Technology has advanced so rapidly that we all take conference calls, and video calls for granted. Communicating over vast distances with many different people is an integral part of business. But the procedures needed to make this communication haven't kept pace. Follow my simple steps to make sure that your conference calls become streamlined saving time and money.

1.
Stop
Wasting
Time
In
Conference
Calls
By
Chris
Wisdom
www.wizcomm.co.uk
Gone
are
the
days
when
you
could
just
walk
down
the
corridor
or
across
the
room
to
speak
to
the
people
you
most
need
to
influence.
When
I
ask
senior
executives
to
estimate
how
much
of
their
time
they
spend
in
remote
meetings
and
conference
calls
the
reply
is
usually
between
30
and
50%
with
some
estimating
it
much
higher.
My
clients
tell
me
how
difficult
they
find
it
to
keep
people
engaged
when
they
are
presenting
in
this
type
of
meeting.
Often
you
are
working
with
people
you’ve
never
met
who
are
in
different
parts
of
the
country
and
frequently
different
parts
of
the
world.
When
you
are
speaking
with
someone
face
to
face
or
in
a
small
group
it’s
much
easier
to
keep
their
attention.
If
they
are
in
an
office
in
a
different
location
it
seems
you
have
very
little
control.
But
remember
it’s
your
responsibility
to
get
their
attention
and
keep
it.
How
to
get
their
attention
and
keep
it
Here
are
5
proven
techniques
to
get
you
started
(more
to
come
in
later
blogs).
It
all
starts
with
the
preparation.
• Only
invite
people
who
really
need
to
be
there
There
is
a
tendency
to
invite
a
lot
of
people
to
a
call
who
don’t
really
need
to
be
on
it.
If
you
go
to
a
concert
and
half
the
audience
aren’t
very
interested
it
creates
a
terrible
atmosphere.
The
uninterested
tend
to
negatively
influence
the
interested.
And
this
can
happen
on
your
call.
Get
the
right
people
there
and
no-­‐one
else.
How
do
you
know
who
needs
to
be
there?
Read
on
…
• Have
a
compelling
purpose
This
is
different
from
the
agenda.
The
purpose
is
all
about
what
needs
to
be
achieved
on
the
call
that
could
not
otherwise
be
achieved
as
effectively.
For
instance
to
make
a
decision,
agree
next
steps
or
seek
opinions.
People
often
say
they
are
giving
an
update.
In
an
hour-­‐long
call
many
in
your
audience
only
need
to
hear
a
little
bit
of
the
information.
So
what
do
they
do
the
rest
of
the
time?
The
same
as
you!
They
answer
emails,
conduct
internal
messaging
conversations,
speak
to
people
who
walk
into
their
room,
feed
the
dog
(if
working
from
home)
…
and
many
other
distracting
activities
which
are
all
sucking
the
life
out
of
the
attention
level
on
your
call.
If
you
have
a
weak
or
unclear
purpose
you
will
have
a
weak
or
unclear
call.

2. • Create
a
practical
agenda
What’s
a
‘practical’
agenda?
It
has
these
characteristics:
1. Specific
–
Every
item
is
easy
to
understand
and
implies
a
decision
or
action
2. Realistic
–
You
will
be
able
to
complete
it
without
out
rushing
any
item
3. Timed
–
You
have
allocated
a
time
slot
for
each
of
the
items
4. Owned
–
Every
item
has
an
owner
who
knows
what
they
want
to
achieve
5. Ending
–
You
allow
time
in
the
agenda
for
a
review
of
agreed
actions
and
next
steps
• Involve
others
–
in
advance
If
you
go
into
important
calls
without
speaking
in
advance
to
key
contributors
and
with
the
feint
hope
that
they’ll
say
the
right
thing
at
the
right
time
then
you
are
planning
like
an
amateur
rather
than
a
professional.
Get
your
contributors
lined
up
in
advance
just
like
you
would
if
you
were
running
a
seminar.
This
includes
the
people
you
need
to
comment
and
engage
in
ways
other
than
presenting
themselves.
Give
them
forewarning.
• Never
book
it
on
the
hour
Most
calls
are
booked
on
the
hour
and
often
for
an
hour.
This
means
that
your
audience
jumps
out
of
one
call
straight
into
the
next.
Time
your
call
so
they
have
a
little
time
to
regroup,
gather
their
thoughts
and
be
on
time
for
your
call.
People
ask
me
…
‘How
can
I
do
all
this
for
all
my
calls?’
I
say,
‘Don’t
do
it
for
all
your
calls
–
just
the
really
important
ones.’
And
then
I
ask
them
why
they
are
wasting
their
time
having
unimportant
ones!