Conference calls and virtual meetings can be challenging. Even though they are now part of many companies’ and organizations’ day-to-day schedules, there are always hurdles – some old and others new – that need to be overcome in order to have a meaningful and beneficial call.

Perhaps the one of the largest hurdles conference call hosts and organizers face is eliminating distractions.

Distractions can affect even the most attentive listeners. This can make a difference in so many other areas of the business, not just during the call.

For example, important instructions or follow-ups may be missed or information may not be shared because one or more participants were not paying attention when a specific question was asked by someone else on the call.

But there are steps conference call hosts can take to eliminate or at least lessen the effects of distractions that participants face when trying to join and take away important information from conference calls and virtual meetings.

Distracted participants are common

First, anyone hosting or planning to host a conference call should know that distractions are incredibly common – and sometimes hard or impossible to eliminate completely. Everyone, whether they are working from home or at the office, is constantly being bombarded with emails, text messages, notifications from apps and even other conversations during all working hours.

That doesn’t even account for some of the more miscellaneous and random distractions that can pop up. For those working from home, this could include pets, children, someone at the front door or a neighbor mowing the lawn. At the office, it could be a busy area where there are many conversations and other distracting noises.

Either way, the point is, every person who wants to join a conference call is going to have to come up with a plan to minimize distractions as much as possible.

Why distractions derail conference calls

If distractions are not dealt with, they are going to derail your conference call in some way or another. As noted earlier, distractions can prevent important information from transferring from the speaker to the listeners.

Additionally, simply ignoring distractions is not an effective method for dealing with them. In fact, even if the people on the call are trying their best to ignore distractions, that likely will not be enough. Studies, such as one from Cedarville University, have found that peoples’ ability to retain information decreases significantly when they are surrounded by distractions.

The only way to better retain information – and even hear it in the first place – is to prevent and eliminate distractions in the first place. Next, we will look at how that can be best accomplished so that your next conference call can be successful for all involved.

Tips for eliminating distractions

As a free conference call provider, we’re no stranger to the difficulties that our call participants may face when it comes to distractions affecting their calls. Since we focus on trying to provide the best overall free conference call experience available anywhere, that means we’ve also collected quite a few pointers for getting rid of distractions.

Here are some of our best practices for having a more engaged call with fewer distractions.

Pick a good call environment

The first step that needs to be taken in order to have a quality, distraction-free call is to pick or create an environment that is conducive to that happening.

The best areas to have conference calls have the following attributes:

• Low-traffic with few other people speaking or during other noisy activities
• Few potential sources of distraction – for example: TVs, radios, telephones, computer screens, windows, etc.
• Comfortable conditions, such as furniture or place to sit and a stable room temperature

Calls have a much better chance at being successful if an environment can be found that meets those standards.

Create and follow an agenda

Distractions flourish when there is no clear direction – or when a speaker during a meeting goes off on a tangent and doesn’t redirect themselves back to the main point of discussion quickly enough.

That is why we always recommend creating and following an agenda for every conference call. List out what topics will be discussed and have an idea of how long conversations can stay on individual items so that the meeting can end on time.

Call hosts should always distribute these agendas with enough time in advance so that participants can review the document, make suggestions and otherwise make the necessary preparations for a successful conference call.

With a conference call agenda, you will find that meetings tend to stay more on-topic, have more beneficial conversations and often do finish within their allotted time – which is always appreciated by those calling in.

Learn how to use conferencing software and hardware

Technology is known for throwing curveballs at even the best of us. When it comes to conferencing, it’s important that the host be trained or at least familiar with how the required software and hardware operate in order to have a professional conference.

The first time you use any equipment, such as a microphone, headset, phone or speaker, should not be when you are trying to start an actual meeting. Make sure everything is in working order beforehand so participants do not become annoyed and check out at some point during the call.

Keep meetings brief

Finally, try to keep meetings brief. An agenda, like the one suggested above, will help with this, but the importance of brief meetings cannot be overstated.

People can only devote their attention to certain tasks for so long. Conference calls, especially those where everyone is spread out across multiple locations, are one of the tasks that can be difficult to give 100% of your attention to if they stretch out for too long.

Do yourself and your participants a favor by picking a call length, communicating that expectation and sticking to it.

Enjoy better, more engaged conference calls

Once everyone has eliminated distractions, you and your team are ready to have a better, more engaged – and more enjoyable conference call.

For an even better chance of success, be sure to communicate these best practices with your team.