Comments on: Are You That Lone Voice on the Telephone?

By: Jake

Jake — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:07:05 +0000

@Craig: Nice collections of tips. Since most of my meetings are internal, I try to stay away from any references to my home-office or working situation, just to make it as vanilla as possible.

I don’t want anyone to think I have either a better or worse situation than I would in a cube to avoid jealousy/favoritism or questions about my focus/work habits.

This is just my take, and it might be different if I didn’t have so many internal meetings with cube/office dwellers.

By: Craig Wilson

Craig Wilson — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:24:22 +0000

I’m now in my second job where I work remotely. The first one was quite a few years ago, and coming back to telework after a five year hiatus I find that the situation is much improved. Between modern technology (especially high-speed internet) and the increased use of telecommuting, many of the old problems have been resolved. Here’s a couple thoughts:
-Requesting agendas and supporting documentation before the meeting is still an issue, although the increasing use of remote software (like Lotus Sametime or PCAnywhere) solves a lot of them. If I can connect to the computer that is being used to show the PowerPoint slides, the meeting goes much faster.
-Use instant messaging. Set up an IM chat with the meeting moderator before the meeting. If the discussion gets heated the voice on the phone will get drowned out. IM the moderator and have him/her act as your champion to carve out airspace for your voice. They can also IM immediate feedback on some of the visual clues that you’re missing (i.e., “BT rolling eyes, JT ROFL”).
-JK is right about using humor. Being the voice on the phone means that you’re the stranger in the room, so you need to make an effort to break the ice every time. It could be a running comment about working in bunny slippers, that your administrative cat is sitting on the piece of paper you need, or simply commenting about what’s going on outside your window. I just got off of a teleconference a few minutes ago where I had forgotten to silence an antique mantel clock in my home office. Partway through the meeting it started to gong the hours (9:00). After I apologized about my great-grandmother’s clock interrupting the meeting and a brief digression about how they imagined my office looked like (they were way off!), the meeting continued, and ran smoother than before the interruption.

By: Jake

Jake — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 04:29:03 +0000

@JK: Solid tips, I especially like the humor angle. Speaking of which, do you have a thing for hot tubs :) Sounds like taking a call from your place is pretty fun.

By: JK

JK — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:28:05 +0000

I’ve been the guy on the phone for a little over three years now. Fortunately my employer’s clients are also mostly made up of globally dispersed professionals, so my team is fairly sensitive to the issues.

Bigger meetings with four or more people in the room (plus you) are the real challenge. I’ve found a little bit of humor goes a long way towards helping them understand the problems with phoning it in. If I need somebody to repeat something, I’ll joke that I was mixing daquiris or that the hot tub was on while they were talking. It acknowledges that I’m the problem that needs to be accommodated — without being pissy about it.

It also helps if you can designate someone on the call as your advocate, someone who is able to tell you who is in attendance, clarifying points, asking you if you heard clearly etc.

But sometimes you just have to give up. I was on a weekly team call that turned into a gabfest as we said goodbye to a team member. I finally I asked for everyone’s attention and said, “I feel like I’m attending a hot tub party via binoculars. I’m sure its really fun there but I’m not seeing it.”
I guess I’m just saying direct communication with a bit a humor goes a long way.

By: Jake

Jake — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:11:31 +0000

@Beau: I’m glad you found some value. Let me know if you have anything to add on either end of the phone.

@Puneet: I can’t recall that happening to me, even years ago when I was the lone phone ranger. Too funny.

By: Puneet Thapliyal

Puneet Thapliyal — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 23:13:11 +0000

And when the meeting ends, no one in the meeting room says goodbye to the folks on the phone conference. Hell, they even forget to hang up the phone in the end. I have sometimes walked into meeting rooms to find the phone still on.

For telephone carriers:

- Enable phone conference support
- People won’t hang up
- Profit!

By: Beau

Beau — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:07:13 +0000

I’m that guy on the phone and I learned a few things from this post.

This is great with hints for that person on the phone as well as the group in the conference room.

By: Jake

Jake — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:59:09 +0000

Thanks Marshall. I need to print up a mini cheat sheet reference to stay on my conference call game now.

By: Marshall Kirkpatrick

Marshall Kirkpatrick — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:43:52 +0000

Good post Jake, one that warrants a close read for sure.