It is true that is seems the topics, in some respects, are jumping around a little. I have a lot to try to cover, and sometimes it is hard to “put them in order”. By mixing it up a little, I hope the discussion becomes less mundane.

My day is usually occupied with e-mails and meetings. Long enough ago, the meetings took place strictly via conference call. Now, technology has permitted the discussions to take place and include video (namely the platforms that rhyme with Snipe, and WebFlex). This will focus mostly on the vocal / voice aspect of the calls – primarily because a lot of people I know don’t use the video component of meetings.

So many times the host starts the call with “for those not talking or presenting, please mute your phones to reduce background noise.” Inevitably, some genius somewhere doesn’t think this applies to them and neglects to mute their line. Sometimes the tools will show who the culprit is, and that allows the host to mute the line of the perpetrator.

Toward the end of my career, I worked on a large project that had “leaders” in multiple areas, including multiple Project Managers, and we were all co-hosts of most of our conference calls. This allows a number of us to be able to mute the offenders. But still, when there are hundreds of participants on a call, it can be difficult to find a noisy line, especially if it isn’t continuously noisy.

There are people that are preparing a meal. moving papers around, talking to others in the same room, talking to others on another phone line, and things like that. At least I don’t remember anyone being in the restroom during one of these calls. But I do remember hearing someone’s turn signal on a call – and I asked if they were turn left or right… 🙂

When I worked from home, I took most of my calls on my laptop, using the device’s microphone and speakers. I didn’t like to do that when I was in the office for the sake of the others around me. Some of the others around me weren’t as polite – including someone who was on a conference on their desk phone – ON SPEAKER – while also taking another conference call on their cell phone. Yes, also on speaker. A day or two after returning to the office, I recall telling someone in a nearby cube how noisy it was. Not just people talking, but the radiant noise people produce, and, of course, the calls on speaker phones.

These calls? I will not miss them. Yes, the interaction with people will be missed, the camaraderie, the chats about vacations and families. But certainly not the calls themselves.