Five tips for the perfect conference call
Many of us are social distancing and working from home, so here is a guide to conference call etiquette.
Let's call 2020 the year of social distancing. With the ever-increasing pandemic of COVID-19, as a society, we have been forced to adapt to a new way of working.
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Working from home seems simple enough, but not everyone can get their head around conference calls. Yes, Susan, please unmute your mic so we can hear you...
In the past few days, you would have heard phrases like, "sorry I was on mute," "can you hear me no," and "sorry, poor internet connection."
It can all be rather frustrating, so we have come up with a guide to ensuring your conference call goes off without a hitch!
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- At the start of the conference call, please mute yourself. Background noise does not make for a pleasant listening experience for your colleagues.
- Test your computer/ headset before beginning. Things need to move quickly; we cannot be fixing our devices mid-meeting
- Avoid being late. Entering the meeting once everyone has settled in can cause a huge disruption. Let's make this calls as seamless as possible.
- Before you speak, announce yourself and wait a second. You do not want to be talking over another person, remember you're not face-to-face, so social ques are out the window.
- Sit somewhere quiet. Although we all love pets, it's not very professional if you're telling Roofus to shoo while the MD is talking.
With just over two weeks left of lockdown in South Africa, we hope this list helps you out. Remember to stay safe and stay at home.