You\u2019re on the line, third call of the day. Sales is reporting on last month\u2019s numbers. Suddenly your ear is bombarded with a cacophony of static coming through the line. The next five minutes are spent by the host discovering where the noise is coming from while everyone sits on mute, and the call has officially been sidetracked beyond recovery.<\/p>\n
These inconveniences can be set off by simple outside factors that can be quickly remedied or prevented.<\/p>\n
Sometimes they\u2019re environmental:<\/em><\/p>\n Probably there is another device (such as a mobile phone) that is giving off some unwelcome \u201cvibes\u201d set too close to the speaker phone. Generally, the person not hearing the static is the one causing it. Move the device a few feet away and it should clear things up.<\/p>\n Could be the effect of a speaker phone with the volume set too high or someone dialing in from both their laptop and the phone line. Try using a handset, or turn down volume, or simply mute when you\u2019re not talking.<\/p>\n Some background elements can\u2019t be avoided, especially as more users take calls from home and on the road. As much as it\u2019s within your control, make sure you to set yourself up in the most ideal environment to take the call. If you\u2019re at home, put the dogs out. Out in public, find a quiet space with few people, and fewer opportunities for loud mechanical noises (like a coffee shop).<\/p>\n Other times it\u2019s purely human error:<\/em><\/p>\n Avoid an embarrassing late entrance by getting to the meeting early (true for both hosts and guests). This will give you time to prepare yourself, gather materials you might be presenting, as well as get ahead of any unforeseen technical issues that might occur such as an app update or trouble connecting to Wi-Fi.<\/p>\n *pro tip: If you are the presenter, make sure you have all documents pulled up and ready to go before you are asked to present, or before you join the call even, if possible. Also have all extraneous documents and web searches closed out to avoid embarrassing scenarios. This includes chat windows and email.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Sure, many of us multitask on our calls, but that doesn\u2019t mean everyone else needs to know about it. If you can\u2019t avoid a side conversation, gobbling your lunch down before the next back-to-back call, or an immediate email that needs to be sent, make sure to mute yourself before you do.<\/p>\n Other bad habits to avoid:<\/p>\n The nature of remote meetings means that you’re probably going to miss body language cues that are typically visible in face-to-face conversations. Avoid speaking over others to making sure you take a pause in between moments of speaking to ask if there are any questions or comments, when appropriate.<\/p>\n Bottom line, there are some things you can\u2019t help, but there are others that are completely in your control. It\u2019s up to you as a guest or host, to make sure you\u2019re sticking to some common best practices the next time you\u2019re on the line. They will not only work to put your best foot forward in front of potential clients, employers and staff, but help you to avoid confusion and unfortunate outcomes.<\/p>\n Stay tuned for more tips on our blog, and follow us on Twitter<\/a> and LinkedIn<\/a> for more industry content and product updates.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You\u2019re on the line, third call of the day. Sales is reporting on last month\u2019s numbers. Suddenly your ear is bombarded with a cacophony of static coming through the line….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":36267,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[424],"tags":[600,658,1099],"class_list":["post-36266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-conference-call-2","tag-screen-sharing-2","tag-tips-and-tricks-2"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStatic on the line?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Reverberating echo?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Excessive background noise?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Interruptions by late joiners?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Distracting the group with side conversations?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Total call domination?<\/strong><\/h4>\n