We’re getting on more conference calls today with more office staff working remotely. But too many conference calls are disorganized, don’t have a clear purpose, and might seem unnecessary to some attendees. In this post, we’ll help you get your meetings on track so you can accomplish more not just in the meeting but also as you complete the projects you’re discussing.

1. Limit meeting attendees

The more people you have in the meeting, the more it turns into a presentation the host is giving with everyone else just listening. It’s more difficult to have conversations without people talking over one another. And, it’ll be more intimidating for people to unmute and speak up, leading to long silences.

Decide who the decision makers are and meet with fewer people, then send meeting notes to everyone who needs to know what’s happening next. Be open to having one-on-one or small group discussions after the high-level call.

2. Have an agenda

Before you start any meeting, bring a bulleted list of exactly what you need to get through. Allot a certain amount of time to each item by dividing the meeting time by the number of points. Get comfortable with phrases like “we only have another 3 minutes on this topic” and “we need to wrap up on this and move on” to cut down on losing the topic at hand.

Consider emailing attendees your planned agenda ahead of time and giving them time to send you any preliminary thoughts that might change the meeting or help you keep it on track. And use the agenda to decide if a meeting is even necessary.

3. Decide if you need to have it at all

One of the biggest complaints of office workers today is that there are too many meetings that are unnecessary or could have been quick conversations or emails. By outlining your agenda, you’ll find which questions you need answered by whom – and you can talk with them directly ahead of time to cut down on what you need to meet about. Don’t be afraid to cancel a meeting and send an email instead, sharing that you can meet if someone finds it necessary.

4. Leave with action items

Don’t wrap up a meeting until you know exactly who is on point for which items. Go through your agenda and identify the tasks that need to happen next, who will be doing them, who will be assisting or editing, and what the due dates are for review and delivery. If you leave a meeting without any action items, then the meeting might not have been as effective as you thought.

If people leave without any action items, consider if you need them to be in future meetings on the topic or if it makes sense for them to just get the recap afterwards.

5. Send a follow-up email

After the meeting, send an email to all attendees with a recap of what was discussed, what decisions were made, and why. Often, decisions are made verbally and later contested because people don’t remember the decision happening or why. Put it in writing so that you can refer to what happened and cut down on unnecessary follow-ups.

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You’ve probably heard this a lot lately. With the rise of remote work, we’re all relying more on conference calls for meetings. Conversations that used to come up naturally while passing by are now planned meetings, which changes the core of how we communicate.

People who are used to relying on nonverbal cues might be struggling with having smooth conference calls. That’s why we’re sharing the best kept secret about holding better phone conferences.

The Problem with Mute

Very often, once everyone joins a conference call, they announce their arrival and then put their phone on mute. And this is understandable – aside from keeping background noise to a minimum, it feels more likely that you’ll accidentally say something to your roommate or partner and forgetting that all can hear.

Unfortunately, when everyone is muted, you lose a vital part of conversations – the response. Often, by the time someone unmutes to make a comment, the original speaker has waited long enough that they feel that no one has anything to say and moves on. Not to mention, it feels like you’re talking to a blank wall and no one is listening when you’re talking into silence without the sounds of acknowledgement you usually get from others you’re speaking to.

And losing these small verbal cues is also what causes speakers to talk over one another. In a physical meeting, there are also nonverbal cues that someone is about to speak. They may sit up straighter, make eye contact, and even open their mouth a little to indicate they want to say something. Over the phone, you lose all of this.

All of these factors combined lead to stilted conversations, missed opportunities to speak, and certain people dominating conversations that should be more collaborative. That’s why our secret to better phone conversations is: don’t mute the mics.

How to Keep Microphones On

For most meetings, ask that attendees try to join from a quiet space and keep unmuted if possible. Be understanding that this won’t be possible for many – some have children or pets that are making a lot of background noise that you’ll want to mute for everyone’s comprehension. But do what you can to get as many microphones on as possible.

Give advanced notice that you’re expecting this to be a collaborative time, and that you will be asking for a microphones-on meeting. That will give your team time to ask other people in the home to help keep the noise down and let them retreat to a quieter room. Be open to shifting the meeting time to meet the needs of the most people.

When you have a microphones-on meeting, you’ll immediately hear the difference in how many people pitch in ideas and speak more naturally. There’s something about having to toggle the mute off that makes speakers second guess if what they have to say is important enough to unmute.

Give muteless meeting a try! Let us know how it goes. We’d love to hear how this works for your team.

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