CONFERENCE CALLS CORRECTIVE

CIRCUMVENT
COMMON
CAUSES
COMMUNICATION.

CONSIDERATIONS TO
OF
COMPROMISED

Its Monday morning and you are dreading yet another conference
call with international colleagues. In face-to-face meetings you may
already
have
enough
linguistic
or
cultural
problems
understanding the other participants, but without the additional
benefit of visual body language you really are literally on the dark
side.

Are you even aware of the protocol for these sessions?

Of course you worry about how you sound and whether you are
getting your point across, but fear not as your English Jedi knight is
at hand.

As you read on youll actually be looking forward to your next calls as

you start to see how to make them work for you but I cant
promise to overcome that Monday morning feeling completely!

You are going to unleash the force within yourself. Enhancing the
power to control your thoughts will require a deep commitment and
high concentration levels, but the words will flow through you.

You must feel what others are saying and believe that it is possible
to listen by removing your preconceived barriers to
communication. Disciplined aural training will ensure you connect
naturally, master precision and attain your set goals.
You ARE going to experience native and non-native English
speakers, people who speak too fast or have strong accents its
unavoidable.
But try to remain positive remember how difficult it is to
distinguish people from certain areas/regions of your own country.
Your task is to recognize sounds, words and phrases and that
takes practice. Endeavour to get the general idea, remember the
salient points and predict whats coming next. Of course it isnt
easy, but you will gradually get used to listening to different types
of people for differing lengths of time and you will learn to deal
with all the accents and dialects in your business settings. Use your
keen mind like a Jedi lightsaber to cut through language obstacles and
you will quickly enjoy the fruits of your labour.
When speaking you should choose an appropriate rhythm and
pace, use stress and intonation to convey appropriate meanings
and interact appropriately i.e. turn-taking, repairing breakdown
of messages.
But never concede defeat - mistakes are an inevitable part of
learning.
Concentrate more on your achievements than your failures.
Learn to take the failures as opportunities to rectify your errors.
(Stephen Richards American self-help expert, author).
Lets start by thinking outside the box. Look at the following letters
from the alphabet H I J K L M N O. All you have to do is make a
common everyday 5- letter word that has the exact meaning as the
letters given.
Think what you see. But in your conference call you wont have this
luxury.
The answer will be revealed later in the text so read every line in the
guide carefully.
Back to planning ahead tips for successful conference calls.
Specific measures should be taken to ensure everything runs
smoothly.
All too often the same complaints arise in every business:conference notes seldom sent to all participants in advance or even
after the call; unclear aims and no fixed agenda that is adhered to;
participants feeling they were not given an opportunity to

contribute; unsatisfactory outcomes or follow up actions not

undertaken and the meetings being dominated by one or two
individuals.
1. CONFERENCING PROTOCOL

Its good to have rules as then parameters are established and

everyone is hopefully singing off the same hymn sheet.
At the time of connecting to the conference call, participants
should identify themselves and also announce when leaving the
meeting. This is assuming all participants have been told the
correct time and are available.
When speaking always identify yourself by name and location.
Address other meeting participants by name, speak clearly and
avoid conversational asides.
Try to keep background noise to a minimum and dont speak over
each other as this distorts transmission.
Dont turn up late, as you will struggle to catch up on the
discussion and will hold up the meeting while the coordinator has
to introduce you.
Ask individual questions rather than the group, as targeting will
get a quicker response.
Dont lose focus. Concentrate fully and dont send or check emails,
shop/play games online, or do other tasks you forgot to
prioritize.
Stay calm and do not respond with sarcasm or anger to comments
made by others, mute/unmute your line discriminately to avoid
unwarranted remarks going public.
Dont take calls or answer questions from employees. Its easy

to make sure that your colleagues know you are not to be

disturbed.
2. ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES.

If you were to ask me the advantages of the conference call, Id say

primarily the reduction in cost of group meetings due to
significant savings in traveling expenses. Meetings are more
flexible as participants can join the conference whenever its
necessary; conferencing allows people to take part in regional,
national or worldwide meetings without actually leaving their
local office. It can aid greater communication and coordination
between branches and worksite, as it enables you to get in touch with
each other closely and scheduling can be done minutes or hours
ahead of time instead of days or weeks.
As for disadvantages the one that immediately springs to mind is the
occurrence of technical failure when trying to establish contact or
during the conference call itself. Sometimes there is a lack of
participant familiarity with the equipment, the medium itself and
meeting skills per se. There is naturally less socialization, they can
be impersonal and not as easy to create an atmosphere of group
rapport and they are not recommended when dealing with complex
interpersonal matters, such as negotiating or bargaining. Yes there
are voices, but you are unable to see the defensive crossed arms, the
slouching bodies losing interest, the bored or lying eyes all these
cues you must learn to appreciate with your ears by harnessing
your interpretive skills but be patient and remember to think
beyond what you hear.

3. INTRODUCING YOURSELF AND PUTTING YOURSELF IN

CONTEXT

When you are greeting or introducing yourself to someone, especially

for the first time, it is important to use the right level of formality.
It is also a good idea to put yourself in context, or remind them of
your last point of contact.
Some examples include:I work at ABC Paris/Im calling from ABC Paris.
We spoke on the phone last week.
I sent you an email yesterday.
We met last year at the trade fair in Shanghai.
CONFERENCING CALL INTROS
As for introductions you might like to try something along these lines:-

Lets start by taking a roll call.

Attending todays conference are our colleagues in the Berlin
office.
Bill Perrin is also joining us today. He is our Chief Accountant.
Who do we have with us today?
Michelle Bartholomew has just joined us.
David Rabinovitch will be with us shortly.
So now weve set up the conference call successfully, everyones
connected and we know whos who, whats next?
4. ACTIVE LISTENING SKILLS

Feedback is important. You need to show that you have understood

what the speaker has said. This could be something as simple as
using short words, phrases or sounds such as Yes or Yeah it
shows you are still listening. Active listening entails close
psychological involvement - listening to the whole person in
relation to their social context.
You have to listen not only to what is said but what is meant.
There are 5 core principles, but we can rule out physical attention
as we cant notice the speakers body language or match it to what
she/he is saying.
That leaves us with paraphrasing, reflecting, clarifying and
evaluating.
First well look at paraphrasing. Show you are listening and
understanding what is being said. You can do this by checking your
meaning and interpretation restate basic ideas and facts to ensure
accuracy.

Useful phrases to practice

So what happened was..Is that correct?
It sounds like what you mean is.Is that so?
Let me see if I understand what you just said..
Next reflecting. Show that you understand how the person feels. This
assists the speaker evaluate his or her feelings after hearing them
expressed by someone else.
Try something like
Are you saying that youre disappointed because .
It sounds like you feel,,,,,,
Solicit opinions I would like your advice about how we can
resolve this.
Moving on to clarifying. Get more detailed information, use a tone
of voice that conveys interest, help the speaker to see other points
of view and ask open-ended questions as opposed to eliciting
merely yes/no answers.
When exactly did this happen?
What would you like to see occur?
I see it this way..How do you see it?
Finally encouraging. Can you tell me more?
Validate the speaker. I appreciate your participation in this
discussion.
PSEUDO LISTENING OR INEFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

In contrast you should avoid pretending to listen to the person

when you are thinking about other things, hearing only what you
think you should know and labeling people in categories before
they finish explaining. Try not to give your opinion about what a
person is saying when it has not in fact been requested. The
other party will soon realize you are ignoring what they are saying or
that you are just using a ploy so that you get a chance to do the
talking. Misunderstandings are likely to occur and undermine the
purpose of the conference call.

5. CLARIFYING AND CHECKING UNDERSTANDING

One of the biggest barriers to successful participation is fear that

you wont understand what is being said to you. How can you
overcome this apprehension? Try the following, beginning each
sentence with Sorry and ending with please depending on the
level of politeness deemed necessary.
I missed that. Could you say it again?
I didnt quite catch that. Could you slow down a bit?
I dont understand. Could you explain what you mean?
Im not with you. Could you go over it again?
I dont follow you. Could you run through that again?
I dont quite see what you mean. Could you be more specific
?
what was your last point?
its a bad line. Could you repeat the first part again?

CHECKING ACTION POINTS AT CONCLUSION OF CONFERENCE

CALL

At the end of the conference call its vital to summarize, plan and
schedule the next call. Any challenges experienced should also be
reported to the coordinator.
Can I just check whos doing that?
Is it correct to say that Giuseppe is in charge of writing the
report?
Could we go over the action points again?
Ill mail everyone the minutes from the meeting later today.

5. GETTING YOUR POINT ACROSS EFFECTIVELY MAKING

AN IMPACT

Conference calls often last for a predetermined period and so time is

of the essence in delivering your message confidently and effectively.
Time waits for no man as they say and lost time is unproductive for
any business. So with time at a premium it is important to keep the
call on track.
We can do this in three ways:Initiating a new topic:What is your view on.?
Id like to start by.
Can we talk about what happened this morning?
Changing the topic:By the way, have you seen the latest figures on.?
Just to change the subject for a minute, what do you think
about.?
That reminds me, did you see?
Before we carry on, I just need to tell you about..
Returning to an earlier topic:Going back to what you said earlier.
As I was saying earlier.
Ive been thinking about what you said earlier, and..
CONTROL BY MANAGING INTERRUPTIONS

Knowing how to manage interruptions and effectively interrupt

without the reliance on body language is a particularly important skill
that needs to be developed and honed.
We can categorise phrases as follows:Interrupting:Can I just interrupt a minute?
Excuse me, could I just point out.?
Could I just say..?
Stalling and deferring when interrupted:-

Could I just think about that?

Do you mind if I answer that later?
Could I get back to you on that?
Managing interruptions and returning to your topic:Now, where were we?
Sorry, what was I saying?
Just going back to.
Sorry, could I just finish what I was saying?

6. USING DIPLOMATIC AND PERSUASIVE LANGUAGE

Direct language can convey a sense of urgency or seriousness it

can prevent confusion and misunderstanding.
However being diplomatic can protect peoples feelings, avoid
conflict and build trust. If theres a crisis we need to build bridges
rather than burn them.
It is possible to disagree politely with phrases such as:To be honest, I think../
I think you might be missing the point.
I believe that view might be a bit one-sided.
We can partially agree before expressing a contradictory
opinion.
Basically, I think youre right. However, we should also
consider.
I agree up to a point. However, Id prefer..
You might have a point. I think on balance though, Id
probably.
And of course we can ask for others opinions:Li, what do you think?
Ok, good point. What does anyone else think?

Lets give Jose and Maria a chance to say what they think.

Conference calling has become very important in the business world

as a cost effective way to hold meetings, conduct interviews, report
to shareholders etc. It lets people communicate with relatively
familiar technology that doesnt require too much experience or
training to do well. However it never makes the topics discussed
simpler or easier to approach and a concerted effort is required to
ensure language is effectively communicated. With careful planning
before after and during the calls and by following the hints in this
article it is hoped you will think more before you speak, be less
hesitant to participate and eager to share your ideas.
RECOMMENDED READING
Tips for Successful Teleconferences

www.hr.cornell.edu/life/support/teleconference_tips.pdf