American Idol continues to bring home lesson after lesson for conference call leaders everywhere. Here are 15 different ideas to keep in mind when you lead conference calls. I’ll post 1 — 7 today and 8 — 15 in my next post. Be sure to read all 15 ideas!

1. Simon tells it straight — like it or not, he just tells you straight feedback. He doesn’t bother with packaging, he’s abrupt and to the point. For a guy with a net worth of $100 million, you’d think EVERY CONTESTANT would be paying very, very close attention to his words! On a conference call, how do you give feedback to your participants when challenges arise? Do you give feedback like Randy (slang), Paula (sugar coated), or Simon (sledgehammer)? Generally speaking, straight feedback earns your trust and respect from your peers.

2. Contestants either focus on the audience or on themselves. The audience consistently votes for those contestants who sing to the audience and eliminates the ego-based contestants. On conference calls, where is your focus? Is it on the agenda or on the participants attending the call? People, not the agenda, get the work done. Remember: people first, agenda second. Always.

3. There are contestants who make it look so easy. When you have talent AND know how to use that talent, it is easy. For the rest of us, it is work, work, and work! Even the best conference call leaders started out making mistakes and falling flat on their collective faces. Continue to develop your skills no matter how good you become at leading calls.

4. Insulting the judges DOES NOT win you the competition. Insulting one or more of your participants is a great way to make your life as a conference call leader miserable.

5. 164 contestants selected from 100,000 people. Thankfully, there is no such thing as American Conference Call Leader! If the Pareto Principle (a.k.a. the 80/20 Rule) were true for conference call leaders, then 20% of the leaders are highly skilled and 80% of the leaders are in serious need of skills training and good role models! See #3 above.

6. Stage fright is real and singers forget words. Fear is your first clue that you are in performance mode on your conference call. Immediately shift your attention to your audience and how to support them to get the most out of the conference call and you’ll find leading is easy.

7. Listening to people who know a lot about something is wise. Arguing with them is pointless. Know when to listen (most of the time) and when to argue (very little of the time). For conference call leaders, ask good questions, listen most of the time, and help the participants on your call to be brilliant. If you give them a chance, the participants on your call will amaze you.

See the next post for ideas 8 – 15.

Posted by Byron Van Arsdale
Creator of Executive Conference Call Leadership
ConferenceCallTraining.com

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