{"id":717,"date":"2019-01-15T14:58:25","date_gmt":"2019-01-15T14:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krisp.ai\/blog\/?p=717"},"modified":"2024-07-04T16:29:13","modified_gmt":"2024-07-04T12:29:13","slug":"alleviate-conference-call-anxiety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krisp.ai\/blog\/alleviate-conference-call-anxiety\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips to Alleviate Conference Call Anxiety"},"content":{"rendered":"

Communication is easier than ever when you simply text a message to a person. But sometimes the real struggle is to get one phone call going. Of course, you can always switch to texting or let it go to voicemail, but there are some situations where you can\u2019t really afford doing that. <\/span><\/p>\n

We\u2019re gonna talk about one of them – conference calls. <\/span><\/p>\n

Conference call anxiety is common, but ways to fight it are not. There are no real switches to press to make it go away, and it\u2019s a serious matter. It doesn\u2019t mean that you can\u2019t fight to make it a little milder. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some anxiety alleviating tips, which can help you cope with conference call anxiety better. The key is to practice them consistently until you feel more confident during calls. <\/span><\/p>\n

If you feel that your anxiety interferes with your normal life, \u00a0it\u2019s always right to ask for professional help.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brainstorm<\/b><\/h2>\n

Preparing for a conference call is the primary thing you should do. Go over the call agenda and review all the topics that will be discussed during the call. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, you don\u2019t have to stop there. You can brainstorm a bunch of possible conversation paths the participants may have, as well as additional discussion topics. <\/span><\/p>\n

This way you may feel safer knowing you are prepared for any deviations. <\/span><\/p>\n

You can go ahead and take some notes to keep them in front of you and take a glance anytime you need throughout the call.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"brainstorm<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also useful to summarize all the points that you will voice during the call and brainstorm questions that you may receive in the aftermath. This will help feel more in control of what you do and soothe the fear of questions. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Another possible way is to reach out to your coworkers and hear their opinion on the call agenda. <\/span><\/p>\n

Practice your posture<\/b><\/h2>\n

What you do before the conference call can have an impact on how you feel during the call. You can take as much as 2 minutes practicing your pose to make yourself feel safer and more confident during the call. <\/span><\/p>\n

It can be a simple smile or an expansive body posture which is otherwise more scientifically referred to as a <\/span>power pose<\/i><\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s proven to be working by a recent <\/span>study<\/span> published in March 2018 by <\/span>Amy Cuddy<\/span>, a social psychologist and a former faculty member of Harvard Business School. <\/span><\/p>\n

There is a variety of expansive power poses that help you take up space and move away your extremities like raising your hands up in a V shape and widely separating your legs. <\/span><\/p>\n

Keeping this posture for a couple of minutes drives hormonal changes that lead to psychological and behavioral improvement. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"practice<\/p>\n

Other poses include straightening your back and keeping your hands on your hips, keeping feet apart \u00a0by shoulder length (this is called \u201cThe Wonder Woman\u201d pose). Amy Cuddy speaks about this in more detail in her <\/span>TED talk<\/span> where you can take a look at other poses as well. <\/span><\/p>\n

Of course noticing the change won\u2019t be immediate, however after some time of practicing these postures you will feel different when taking conference calls in the long run. <\/span><\/p>\n

Eliminate noise<\/b><\/h2>\n

Keeping yourself concentrated is difficult enough and adding noise to that doesn\u2019t make things look pretty. So here\u2019s the list of things that you absolutely should try to do for any conference call:<\/span><\/p>\n