Participants make an immediate judgment about how your call will go the moment they enter the call. Much like dating, interviews, and sales calls, you have one chance to make a good first impression. Start the call off right and you have their attention. Start the call off wrong and they will immediately start multitasking. That is the good news. That bad news is there are multiple ways to make a poor first impression!
Two immediate methods to derail your call right from the start can be found on these previous posts: Get On The Call Early! and Waiting For Others to Start Your Conference Call. Let outline a third method.
You are feeling good! You’ve arrived on the call before everyone else, fully prepared, and you have eliminated the phrase “We’ll be starting the call in just few minutes.” from your vocabulary. As people join the call you welcome them. Being a “people person” you feel a simple welcome is a little too formal and you decide to personalize it by asking, “How are you?” after you greet each person. Bummer!
Here is what happens. Participants start spilling their guts out about things that have nothing to do with the agenda of your call. After doing this with one or two people, it feels awkward to not do it with the remaining 4 people on your call. At this point, the call is in chaos and you still have to get everyone back on track. It is amazing how many leaders unconsciously employ this strategy and think this is the normal way to start a call.
Here is an alternative way to start your call on a powerful, focused approach that also builds a sense of connection with the participants. Before you get on the call, write down one simple question (10 words or less) that is directly related to your agenda. As people get on the call, welcome them, and invite them to respond to your question when they are ready. As the new participants are formulating a response, continue your discussion with the participants already on the call.
Two important points here. First, ask the same question over and over. Do NOT change the wording of the question. Second, do NOT put participants on spot by forcing them to respond the moment they arrive on the call. Keep this dialogue light and summarize (with attribution) keen insights that participants have provided.
This approach immediately engages your participants by having them focus on the agenda of the call. As people arrive onto the conference call, the call has “already started” and they immediately focus on the discussion. By welcoming them into the call and telling them the key question, you are both inviting them into the call and helping them to focus on the call. The early arrivers will love that the call is on topic and moving! The later arrivals will enjoy stepping into the flow of the call. And you, as the leader, can now easily begin working on agenda items and with luck, even end your call early.
The next time you are tempted to ask, “How are you?” on a conference call, don’t. Instead, ask a good question.
Posted by Byron Van Arsdale, Founder
ConferenceCallTraining.com
