Telephone

Engaging Conference Calls

The faceless speaker

How much easier is it to speak without having to see the person you’re having to talk to? It takes the pressure of you having to worry about your appearance as well as having to worry about the content of the information you’re having to deliver. And let’s face it, for all you know, The CEO of So-and-So Management Solutions could be sitting in his home office in a pair of scruffy pyjama’s and slippers covered in dog hair. The Director of Hit-Me-With-It Marketing Miracles could be a dis-organised Ann Widacombe lookalike, could be clad in a faded tracksuit but with the velvety tones of a Charlie’s Angel and the sharp wit of comedy store regular, the imagery for you could be very different.  Without even realising, our brains respond to the every nuance of the voice and it draws (quite literally) its own picture of a person.

When you are only a voice, you are your own set of crayons. In more ways than you realise you have some quite specific powers about how allow yourself to be drawn in someone else’s head. What impression do you want them to conclude?

When you ARE only a voice, it is everything you are offering. So what ARE you offering? Firstly, voice, if you’re late, what does that say? If you can’t arrive to a simple conference call on time, what else can’t you manage to do? It’s a big message.

Relax. It’s important to be professional but it’s more important that people don’t feel tension in your voice. It’s okay to sound friendly and approachable. Don’t try and cover nerves with jokes and ‘banter’.  Just be yourself but be focused. You’re here to do a job.

Be prepared to really listen, actively. It sounds obvious but without seeing nods or smiles, people will only know you’ve heard them if you made sounds of acknowledgement or ask questions or make comments about what they’ve said. This in itself will leave a positive impression. Of course, when it’s your turn to speak, you want to make sure you’re fully prepared.

When it comes to the content of the call, do you know what you should be talking about? Do you have notes to hand or a relevant web-page open? There’s nothing worse than being left open-mouthed with nothing coming out because you didn’t actually bother to gen-up in advance. Make sure you have all the information you need and if someone asks you a surprise question, get ready to deal with it, even if it means using the internet to navigate your way to a quick answer. There are other things to consider too. Have you spoken to everyone on the call before? Does anyone have an unusual name? Are you sure you know how to pronounce it correctly? If you’re the one person who does, you’ll be the one remembered favourably.

If you’re taking a call from home, consider the following:

• No-one is going to call the police if you take a conference call in your P.J’s but there is something about it that reeks of lack of professionalism. Even if they don’t know. YOU do. If you suffer from nerves, dressing the part will definitely bolster your confidence.

• Shut off outside distractions. Keep the dog out of the room; an ill-timed canine belch can be most off putting. Make sure you’re not near the washing machine when it’s about to launch into a spin cycle or any other screechy, beeping, high-tech noisy gadgets.

• If you have information to impart. Have it in front of you, ready to refer to. Have a pen and paper, or your laptop handy in order to make notes.

• Glass of water at the ready in case dry mouth should occur.

• If you’re using a mobile phone, ensure it is fully charged or you are using a head-set you have a back-up appliance.

• Ultimately, it’s like anything. The more you do it, the easier it gets.