远程会议常见挑战与高效应对指南

Well, I hope you never have a meeting like that. This was a bit extreme, but I've been on teleconferences with a lot of these problems, just maybe not all happening at once. The beginning of a conference call is very difficult. First of all, it's hard to figure out who's in the meeting. Web-based meetings are a little better with that because they usually show the names of who's attending. There are also sometimes technical problems. In this case, Tina was on her cell phone and her coverage wasn't good, so her voice wasn't clear. It was breaking up. The other thing is that people were wasting a lot of time. They had to wait for people to join, and then Neil didn't know that he needed to get online. Everyone else was looking at a website with a slide on it, but he wasn't prepared. The last problem was that people worked at the same time. All in all, it was a terrible teleconference. So I'm going to give some guidelines for meeting organizers and for participants, and then also show you language that you'll need to deal with the challenges of teleconferences.

One very common problem with teleconferences is getting the meetings started on time. Participants all often have difficulties with the call-in procedure for a conference call or the login for a web conference. So the first guideline if you're running the meeting is to send out clear instructions well ahead of time and don't send them just once. Include them in every email about the meeting so everyone will be able to find them and get connected. Of course, people will need the call-in number and access code, or if it's a web meeting, the website and login. But also, make sure that people know what documents they'll need in the meeting, and whether there's any special software they have to download or any special devices like a camera or headphones. Just an example of a message with this information. If you're participating in a teleconference, don't wait until the last minute to get connected because you might have trouble. It's a good idea to dial or log in a few minutes early.

Another challenge in a teleconference, unless it's a video conference, is to know who's attending the meeting and who's speaking. When you send out the meeting announcement, list all the attendees, the people who will be attending the meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, say who will be there and who is expected. To see who's there. If you have a web meeting and can see when someone joins your meeting, let the others know. And of course, if you're a participant, identify yourself. Here's some language that helps with this. Erk, you're well-known. Here in the end is Neil on you. OK, Neil has just joined us. Hi, it's Neil. Sorry I'm late. OK, we're just waiting for Kerry. But let's begin. If you have a lot of people attending the meeting, you may need to go through the list of names to see if everyone's there. This is helpful for everyone, so they know who's there. Let me find out who's here. Tina, Karen? I'm going to go through our names. Tina? And don't forget to say your name again whenever you speak. This is Tina. I think that's a good idea. Neil here. I have some information about that. I'll send it to you. It's Erk. The best solution might be to do a focus group. It's Tina again. I agree, Erk.
technical problems during a meeting. If you're new to the conference insight, practice using it before your meeting. Make sure you know about how to use different features of the software. And also, have a backup plan in case something goes wrong with the technology. Think about what you'll do if you don't have access to the online meeting site. When you're going to participate in an online meeting, think about your location and your devices. Do you need headphones? If you're using a phone, could you use a landline instead of a cell phone for a clearer connection? If it's a cell phone, or if you're using Wi-Fi, where will you have the best connection? Where will it be quiet? If it's a video conference, what can others see? Of course, make sure you don't run out of power in the middle of a meeting. Let's look at language again. Here are some ways to talk about common problems. I'm online, but I can't log on to the site. I'm having trouble connecting to the website. Can everyone see the screen? Something happened with the site. I'm having some technical problems here. Did we lose Karen? Tina, you're breaking up.

There's one more challenge to discuss. Time management. Time management is important in every kind of meeting, but there's a special issue with teleconferences. People stop paying attention. It's true. You may have noticed while you're taking this course that you start to lose focus after 15 to 20 minutes. This happens in teleconferences too. But experts say that preparation and efficient time management can help prevent this problem. First, if you're organizing the meeting, be sure to send out any materials people will need early. Be clear about any pre-meeting work that people need to do. Assign it to specific people if necessary. Here are ways to state that you're attaching something to an email. Attach to the results of our market research survey. Attach please find the market analysis. I'm attaching the survey results. These specific about what people need to do before the meeting. Please review them and be prepared to discuss any questions or concerns. We will discuss them at our meeting. Tina will summarize the results, but please look through the report before the meeting.

The next thing that can help is to send out a very specific agenda so that everyone can figure out where you are in the progression of the meeting. And when you plan that agenda, think in 10 to 20 minutes segments. Try to vary the type of discussion so people don't lose focus. People will pay attention if they have an opportunity to participate actively, but in a teleconference you don't want everyone to speak at once. Establish an organized way for people to contribute and explain your plan. Say how much time each person will have and ask for input by name so everyone doesn't speak at once. Does this seem familiar? Yes, it's the same as what you should do in a regular meeting. After Tina's report, I'll ask you for your input. Okay, I'd like to get everyone's input. We have about one minute for each person. Could you start, Karen? Yel, why don't you go next? Eric, do you agree? Tina, do you want to add something? Any other comments? But there are some differences. Sometimes you have a group of people together where you are and then only one or two people off-site. It's your responsibility to keep the off-site people informed about anything important they can...