What to Do When Things Go Wrong in Your Teleconference Part 1
Hosting teleconferences can be a valuable extension of your professional speaking business.
They will help you establish your expertise in your niche.
They will help you cement relationships with your clients.
When offered on a regular basis, teleconferences provide a steady stream of income.
As in any venture you must be prepared to handle situations that do not go as well as you have planned.
This article describes some of the most common problems you may encounter, and how to deal with them.
1.
Dealing with Rude or Combative Participants If you have given more than one teleconference, it is entirely possible that you have encountered someone who was rude or combative as a guest.
These types of interruptions disrupt everyone on the call.
My advice is to remain strong and most important, remain in control.
Use the listener mute button (often *6) when you need to.
Do not be wishy-washy.
Be polite, but maintaining your credibility with your audience is much more important than a wise guy getting his kicks by demeaning you.
If a hard to deal with disrupter or competitor opposes you, silence them and do not permit them to rejoin this teleconference or later teleconferences.
Keep in mind that someone who has legitimate objections or concerns is not a disruptor.
An imbecile who is trying to be dirty, rude, or harassing is a disrupter.
If there is a legitimate objection raised, you can come back with, "Great question.
Here's how I see it...
" You must always be in control of the question and answer portion of the teleconference.
When you follow up a question with discussion be sure to note the question.
If you have a hostile question, rephrase it to disarm them.
Then you can answer the question appropriately.
It is important to give the recipient a "very short leash" in their response.
Most hostile individuals turn around when given an appropriate, caring answer and many even become great future customers.
2.
Handling Excessive and Distracting Background Noise If background noise gets out of hand, mute the participants.
If someone is coughing, or someone has a crying child in the background, mute the participants.
Mute everyone from the beginning if you think that will help.
You may need to isolate someone's cell phone, and mute that person if their phone causes a buzz or static.
Tell the audience that they are muted and why.
Also tell them how to get your attention to ask questions.
They will help you establish your expertise in your niche.
They will help you cement relationships with your clients.
When offered on a regular basis, teleconferences provide a steady stream of income.
As in any venture you must be prepared to handle situations that do not go as well as you have planned.
This article describes some of the most common problems you may encounter, and how to deal with them.
1.
Dealing with Rude or Combative Participants If you have given more than one teleconference, it is entirely possible that you have encountered someone who was rude or combative as a guest.
These types of interruptions disrupt everyone on the call.
My advice is to remain strong and most important, remain in control.
Use the listener mute button (often *6) when you need to.
Do not be wishy-washy.
Be polite, but maintaining your credibility with your audience is much more important than a wise guy getting his kicks by demeaning you.
If a hard to deal with disrupter or competitor opposes you, silence them and do not permit them to rejoin this teleconference or later teleconferences.
Keep in mind that someone who has legitimate objections or concerns is not a disruptor.
An imbecile who is trying to be dirty, rude, or harassing is a disrupter.
If there is a legitimate objection raised, you can come back with, "Great question.
Here's how I see it...
" You must always be in control of the question and answer portion of the teleconference.
When you follow up a question with discussion be sure to note the question.
If you have a hostile question, rephrase it to disarm them.
Then you can answer the question appropriately.
It is important to give the recipient a "very short leash" in their response.
Most hostile individuals turn around when given an appropriate, caring answer and many even become great future customers.
2.
Handling Excessive and Distracting Background Noise If background noise gets out of hand, mute the participants.
If someone is coughing, or someone has a crying child in the background, mute the participants.
Mute everyone from the beginning if you think that will help.
You may need to isolate someone's cell phone, and mute that person if their phone causes a buzz or static.
Tell the audience that they are muted and why.
Also tell them how to get your attention to ask questions.
