Call Control in a Hard to Control Virtual World - Part 3
You made it! You prepped for your call, hosted the call, and it was full of engagement. Now that the call is over you can just CHILLAX to the MAX, right??
NEGATIVE. It’s time to put on your cape and play the role you were born to play, “ACAH” – The After Call Action Hero. Alright maybe these tasks are not as heroic as I make them seem, but nevertheless, they are critical for capitalizing on momentum and fostering ongoing success.
If you have not done so, start at Part 1. From time to time, I will make references to these in order to tie everything together.
Alright, my conference call senses are tingling, let’s jump into what should be done once the call is over:
1. Strike while the ZOOM is HOT!
If your day is anything like mine, your calendar looks like a bad game of Tetris! Colorful blocks everywhere, taking up every ounce of space and time known to man on your calendar. Furthermore, my calendar constantly falls victim to time snatchers. You know them, the people that say, “I looked at your calendar and I see you have a meeting titled “Eat and Breathe” at noon today, you don’t need to do that, right? Do you mind if we meet then?” So the norm is that we are always, double, triple, quadruple, or even quintuple booked (had to Google that one).
What is a call host to do when you just ended an initial call but need to schedule several follow-up meetings? Your best bet is to IMMEDIATELY schedule the next call or calls. (Assuming that your initial call was not established as a recurring meeting.) By scheduling your next call immediately (I have found that) more people are flexible regarding meeting times, particularly as the initiative’s priority is still fresh on their minds. Ideally, you could go one step further and mention the time you plan the next call to be while you are still on the conference call and send out the invite right then... but if you did not have time to do that, as soon as your say your “BYE BYE’s”, get the next meeting on the calendar…. and by the way, don’t forget to Hit Em’ with the P.A.N.!
2. Jack Bauer Power Notes – Notes Have an Expiration Date
I don’t know about you but I was a HUGE fan of drama series “24”. I think it was amazing how one man could start his day headed to the grocery store and then WHAM!! – get in a car accident, save the people in the other car, remove the nuclear weapon from their trunk, protect the city, rescue the president, take a bullet for the ambassador, and do it all in 24 hours. The guy was tough! It was amazing what Jack could do with 24hrs.
Now I need you to get your Jack Bauer on when sending meeting notes. The clock is ticking…Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep….
Why 24 hours? Excuse my French, but a lot of SHIFT can happen in 24 hours. We all get busy, we may forget when the call happened, the sponsor could change their mind regarding the scope, resources could be re-assigned… - the list goes on. Furthermore, sending notes within 24 hours serves as a reminder of the call and a refresher regarding action items while your meeting is still top of mind for all attendees. The best-case scenario is you send your meeting notes immediately following the call. If this can’t be done, the next best thing is to always ensure to get them out within 24 hours.….Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep….
3. Commit to Kaizen
Kaizen is a term commonly used in Japan for continuous improvement. By definition it means to “change for better”. I am intentionally ending with this tip because to “control” conference calls is a journey. The journey will get better and better and be more productive the more you practice and refine your skills. I have led thousands of calls and, to be honest, when I first started out I was nervous. I am talking extreme anxiety that would be manifested in the form of uncontrollable yawning, having to have a snack before and after the call (anxious eating), sweating profusely - the list goes on.
To manage, I identified the area I felt the most anxious about, which was opening the call. Then I began making scripts for my introduction. Why not? On most calls no one could see me, how would they know I was reading a script?
Additionally, to further refine my calls, I began recording them and taking note of where I would stumble, or mumble- and why. Usually, this was due to uncertainty about the topic or action item. So I set a plan to ensure I addressed ambiguous topics and tasks prior to the call beginning.
Lastly, I started asking my peers and superiors for feedback. Over time, I got better, but I still have room to grow. So if now and again you lose control of your call, don’t sweat it. Just make a commitment to make each call better than the last. …Heck, you are already on the road to success by reading these posts!
