Increase Your Impact on Global Conference Calls

This article is written by Cynthia Owens

If you work for a multinational in Asia, chances are you’ve spent time on a conference call with colleagues around the world. Often this means straining to stay awake on late-night calls while managers in the US or Europe chat about the local office gossip, show up late or occasionally forget you are even on the call.

The challenge is that these calls are often our main lifeline back to the head office and they can be an important way to demonstrate our importance in the organisation. No one working long hours in Asia wants to be out of sight and off of the promotion track. So it’s vital that we make the best possible use of each conference call.

Stay Focused

Conference calls give you a chance to demonstrate your understanding of all aspects of the business because you have a global perspective and in depth knowledge of a region that is growing and crucially important to the bottom line. Calls also give you a chance to contribute ideas that build the success of the team and the business.

The most important thing you can do on a conference call is to make sure you are focused on the meeting. Turn off your email, computer games, or the television and pay attention. You have to listen for the important cues and be aware of who is saying what. Take notes to keep your focus and so you can refer accurately to what's been said.

Be early for the meeting so you can make sure you have a clear connection. This also gives you a chance to create casual conversations with others who might be early. Back in the home office, people pass each other in the hall or chat at the coffee machine. Those first few minutes on the conference call give you a chance to re-establish relationships with people you know or get to know people new to the organisation. Ask questions about work projects, other colleagues or even the weather, just use the opportunity to make a connection.

You have to speak up so you can be heard and speak with enthusiasm or it sounds like your attention is elsewhere. If someone is doing a roll call at the beginning of the call, say: “good morning” or “I wish I could be there with you today” or “Hello from Asia.”

When you want to make a point, say your name. "This in Andrea in Singapore. Our experience is ..." or "This Is Tong in China. We are on track to meet..."

Plan and Prepare

All conference calls need an agenda. If you don't get one 24 hours before the meeting ask for it. Then plan and prepare.

Write down some bullet points so you know what you want to say and so that you don't forget something important. Gather any data or background you might need so you are prepared. Send any documents well in advance of the call so the other attendees have time to make a copy.

If you have something to say, get an item on the agenda. This gets the focus on you and what your team is doing in Asia. But don’t talk just to show that you are awake. Choose a topic that is relevant and make sure you have something important to say. This is an opportunity to highlight the challenges and business opportunities in Asia.

Presenting on a call

If you are making a presentation on a conference call you have to be prepared, if you wing it chances are you blow it. Your goal is to make sure everyone understands your point and to get buy-in for your ideas and proposals.

When you aren’t there in person, you have to streamline the presentation. Your audience at the other end of the call is less forgiving, so keep it short and get to the point. Let people know what you will talk about in advance and if you plan to send any slides, charts or other information do it well before the start of the call.

Practice. You don’t have a lot of time on the call so you have to get it right. Practice what you plan to say out loud.

If you can, discuss any new ideas in your presentation with key stakeholders in the days before the call to get their support and buy-on and to answer any difficult questions. Don’t surprise your boss during a conference call.

Spend extra time when you are planning to anticipate questions from the larger group or even solicit questions before the presentation. It’s hard to make Q&A move seamlessly on a call.

Never Do This on a Call

Never gripe. A conference call is not a good forum for problems especially complaints about people and performance. If you are asked for feedback keep to the facts and take any personnel issues offline. You can say: "Our customers are askIng to get information within 24 hours so we'd like to talk about speeding response times from the U.S." But don't say: "You guys are costing us sales because you are so slow."

Don't hog the call. Remember how easy it is to get bored when someone else talks all the time on a conference call. Don’t be that person.

Don't share lots of stories about Asia, unless they are relevant to the topic. People in the home office don't care that you have a night flight to Delhi or that traffic in Jakarta was horrible. They don't even care that the call is taking place at 11 pm your time. For someone sitting in a windowless conference room in Chicago or Rotterdam, Asia probably still sounds exotic and everyone is focused on their own issues.

Don’t sit quietly if the call isn’t clear. Speak up and announce that the call isn't clear, tell the team 1) you will try to call back to get a clear line and if it’s still not clear 2) tell them you will stay on the call but that any issues involving Asia will have to be postponed or discussed after the call.

Don't wait until the next morning to follow up on important agenda items. Your colleagues in the U.S. will have a whole day go by to make the decision for you or rally their own support. Send brief emails stating the issue and then suggest a solution or outline the steps you will take in the next few business days to come up with a solution.

(c) 2010 Organisation Solutions Pte Ltd.

About the Authors: Cynthia Owens is the senior vice president of Organisation Solutions, a global consultancy specialising in organisational design, development and change solutions worldwide.