Okay, it's 2 p.m. and we are starting this call with all 50 people in the department.
Is everyone here?
(Are you planning to call roll?)
No, but 25 people will say Yup anyway. About 10 more will say No.
That brings us to the rules of conference calling for the host:
1 Turn off notifications from your meeting app. Please no ding-dong every time someone arrives.
2 Turn off your phone notifications.
3 Start promptly.
For attendees, get there early. Five minutes early is good.
4 Remind everyone to mute.
For attendees: Don't subject others to air sounds from the car window. Eating sounds. Slurping sounds. Or worse.
5 Send an agenda beforehand and follow it.
6 Pause occasionally and see if everyone gets your point.
7 Provide a post-meeting followup.
Attendees: Take some notes. It helps.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.