Too Many on Many Conference Calls!

How many is too many participants in a conference call? The answer is not a simple one, because it depends on many factors. One of the primary factors is based on the purpose of the conference call. If the purpose is to merely impart information, the number of participants can be far greater than if it is to be discussion oriented. It can be likened to a college lecture where there is often little participation, and is given so that the leader can impart his knowledge and share some information. However, if the purpose of a conference call is to effectively discussion an issue and make some determination, conference calls are often inadequate, inefficient, and ineffective. When there are too many participants, rarely is anything concrete achieved.

Leaders of conference calls should determine what the intent of the call is, and determine if that format is a recommended one. Unfortunately, since many organization's leaders are inadequately trained, they are often incapable of competently making that determination.

In my three decades of involvement with not-for-profits and organizations, as a Founder, Board Member, Officer, staff member, Director of Development, Chief Operating Officer, adviser, and consultant, I have found that conference calls are often the most misused and overused communication vehicles. In addition, because so many organizational leaders lack adequate training, they do not "tightly" manage these calls, which can very easily get out of control. I have observed that many participants in conference calls appear not to actively participate, and have found that many of them pay limited attention to the content of the call. Even fewer of the participants offer worthwhile contributions to the call.

While there are times when conference calls are useful and helpful, they should be limited to no more than about a half dozen participants. All participants in a conference call should have direct involvement and interest in the call, "bringing something" to the conversation. Conference calls should be limited to information that must be discussed simultaneously by a group, and, as a general rule, it is a good idea to disseminate background information about the topics to be discussed prior to the call, either by e-mail or by snail mail.

Just as organizations should not over-depend on any one vehicle for communication, such as e-mail (or any other single digital media), it likewise should not over-depend on conference calls. Properly trained leaders know when conference calls are appropriate vehicles, and when they are not.