Making a good impression on a conference call can leave a lasting impression on those who attended, especially if you’re “meeting” new people such as clients or team members.
If the call is the first time you’ll interact with them, you want to be as professional and courteous as possible, so they don’t remember you as the guy who was talking over everyone and had a dog barking in the background. These tips will help you make the best impression possible, whether you’re on your very first conference call or your hundredth.
1] Introduce Yourself
Anytime you’re in a call with new people, you should always introduce yourself by first and last name and title, if applicable. This way, the new people will learn to differentiate your voice from the rest and will know who you are and what you do when you’re speaking.
This is especially important with new clients, as they’ll want to familiarize themselves with the people in the organization they’re working with.
That being said, if you’re on your hundredth call with a client, you won’t need to introduce yourself. After a while, it becomes redundant and your client will know your voice after a few calls.
A proper introduction is considered to be courteous and polite, and also shows that you’re confident in who you are and what you do. Just as a handshake can tell a person a lot, so can an introduction on a conference call or meeting.
2] Don’t Interrupt
This tip shouldn’t even need to be discussed, but, sadly, not everyone understands the concept of being polite and not interrupting someone who’s talking.
Interrupting someone is both rude and disrespectful, and paints you as a person that doesn’t care about what other people have to say. This is the last thing you want if you’re trying to impress a new client or welcome new team members to your business.
If you have something to say, you must wait until the speaker is finished. There are exceptions to this rule, however, including time constraints (especially with someone who talks and talks for several minutes). Generally speaking, you should never interrupt someone when they’re talking.
Whatever you have to say can wait, and should never be prioritized over what someone else is discussing. There’s nothing more frustrating than being constantly interrupted during a call!
3] Familiarize Yourself With the Mute Button
Distractions can easily derail a meeting or make it less effective overall. This includes background noise coming from your environment.
If you’re at home or in an otherwise loud environment during a conference call, familiarize yourself with the mute button and use it. Loud barking dogs, screaming children, or other noises can be a nuisance to the other callers, and honestly, it becomes quite annoying after a while.
If you’re hosting the call on a web conference platform like those at https://www.conferencecalling.com, you can mute other callers with the press of the button. Web conferencing platforms are great because they give you full control of the call.
Most landlines don’t allow you to mute other callers or control other aspects of the call, so these tools are a good option for those looking to up their conference calling game.
4] Provide Valuable Input
If you want to contribute to the call and make a good impression, you’ll want to provide valuable input on the discussion points. Humor is alright now and then, but your entire contribution to the call shouldn’t be comedic relief.
Contrary to what you may think, cracking jokes throughout the call is more likely to get on everyone’s nerves than to make them like you more. Humor has a time and a place, and it’s not always on a conference call.
If you’re an expert in the area of discussion, your input is especially valuable (hence why you were invited to begin with), so don’t sit in silence during the call. Provide insight into the subject matter and enlighten the other callers with your expertise.
5] Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions
Last, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Asking about something you’re unsure of or want to know more about doesn’t make you look foolish, in fact, it can have the opposite effect.
Well-thought-out questions actually make you seem much more intelligent, as you’re analyzing the data you’ve been given and asking strategic questions to ensure you’ve retained the information.
Encourage other callers to also ask questions, as they’ll want to retain the information as well. Remember that there’s nothing wrong with asking a good question, but questions just for the sake of asking a question are burdensome and obnoxious.
Again, humor has a place and a time, and it’s not always in the conference call. Keep questions simple, straightforward, and content-oriented.
