Communicating Across The Globe: Part 2
Or so you think. But that’s not always the case with this gesture. I interact with people across the globe and they have all made it easy for me by speaking English, but I’m not so easily off the hook with face-to-face communication. Gestures have a sneaky way of illuminating differences, making us look silly or offending our audience.
During a recent video conference, the speaker ended his presentation with the familiar “thumbs up” gesture to indicate “all good.” An Aussie conference participant looked startled and then a little amused. “All good” is probably not what came to mind first for him.
In Australia, the “thumbs-up” gesture is obscene if the thumb is in motion. Moreover, this gesture will not serve you well in a number of countries including Turkey or with the older generation in Japan.
As video conferencing becomes more popular, a little awareness can help us all stick to only the messages we wish to convey and increase the likelihood that things will be “all good.”
The business landscape is changing and more employees are working virtually. The benefits are easy to identify: money saved on facilities, flexibility, a 24/7 workforce and hiring based solely on talent - not location. This list goes on.
What about the challenges? Specifically, those associated with communication and collaboration? Dispersed workers still need to work as cohesive teams so what can be done to ensure success?
Changes in management along with technology offer the support that can allow remote employees to be as effective and productive as office-based colleagues.
Technology enables the virtual marketplace but management must also change to reflect, enable and support this new way of working. Trust and performance metrics are increasingly more important.
So where does social media fit in with this? Are timesheets still relevant? For more information on tools like IP Telephony, unified communications and management techniques strategies, download the free whitepaper:Best Practices for Managing a Virtual Team by Frost & Sullivan.
We know – it’s nowhere near the same experience if you record it and watch after you have already heard the outcome of the game. So, conferencing may be the next best thing to taking off work to watch. Just remember to utilize the mute button on your remote and monitor your excitement to avoid sudden outbursts.
Here are some other suggestions for effective conferencing over the phone:
Be prepared. If you are hosting the conference, aim to dial in at least five minutes before the scheduled start time. Remember the other participants can’t talk to each other if you are not there. Ensure everyone knows that you are hosting the call and has the correct dial in numbers and passcodes. Like any other meeting issue an agenda prior to the call and advise participants of the estimated start and finish times.
Be organized. Get the name of each person on the call so that everyone is aware of who has been able to join the call. Use the handset when possible and mute the line when not speaking or if you really need to get out a verbal response to the game. Activating broadcast mode will ensure that the meeting is not disturbed and locking the conference call will not only avoid interruptions from latecomers but will also enhance the security of the call. If you are hosting and need to leave the call early, activate conference continuation. This will allow participants to continue speaking. A recording of the conference is a useful resource - especially when distractions may be involved.
Be polite. Avoid making side noise or walking around the room as voices can fade in and out. Be aware that when you use talk mode, all the participants can hear you. Switch it off if you are not speaking or don’t want your comments heard. Definitely mute the game.
Be Enthusiastic. Remember your voice accounts for 78% of your effectiveness on the telephone. Speak clearly. When asking questions, direct each question to a specific participant whenever possible as open discussions can be confusing when several people are participating. Channel some of that positive futbol enthusiasm!
ACT is 20 years old this year. I’ll be 40 years old this year.
In the past 20 years, ACT has had a number of “firsts, bests and onlys”. (I have had a few in my 40 years, as well.) In 1997 ACT Conferencing delivered the first real-time allocation Global Reservations System (GRS). In the old days, when dealing with global conferencing companies, if a customer wanted to book an audio conference call in a different country, they had to call that center directly or wait until the office was staffed so liaising could happen. Real-time GRS allows callers to book their audio conference calls any time, in real time. Eerily, in 1997 I shifted course from a career in radio, to a career in Marketing, which would eventually lead me to ACT Conferencing. Coincidence?
Fast-forward ten years. In 2007, ACT Conferencing introduced Global Bridge Linking (GBL), which is like “meeting in the middle”. In other words, rather than calling an access number on the other side of the globe or having your provider backhaul your voice to central location, GBL allows ACT customers to access the call through a locally recognized toll-free number that terminates on a local bridge. The benefits are huge! With GBL, conference call users get an attendant with a familiar language and local accent, they get the same audio quality they have come to expect from ACT, and even better, GBL can reduce conference costs by up to 33 percent. (And these days, we all need that 33%.) To continue with the theme, also ten years later (in 2007), I had my first interview with ACT Conferencing. See how crazy the world works, sometimes?
What does it even mean these days to be international? Is “global” the same thing as “international?” How do you create a meeting environment that is both culturally sensitive and culturally neutral? Is that even possible? I think I’ve contradicted myself.
There is no simple answer, and we’ve certainly tried a lot of different things. But the best description of how we approach the question is the old catch phrase “think globally, ACT locally” (originally attributable to at least six different individuals, according to Wikipedia). And, yes, the pun is intended… A little recognition or acknowledgement of cultural differences goes a long way in my experience.
Perhaps the hardest thing about international conference calls is not the cultural differences, but is the dreaded time zone issue. No matter how you slice it, if the call has people all over the world, someone is going to be in their pajamas!
Sometimes, the global conference call can produce some unexpected (but humorous) results, like the time I was on a conference at midnight in London (where I was living at the time) and one of the Denver participants (5 p.m.) fell asleep and was snoring into the call. It sounded like a lawn mower was being run right next to the phone, and it brought the conversation to a grinding halt as we tried to figure out first what the noise was and then who it was. Needless to say, that was a call I will always remember.
Here are a few tips to help you have a successful international meeting.
Time zone converters are your best friends when it comes to finding a time that is appropriate. Try this one: Time Zone Conversion Tool for Global Meetings
Start meetings on time. All cultures have different approaches to what is acceptable in terms of “on time”, but you will never go wrong if you start your conference exactly when you have scheduled it to start.
Provide as much notice as possible to your meeting participants, especially if you are asking them to meet outside of their normal work day.
Speak slowly and enunciate clearly on your call. Even different accented versions of the same language can sound foreign when you speak quickly. Think British, Australian, and American English – do we really all speak the same language?
Above all, if you are the person who has to get up really early or stay up late, do everything in your power not to fall asleep on the call!!!!
‘Til next time!