A good story has a beginning, middle, and end.  A good story in business also must have a point and relevance to the current discussion.  But on many occasions, hearing that a story is coming tends to make people tune out.  That, and with limited time on a conference call, you’d think that stories had no place.  Not only should stories be allowed in conference calls, it could be your most powerful tool to be heard.

Like a picture, stories illuminate a point better than rattling off numbers or details.  They also make it much easier to remember the message being supported.  But in addition to all that, a story can cut through tons of discussion and focus the audiences attention.  

All of this is very important on a conference call.  First you have limited time.  Second, you can’t see anyone.  Third, there are usually a plethora of distractions at hand.  But when a “story” begins, people zero in and pay attention without realizing it.  They want to know why it’s being told, why it matters, and how everything turns out.  For the duration, you’ve got them.

But to avoid the stigma of stories being boring or long-winded, Anecdote.com has some tips for telling the perfect business conferencing story:

• Have a quick summary at the beginning.  “We don’t want a fiasco like what happened in Dallas.”  All you need is one or two sentences to help the participants zero in.
• Keep it short--90 seconds is a good target.  This is the main way to avoid telling a long-winded story.
• Don’t say “story” or “storytelling time.”  These words cue people to check out and do something else until the story has ended.
• Use time stamps.  “Back in ’08” or “last tuesday” are good ways to start.  It grabs their attention and orients them at the same time.
• Draw them in at the end.  Use questions as the end of the story to tie it all together and bring in the listeners.  “Can we avoid that this year?”  “Do you think we want to do something different?”

Do you use stories in your conferences?  Tell us one in a comment--remember to use these story tips!

A great conference call can do amazing things.  It can inspire, motivate, and orientate employees.  It can engage customers, secure their loyalty, and keep them coming back.  It can do many things, but what about when the conference call ends?  Does the conversation have to stop until the next conference?

The wonderful thing about this new social media world that we’re in, is that people can connect and communicate 24/7.  This is one of the many benefits with conference calls as well.  You can have one anytime, with anyone anywhere in the world.  You’re not bound by distance or timezones.

Well, that’s not totally true.  Time is an issue, because every conference call has to end at some point.  So what can we do to keep the goodness flowing?  We take it online.  It’s easy these days to get a group forum where after the conference, your participants can post feedback about the call or the topics discussed, update on actions taken, or even discuss the issues further.

It’s also a good idea to do email summaries of these post-conference discussions to be mailed out to all involved.  This will keep people in the loop, and maybe even pull in others who haven’t posted anything yet, or even missed the conference.  Keep track of the flow and interest levels by posting polls.  Have a live chat room available for any two participants to exchange ideas at a much faster rate.

The point is that when the conference ends, the energy doesn’t have to follow.  If you keep the communication and collaboration going, then at the next conference call, you’ll have a solid group that’s on the same page and ready to do more good.

I want you to describe the room you’re in right now.  Go ahead, I’m listening.  Yes, out loud.

Okay, I can picture that.  Most rooms are easy to describe.  They usually have four walls, maybe a window, and furniture.  Colors and art might be a bit tricky, but not too bad.

Now describe to me your main product, service, or process.  

It takes a lot more words, a lot more thinking doesn’t it?  How many times did you want to say--or did say--”You’d just have to see it.”?  So what if you weren’t just talking to yourself in an empty room?  (Of course I couldn’t hear you.)  What if this was a conference call with ten important potential clients, a new crop of trainees, or all of your managers?  “You’d just have to see it,” would just not cut it.

So while conference calls are inexpensive, easy to use, and great to meet with hundreds of people at once, they do have that intangible limitation of being without visuals.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is that a video conference is readily available, and don’t forget that any conference call can be augmented by a web conference with just a few clicks of a mouse.

After those clicks, what happens is that all your participants can now see exactly what you’re talking about.  You can show them the pictures, the graphs, and the diagrams.  You can walk them through the website, or show them specifics of the new production line.  Your thousand words get saved by your picture.

Saved, and now those words can be put to much better uses.  You can clarify, answer questions, and elaborate.  And the best part is you won’t have to wonder if you properly described things.

If you’ve written a book and are out there marketing it, chances are that--hopefully--at some point you’ll find yourself being interviewed by a radio talk show host.  I recently read an article with good advice on things you can do or not do to be a good radio guest.  I realized though, that the same advice can help us be a great host when we’ve invited a guest speaker to a conference call.

Just so you know, here are the main tips for being a good radio show guest:

• The Host is the Boss
• Don’t Sell
• Don’t Use a Cell Phone
• Treat Your Interview Like Coffee With a Friend

These tips are excellent for a conference call with a guest speaker.  You, the moderators, and the guest speaker should always try to use a landline when calling into a conference call.  You never know when there’ll be a cell tower hiccup, and getting cutoff mid sentence never looks professional.  It’s good to encourage participants to use a landline as well, but it’s not as important as those on center stage.

A confident yet casual demeanor is the best stance to take in most all conference calls.  It puts the participants at ease, and encourages them to pay attention and join in.  Especially when introducing or talking with the guest speaker, a “coffee house” atmosphere subconsciously lends a calm attitude, which builds confidence, which leads to credibility.

When you host or sponsor a conference call that is not company or product specific, it’s never good to constantly point the spotlight away from the reasons the participants are there.  If they came to listen to the guest speaker, you want to give them what they want--especially if it’s a celebrity guest speaker.  Make a “Brought to you by” announcement at the beginning, make a product announcement at the end, and basically save the advertising for another conference call.

There is one thing that differs in being a radio guest and hosting a conference call: who’s the boss.  Always remember that YOU are in control and are running the show.  But having said that, it’s usually best to make the guest speaker look as good as possible.

In short: put out the word, set up the conference call, warm-up the audience, give them their guest speaker, then get out of the way!

Even the most practiced speaker gets the jitters before giving a presentation; no one wants to look foolish.  Pre-conference tricks and techniques help us relax, but it may take a round of applause, or a smile from someone in the audience for us to know we’re doing well.  Presenting using a conference call helps with stage fright because we don’t have all those eyes on us.  On the other hand, without seeing the audience, how do we know how we’re doing?

The post I read at SpeakingAboutPresenting.com is, on the surface, about recovering from face-to-face presentation disasters, but the main gist is discovering if you’re actually bombing or not.  And though it’s for face-to-face, most of the post’s info is very helpful on a conference call.

For example point #1 is, “You can’t tell how a presentation went just by looking at people.”  We’ve talked before about making assumptions on video conferences, but it’s not an issue with audio only.  Heh, advantage conference calls!  We can’t be mislead by apparent bored looks, or blank faces.

Audiences react differently because all audiences are different.  A lot depends on who they are, their confidence level, how well they know each other, how well they know you, time of day, size of meal, color of room... okay, maybe not the last one, but you get my point.

So how exactly can we tell how we did?  Feedback.  By asking questions, we will know their feelings, how much they learned, and how we did.  If we typically don’t get questions during the Q&A at the end, we try having mini-Q&As throughout the conference call.  We can also ask for input and opinions from people on things we know they know, and get a sense of things from what they say.  And afterwards, we can do follow-up emails, questionnaires, and/or polls.

And like the blog post said, it’s not the end of the world if we discover our presentation was boring.  We simply adjust our material, adapt our style, and do it better next time!

Conference calls are a great tool, but like the double-edged sword, if used improperly they can do unwanted damage.  Let’s revisit some of the tips, tricks, and suggestions for having great and effective conference calls. 

If you don’t need it, don’t do it.  Seriously, a pointless meeting can be more than a waste of time, it can be a morale-sucker.  If it doesn’t need collaboration, feedback, or a human touch, just send an email.

Agendas rule!  They really do, if you want an effective meeting that is.  An agenda clearly states the purpose of the conference call, what is to be covered, how that will be accomplished, and what is to happen after the meeting.  A good agenda gives direction and keeps things on track, people focused, and productivity high.

If you didn’t just send an email, then your conference call needs two-way communication.  Get that input from your participants with group questions, speaking roles, elaboration assignments, pre-conference emailed questions, and solid, pointed Q&A.  If your conference is too large to easily get everyone’s verbal input, use post-conference call questionnaires and follow-up emails.

End on a call to action.  Direct your participants to do what needs to be done.  Make assignments such as individual work directives, study plans, research, or even a potential customer group-orders: “go to our website,” “buy our products,” and even “tell your friends.”  

Be the leader your conference call needs by keeping things on track.  Make sure to start on time and keep everyone on schedule.  Tackle conversational tangents, take important discussions “offline,” and schedule later conference calls for good, but off-topic subjects. 

And end on time too.  Respect people’s schedules and they’ll respect yours.  If you didn’t get it all done in the allotted time, end your conference call with the plan to meet again soon.

Having great conference calls isn’t an arcane secret or even rocket science.  These are some of the big tips; how do you have great conference calls?

A conference call Q&A with too many questions is about as bad as one with no questions.  Both suggest that the conference call wasn’t informative enough.  Either it was too incomplete and people need a lot of clarifying questions, or it was too obscure and they don’t even know what to ask.

“Frequently Asked Questions” or FAQ is a compiled list of all the questions--and their answers--that people have asked before.  And a FAQ distributed with an agenda before a conference call can be especially helpful.

The first use of a FAQ for a conference call is of course to answer the questions that normally occur during the Q&A session.  When participants first read an agenda, chances are there will be a question or two already; a FAQ distributed before the conference call can handle those.  You’ve saved some conferencing time and helped a few people out, and the conference hasn’t even started.     

An interesting use for a FAQ is preparing your participants minds before the conference call.  Reading the FAQ ahead of the conference call can inform about much that will be covered during the presentation.  You can use this.  Mix in guiding yet informative questions and answers with the, well, frequently asked ones.  Choose specific sub-topics that will tease, inform, and orient for the main points you will cover in the conference.

Distribute a FAQ with the agenda for your next conference call.  Leave a comment and report back on your results.

It’s tough enough to run a conference call, and even tougher with people that seem to love interruptions, naysaying, or just plain heckling.  I wrote a post not too long ago about handling hecklers and the like during a conference call, and I just read a post with more tips for dealing with disruptive participants.

The best defense is a good offense, with war and troublesome participants.  Odds are you know the probable heckler you’ll face in an upcoming conference call.  And whether it’s an employee, co-worker, or even a superior, your best offense is to speak with them before the conference starts.  But what do you say to them?

You tell them about a specific part of the conference that they know something about.  Then you ask them for their opinion, input, thoughts and ideas.  Then you tell them you’ll be handling the questions during the conference call, but would like to direct inquires and such to them afterwards.

The reason this will help you with your heckler during the conference is they are now part of the show.  And when you acknowledge their contribution--and their availability for questions later--they won’t want to interrupt.

Try this and my other heckler tips with your next disruptive participant.  Know any other that work?

In business, it’s important to be punctual, to keep to a schedule, and be reliable.  It’s no different when it comes to conference calls.  Sometimes though, it can seem impossible for a conference to follow the agenda or the schedule.  Here are some tips from SpeakingAboutPresenting.com for keeping conference calls on time.

You and the Schedule -  The best way to keep a conference call on time is while it is still in its planning stage.  First decide how long you will actually be speaking--leaving the rest of the time for greetings, introductions, questions, and miscellaneous.  Practice your speaking part aloud while timing it.  Then around that, build the rest of the schedule, including time for every other little thing; 1 minute for a quick update on a project for example.

Select Question Points - It’s natural to “save all questions for the end,” but occasionally this can eat up more time than expected.  If you know a particular stand-alone section generates a lot of questions, have a Q&A for it right then.  This way, the questions are focused on the one section, and not mixed with all the questions for the entire conference call.

Display the Clock -  Well, that’s about it.  Make sure you can see a clock or timer and make sure to start and stop when it says.  The moment you disrespect the time, your participants will too.

There’s a few more points in the link above, but I want to hear about yours.  How do you keep your conference calls on schedule?  Tell us about your methods.

I want to share two lessons I learned recently that will improve your future conference calls.  The night I learned them, it wasn’t a dark and stormy one.  Well, it was dark, being it was 9pm, but the sky was clear as I left my house and the stars shined down on my upcoming misfortune.

I had only driven a block when the car started steering funny, and at the stoplight I got out and saw my rear right tire was very low.  The air pumps at first gas station I went to were out of order.  So were the pumps at the second.  The third had working pumps, but somewhere between station two and three, the low tire blew out its walls.

Fortunately I had a full-sized spare.  With manly gusto I jacked up the car, removed the lug nuts, and tugged in vain on the flat tire for thirty minutes.  It was stuck on the axle or something, I don’t know.  At this time I was approached by a man with a shock-blonde mohawk-ish hairstyle, designer shirt and jeans, and retro-punk cowboy boots who asked if I needed help.  I didn’t even hesitate.  “Yes, please.”

We talked and our consensus was that there must be a locking mechanism somewhere.  Thirty greasy minutes later a distinguished looking gentleman--distinguished even in the shorts and “Margaritaville” t-shirt he was wearing--walked over and asked if we were having trouble.  Without a hint of sarcasm, I said, “Yes, sir.”

“Is that the 2001 model?” he asked.  I nodded--while wiping sweat off and grease on my brow.  “I had one of those,” he said.  “Only the lug nuts keep it on the axle, but I found my wheel had rusted onto the collar.  I just got underneath and hit the tire till it popped off.”  Satisfied with his contribution, he nodded and walked back to his car, confident we could take it from there.  My stylish friend and I exchanged glances, then quickly looked around for something to beat the tar out of my tire.

The distinguished man was right.  The tire popped off on my third frustration-venting hit from under the back of the car.  It went into the trunk, and the spare settled on nicely.  Our work done, my stylish friend shook my hand and abruptly left, off to go clubbing for the evening, or perhaps start a ska-punk band.  I wish I knew.

One of the two lessons here is that in any meeting of the minds, you can never predict where or from whom great ideas will come from.  The second lesson is that if you want to grab the attention of your conference call participants, start off with a good story illustrating your points.