When taking part in teleconferences, just because you are talking to people over the phone does not mean you don’t have to worry about being polite or proper etiquette. Like an in-person meeting, you need to have good etiquette to help make for a more pleasant, effective, and efficient teleconference.
Without proper call etiquette, you can come across as rude, especially since there are no visual ques to help you out. To help you ensure you have great call etiquette every time, let’s take a look at some tips.
1. Arrive on time
Like with everything else, make sure to arrive on time for your teleconference. In fact, try to arrive a few minutes early to give yourself some time to prepare yourself. Showing up late, even though it is a conference call, is unprofessional and will not look too good on your part. Being on time also helps make the call run smoother as there is less worry about you showing up late and potentially causing a disruption.
2. Be prepared
Before the call, make sure that you get understanding of how to work the teleconference service, as well as how to join the call, as this is something you do not want to be figuring out last. With that, it is also smart to have your dial-in information in an easy-to-access place so you don’t have to go searching for it. It’s also always a good idea to review the call agenda. That way you know what to expect out of the call, along with who is speaking and for how long.
3. Introduce yourself
As one would do in an in-person meeting, it is always polite to introduce yourself to everyone on the call. Unlike an in-person call, it can be hard to tell who is there, especially when you are unable to see faces and names, so introducing yourself helps let others know that you are there. With that, repeating your name when you are going to say something is also a good habit to get into, as it makes it easier to differentiate who is speaking.
4. Understand when it is appropriate to speak
We all know it’s rude to talk over others while they are speaking. Being on a call, sometimes it can be hard to not do this as there is only really one person allowed to talk at a time. If you are on a call with a large group of people, that can make it even harder. That is why, if you are going to speak, wait for a pause or when the person speaking is finishing up their thought. This way you are less likely to speak over them and come off as rude.
If you do have something important to say and are worried about interrupting someone, some teleconference services let you digitally “raise your hand” to let know others that you have something to say or ask.
5. Be aware of background noise
No one wants to be in a call with someone who is in a very noisy room that can be heard every time they talk, drowning out what they are trying to say. So, to prevent this from happening to you, try to find a quite area to take the call where you are less likely to be disturbed. Sometimes it can be hard to find a quiet space, so just make sure to let others in the call know of your situation and that there may be some noise on your end, and to let them know to tell you if it’s too loud or they can’t hear you. This helps to show that you are aware of the noise and apologetic.
Start teleconferencing today!
Want to get started with teleconferencing? Check out SimplyCast’s Instant Teleconference software.
SimplyCast’s Instant Teleconference lets you set up conference calls with contacts in a quick and easy way, helping you respond quicker to emergencies or save time when holding a meeting.
Instant Teleconference allows you to dial out to contacts, a feature unique to SimplyCast. Dialing out is where instead of having participants dial in and use codes, the host just calls them from the software and they just answer their phones to be connected to the conference.
Sound interesting? Want to give it a try? Click on the button below to request a demo and get in contact with a SimplyCast team member today!
