5 Personalities You'll Meet in a Conference Call and How to Manage Them

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Although essential in a remote or hybrid work setup, large remote meetings can be tricky, even more so when you’re dealing with multiple people with different personalities. As a result, you might not have the best and most efficient call. If you don’t know how to facilitate an event conference call properly, then you won’t be able to create an impact. You need to be aware of these kinds of personalities and be prepared to handle any possibility that may occur.

Different Personalities That Can Disrupt Your Meeting

• The Wallflower – The wallflower personality is easy to spot. These are the introverted participants who are quiet and keep to themselves. They can sometimes be perceived as rude or inattentive when, in fact, they listen to everything every speaker has to say. They have great insights, but it can definitely be harder to coax it out of them. Trying to engage with the wallflower personalities will be a struggle throughout the call. 
• The Oversharer – Unlike the wallflower, the oversharer likes to talk. Once they pick on a topic, it can be tricky to get them to stop. They’ll share things about their own experiences, new things they learned, something interesting they saw on the internet, and more. While it’s nice that they’re engaged with everyone, they might distract others in the call and can steer you away from the agenda altogether. 
• The Joker – Jokers like to keep things light and fun. They make everyone laugh and can put participants at ease. While this is good in a conference call, there will be times when jokers might cross the line. They might say an insensitive joke, make some participants uncomfortable, or distract the others. 
• The Social Butterfly – The social butterfly personality is another type that can disrupt the true purpose of your meeting. These kinds of people like to mingle with everyone before or maybe even throughout the call. Yes, they can build trust and relationships, but you’ll need to reign them in at the right time.
• The Experienced – The experienced personality is a little different and can be more challenging than the rest. They’ll question every item on the agenda and try their best to impart their opinion or experience to show that they know a lot in their field or more. It’s good to have a voice in a meeting that will help with decision-making and share insights when needed. However, there will be people who can also go over the line.

Tips on Managing Your Event Conference Call

With every kind of personality mingling on the call, your meeting can easily dissolve into madness when not done properly. Here’s how you can manage your call:

Determine Whether the Meeting is Necessary

Before anything else, ask yourself: Is this call necessary? Can this be done via a simple email? Do I really need all of these people to attend? Is this an urgent meeting that needs to be discussed on a call? Put these questions into mind. If the meeting is not necessary or urgent, then maybe you do not need to hold one at all. You’ll be able to save time and energy, not just for you but for everybody else as well. 

Have a Clear Agenda

The agenda will always be an essential part of meetings. This is especially true when dealing with different personalities in a conference call. Go ahead and create an effective agenda that will be your guide throughout the meeting. Assign presenters if necessary, or jot down materials or documents to be used. A clear agenda will also lead to clear meeting minutes of the call. 

Set a Time Limit

A time limit will help you move along the agenda. Allot time for every item and anticipate extra discussion. Account for those who overshare or those with experienced personalities. This time limit will help everyone have a clear goal. 

Familiarize Yourself With The Personalities of Your Participants

Knowing the personalities of your participants–whether it be your employees, colleagues, investors, or more–helps. The more you familiarize yourself with the kind of people they are, the more you’ll be able to anticipate their behavior in a meeting. Prompt answers from wallflowers or steer oversharers and experienced participants back to the topic. Little things like these will help you handle your call.

Go With A Large Event Conference Call Service

You can also rely on a large event conference call service to better manage your meetings. Some providers offer conferencing features that will help you conduct your conference calls, such as sub-conferences or a broadcast mode that puts all participants on mute. Some also have operator assistance that will provide you with much-needed help. This will ultimately help you handle your participants and keep your conference calls effective.