Boring Meetings Suck: Get More Out of Your Meetings, or Get Out of More Meetings

Conference Calls Suck

That's right, it's our favorite pastime! Conference calls are the excuse for a quick makeshift meeting with people in various locations. They're another example of perfectly good technology being used in all the wrong ways.

My main gripe with conference calls? They generally start with less planning than you use to select your morning breakfast cereal. And how does that leave you? As soggy and dull as your Cheerios after soakin' in milk for 90 minutes. Hmm, last time I checked, that would be about the same length as your last conference call. And those are 90 minutes of your life you'll never get back.

I decided to take my own advice and find out what others thought about conference calls. I put the question out on to my social media network: “What's your biggest frustration when joining a conference call?” I received responses within a couple of minutes of posting. (I guess I touched on what many consider a stress point.) Do you agree with these aggravations?

• Moderators who don't know the meaning of moderate in their comments
• Keyboard pecking (listeners audibly typing away on their computers)
• Not knowing who's speaking because the moderator or speaker doesn't make it clear
• When people think they've hit mute and start chatting away (thus inadvertently revealing a lot of personal stuff)
• Having to put up with the stinkin' beeping sound, no matter what you do
• When no one on the call is engaged—no one!
• When you reschedule to accommodate someone and that person ...