It’s not uncommon to be on conference calls these days. What with the economy making business trips for short meetings a thing of the past, and new technologies with video conferencing making talking to one another not in person more like you’re face to face, we have come to a time when conference calls have become an important, if not crucial, part of any organization or company, especially whilst conducting business globally.

Have you ever been on a conference call where someone was snoring? I have. Have you ever been on a call where someone’s kids were screaming in the background? I have. Have you ever been on a call where the other person’s accent was very difficult to understand, you couldn’t hear them properly, and there was so much background noise both on their line and in your office that you couldn’t concentrate? I have. And I don’t think I’m the only one.

It seems that even though, or perhaps because, conference calls are getting more and more common, people don’t take them as seriously as they should. In a “normal” meeting, do these things happen as often? When you’re face to face with someone, do you really speak like that?

Here are some simple tips to make sure you don’t push people’s buttons when you’re on the line (or how to be professional about conference calling): Read the rest of this entry »