Never multitask on a conference call
Conference calling is fast becoming the general way of doing business with people from all over the world. With the advent of this service, the incidence of conference calls has skyrocketed. Setting up a conference call is very simple, further increasing the popularity of conference calling.
Making contact has become easy and there is no longer a need for your physical presence every time. This is definitely a great boon, but the lack of face-to-face contact can also make participants relax a bit. In fact, many people think that they can get away with doing almost anything while attending a conference call.
For example, you might think that you can send that pending email to your subordinates while listening to the other participants as they discuss the schedule for the new project. Or perhaps, you will finish signing the papers with only one ear in the ongoing debate. Especially when you are not involved in an argument, it is very tempting to complete to-dos in the meantime.
And this is quite common. According to a 2013 Meeting Behavior Survey, 92% of information workers admit to multitasking during meetings, and 41% of respondents say they do it often or all of the time.
You may be trying to save time or do more work. Unfortunately, neither of those works, as you end up wasting your own time and that of others as well. This is because you are likely to drift onto the other job and lose track of what people are saying on the conference call. It gets quite embarrassing when someone has to ask you to give your opinion or worse, you have to ask someone to repeat a question that was asked of you!
What’s more, the sound of typing, shuffling papers, or even chewing can easily be carried over the airwaves and everyone will know that you are doing something else even while the call is in progress. This can distract other participants or even interrupt ongoing procedures. Muting the call is an option, but it often happens that you can forget to mute or mute the call again later, leading to a lot of problems.
So being out of sight doesn’t mean that you can forget it too, or even have other things on your mind. When a conference call is in progress, you need to give your full attention and actively participate without being busy with other tasks. Even when taking notes or doing something else, be sure not to make too much noise.
So, whether it’s a free or paid conference call service, the call demands your full concentration and consideration. Pay as much attention to what is happening on the call as you would when you say, learning how to set up a conference call. Emails, files and even the sandwich can wait until later …