Sometimes you want everyone on a conference call to just sit there and soak up the information you are telling them and, if there's time, you'd like just one or two well-thought-out and pertinent questions to answer at the end. More likely though, you probably want some back-and-forth in your meetings. You may need some good interaction.
How have your audio conference meetings been of late? How much audience input has there been? Have they been participants, or just listeners?
Chris Brogan wrote a great post about audiences that can be summed up neatly in this quote:
"The difference between an audience and a community is which direction the chairs are pointing."
I'm wondering if it's ever a good thing to just have an audience when it comes to business meetings. Even when doing a conference call lecture, there is almost always a Q&A session and how many times has someone asked a question that sparked an idea, or made us think? That small "give and take" with a participant can have unanticipated, but beneficial effects.
So what can you do to encourage participants and not listeners in your audio conferencing? There's one surefire way: pause the presentation and ask for feedback.
You can also ask questions of the participants at large, but make sure to phrase things in such a way that encourages the minority to speak up. For example, "Does everyone understand?" could be most of the group. "Does anyone not understand?" is talking—hopefully—to only a few people. Sometimes, to encourage a response from the group, you can ask both of the above questions. This indicates to the participants that the questions aren't perfunctory, that you actually want an answer.
Brainstorming is a tried and true participation technique, and with the inclusion of web conferencing, it can be especially effective. After announcing the focus of the brainstorm, open the web conference group-chat and encourage the posting of ideas. You can read them aloud, banter with the author, ask other's opinions, and even cut-n-paste the best ideas onto a shared Word document.
Sometimes, even normally good participants become just listeners. The good news is, if you want that participation, all you have to do is ask for it.
