As organizations attempt to cut down on costs, the use of teleconference calls increases, to add to face-to-face meetings and/or replace them. However, if not well managed, teleconference calls may deliver poor results. Here are a few tips:

1. Limit the scope of a teleconference call to routine matters or urgent decisions that cannot wait. Avoid scheduling contentious or complex issues for such calls, since they stand to benefit from direct face-to-face interactions. Face-to-face meetings are also essential for team building or strategic planning.
2. Keep the number of participants to the necessary minimum. It is hard to achieve full engagement and efficiency with more than 6 people in a teleconference call.
3. Do as much advance research as possible and plan to focus the discussion on clearly defined decision-making options. Circulate documents in advance, and ask participants to review them and be fully prepared for well-focused discussions.
4. Ensure that everyone knows how to dial in and how to get back to the call if they are inadvertently dropped from it. Technology does not always work perfectly.
5. Ask individuals to eliminate any distractions and be prepared to fully focus on the call. This may include sitting in a quiet place, closing the office door, asking others to not interrupt, and turning off personal computers and e-mail programs (unless it will be necessary to send e-mails or documents to all participants during the call).
6. Keep the teleconference call short. If it is longer than an hour, you may lose people and/or their attention. Start on time and keep things moving. Ask participants to keep their comments brief and intervene decisively if they ramble.
7. Establish how individuals will identify themselves and be recognized to speak. Then stick to this protocol and don’t allow anyone to dominate. For example: “The next topic is ___. Who wants to speak? (take a list). We’ll hear from Joan first, then Ron, and then Ruth. If anyone wants to add their name to the list, just call it out and I’ll make note of it.”
8. Check periodically with those who have not spoken, to ensure they are engaged in the call and to check whether they were inadvertently dropped from the call.
9. Allocate time to agenda items and stick to it. Give reminders: “We have 3 minutes left for this issue. Does anyone have anything new to add? Are we ready to close debate and make a decision?”
10. At the conclusion of each agenda item, summarize clearly the consensus and the follow-up action items (who will do what and by when). This will help ensure follow-up. It will also help in taking minutes for the teleconference call.