Smart communications (3) … during telephone/video conferences

Following the recomendations I published in previous posts about smart communications (with emails: http://www.pgpsi.com/2010/01/smart-communication-with-emails-1.html and on the telephone Smart communications … on the telephone (2)) in this one I will cover some rules to apply during telephone and video conferences.

Telephone and video conferences are a very important tools to facilitate virtual communications and hold virtual meetings.

So:

• Are you organizing the conference? Then familiarize yourself with the technical aspects beforehand. This way you have one less stress factor during the meeting.
• Related documents should be distributed in advance. Ideally, you have a participant at the other location with whom you can go through possibles critical or difficult points in advance.
• Even if the agenda is tight, give everyone the opportunity at the beginning to acquaint themselves with each other. Personal contact is an important basis for future positive teamwork.
• The conference should be conducted in English it the participants are multinational. Avoid side conversations in your mother tongue. This is even more irritating than during a normal meeting and, moreover, impolite.
• Make sure that only one person speaks at a time. Conciously speak loud and clear, avoing background noises.
• Minutes should be distributed within three working days (maximum), answering the quetions “Who is to do what and when?”