44 Words: 7 How to Make Conference Calls more Productive

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It can be difficult to have productive conference calls. It is very easy for them to go off-topic or spend too much time lingering on one subject without making clear progress. There are things you can do, however, in order to make conference calls more productive. The following are techniques you may want to consider.
Have a list of the points you need to cover
You do not want to finish your conference call and realize that something important has been forgotten. You will want to make a clear list of points that need to be covered by the phone call. You can write out specific goals that you want accomplished, and make sure that you keep track of these as they are done. You can also write out a schedule so that you know the order you will be dealing with each one. A good idea might be to give everyone this information, either by sending them an e-mail or hard copy prior to the conference call or telling them at the beginning of the conference call. It may be worth it to send it out beforehand, however, because then you can ask people to think about points so that they will have their thoughts already together when the conference call happens. It might also give individuals a chance to contact you for clarification about any issues before you actually discuss them.
Have someone in charge who can help keep things moving and keep things from getting off-topic
It can be easy for conference calls to get stuck on a subject and just run up the time (and help to run it out). It may be best to have someone who can watch out for this and alert people if they need to wrap up something or to stay on topic. It can help people know that they have to make a decision and move on to the next subject. If something is being talked about that is not pertinent to the conference call, then they can help steer the conversation back to the correct spot.
Make sure that everyone important gets a chance to make his or her input
Sometimes the person who is the most aggressive and loudest does a lot of the talking. Their ideas get across, but it might be at the expense of someone who is not as good about cutting into a conversation – someone who might actually have even better ideas. You might want to have a way to give everyone a chance, perhaps by giving everyone a turn. You might also want to limit the amount of time everyone has to speak so that everyone gets a fair chance.
Updated On: 03/07/2010 Published On: 03/07/2010 Ways to make travel with children easier