disrupts the call, its perfectly OK to say can everyone go on mute when they are not talking. Remember to take yourself off mute and dont disrupt the flow of the call by fumbling for the unmute button.Learn how to Interrupt, Let Others Interrupt You.Interrupting in person is a bad thing, on the phone its a necessity because you can not always read the other persons body languages. If you are speaking pause often enough for questions so people can ask them.Beware of group questions.As a rule of thumb dont ask group questions when there are m ore than 5 people. Group questions, that require a round robin response are difficult to coordinate. If you do want to do this, pay attention at roll-call and ask specific people questions rather than is everyone OK with that plan, how is everyone doing this morning, etc.Smile, Even When Not On CameraIf you are on an audio-only call its even more important to smile. Smiling has a surprisingly large impact in the way you speak. Get in the habit of smiling on the phone, even when you are off camera, havent had coffee and its 5am. Others on the call will subconsciously hear the difference and perceive you as being friendly and collaborative.Dont be Afraid to AskAlways ask people to speak up, stop having side conversations or stop typing. I once asked a group of executives to spend the next 30 seconds clearing their lunch rather than have the call be disrupted by people shuffling sandwiches and chip bags. Dont be afraid to ask people to stop doing something or start doing something else ??of course do it politely with a smile on your face.Make Notes of Questions You HaveCross them off if they are answered so you dont repeat questions. The odds are high that other people listening on the call will have the same questions as you.And as always, have fun One of the biggest challenges in almost all industries today is achieving gender parity. Gender diversity provides huge benefits in the workplace. pWhile some industries have made significant advancements in gender diversity, some industries lag further behind... and the construction industry is well-known for being in the latter category. If someone says, construction workers, youll likely picture a group of men in yellow hard hats analyzing an architects plans or laying bricks on top of a scaffold. And men at work signs only help to reinforce this image.pThis stereotype is rooted in reality. When was the last time you actually spotted a woman on a construction site? Or hir ed a female plumber or carpenter? Your answer is most likely never. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statisticsreports that only 3.4% of the total of 8.3 million construction employees are women.pBut the construction industry has a lot more to offer than steel-toed boots and hard hats, and it needs women to help advance the industry in this era of rapid change. Here are 5 reasons why women joining the workforce or looking to make a pivot should consider a career in construction.h21. Fuel Innovation/h2pNot only is diversity the socially and morally right thing to do, but it is also actually an excellent business strategy. pResearch presented in the Harvard Business Reviewshows that diverse teams develop more innovative ideas. This is further supported by a study conducted by Gallupon the performance of gender-diverse teams versus single-gender teams, which found that the difference in backgrounds and perspectives led to better business performance and problem-solving. h22. Capitalize on Demand/h2pThe construction industry is currently experiencing a labor shortage. The industry itself is booming and projected to be one of the fastest-growing industries, with total spending projected to exceed $1.45 trillion in 2023/a. However, most construction companies are unable to meet the rising demand. pAccording to the Associated General Contractors of America/a, more than 80% of contractors are experiencing difficulties filling hourly craft positions that represent the bulk of the construction workforce.pAnd demand isnt limited to individual contributor roles. Given the industry boom, there are a number of open stable and high-paying roles (any project managers out there?) waiting for the right candidateh23. Leadership Opportunities/h2pAccording to the Bureau of Labor Statistics/a, women compose only 7.7% of the total 1 million managerial positions in construction.br/pBut given the highly collaborative nature of construction work, more women in leadership roles would help d rive innovation and enhance productivity.Furthermore, as a woman in construction in a leadership position, youd have the unique opportunity to drive change for the industry and make it a more attractive option for other women.h24. High-Income Potential/h2pSalaries for many skilled positions in construction are on the rise, making a construction career a prime choice for women looking for a high-paying job,pThe 2018 Construction Craft Salary Surveyconducted by the National Center for Construction Education and Research revealed that salaries for many skilled craft areas are increasing. Project managers and project supervisors topped the list at $92,523 and $88,355, respectively. The next set of highest-paying jobs include those of combo welders ($71,067), instrumentation technicians ($70,080), pipe welders ($69,222), power line workers ($68,262) and industrial electricians ($67,269). Of the 32 categories of workers in the survey, 19 positions earned an average salary of $60,000 or hi gher.h25. Sense of accomplishment/h2p The construction industry can give employees a unique sense of achievement. Yes, the job is stressful and the work can be demanding, but nothing beats the feeling of being able to build something from the ground up. pHow many professionals in other industries can point at a school, a hospital, or a skyscraper and say I helped build that?pThe construction industry has a long way to go in combating gender bias and supporting women in the workforce, but given the current demand for workers, theres no better time to pick up a sledgehammer (figurative or literal) and smash the gender stereotypes plaguing the construction industry.