KaBOOM! Forums

Many of you reading these forums have spent countless hours as part of group phone conversations, or, conference calls. Conference calls are a great way to share new information and ask questions in a medium that holds greater personal resonance and lacks some of the monotony of the mass e-mail.

However, unless there is a shared sense of structure and decorum, these calls may become frustrating to those involved. I always share the following rules of etiquette with a planning group before we hold our first call to help things get off to a productive start. Hopefully you will find them useful as well!

1. Get settled in a quiet, indoor area before the call begins. Tell others around you that you are about to start a conference call and ask them to keep noise to a minimum. Environmental sounds such as traffic, movement, typing, music and children are amplified on the conference line and can be distracting and disruptive to the call.
2. Sign on to the line a few minutes before the scheduled start time so the group can stay on schedule.
3. If possible, put your phone on mute when not speaking.
4. Identify yourself by saying your name each time you speak.
5. Don’t be shy about interrupting the Project Manager/moderator – we are here for you and your ideas.
6. There is no such thing as a bad question – ask away! Someone else may be wondering the same thing.
7. Try not to speak over others or no one will be heard.
8. If you are using a conference phone, get as close to the microphone as possible when speaking.
9. Out of respect for everyone’s time, some specific conversations may be cut short and moved to a different forum (e.g., one-on-one phone calls or e-mails)
10. Help the moderator stay on schedule by sticking to the specific committee under discussion. If you have a burning question or important information to share, write it down and share it at the appropriate time.