Is running a scripted meeting the best way to host a conference call?

Not long ago, I was trying to convince a junior member of staff to always script his meetings. She considered that the meeting should develop on its own. That an organic and free technique was fairer and more likely to create team spirit. I couldn’t convince him and finally I let him go and try.

Of course it failed spectacularly.

But along the way, I had to answer the question of why hosting a scripted meeting is the best way to host a conference call. Or any other meeting for that matter.

First, let’s clarify what we mean by a scripted meeting. At the lowest level, a scripted meeting is any meeting with an agenda. At the highest level, and the way I was trained as a facilitator, every interaction is planned and scheduled. In practice, I prefer to think of a scheduled meeting as something in between. Predicting all alternatives is a waste of energy. On the other hand, the lack of an agenda almost always sinks a meeting as my young friend discovered.

And, of course, a teleseminar or conference call imposes its own requirements on the planning process.

So let’s set the stage here.

Teleseminars are by their nature more formal than a generic training call. Coaching-style conference calls can appear to be anything from formal to informal. But they are generally less formal than a teleseminar.

Scripts, in turn, can be informal and simple: they simply list the subject areas or headings for what is to be covered. They can also be very formal, literally predicting what will be said, what the reaction will be, and what the response will be. Most scripts are somewhere in between…perhaps listing details for alternatives (a teleseminar and what to say if there is no response) but topic areas for other items.

I am going to focus on this last group. They have the fewest scripts for a successful teleconference or teleseminar. They are also the most likely version for someone to try to get by without scripting.

So why is hosting a scripted meeting the best way to host a conference call?

Here are the top three reasons in my opinion.

1. Allows you to make a conference call by yourself.

What happens if you organize a meeting and nobody comes? Well, with conference calls that happens. Worse still, sometimes people arrive in the middle of the call. You don’t want them to be left thinking the call was cancelled. A script allows you to move on without worrying about participation.

2. People are often afraid to speak up.

Everyone gets caught up in the dreaded “does anyone have a question?” response. It is often caused by an audience that is a little embarrassed to ask questions. Creating a script for your meeting allows you to overcome this problem.

3. Avoid the dreaded “Now where was I” encounter.

Sometimes you’re going to pick up a thread and go into the wild blue with it. It’s okay. As long as you remember where you’re going. Having a script helps you get back on track and pick up where you left off.