I just got off a series of teleconferences. I must say that most teleconferences are a waste of time, just like meetings. We still do them, people still don't get much out of them. There is a way to make teleconferences more effective. The first is to have an agenda and keep to the agenda. Obviously, the purpose of this is to have information sharing. So there should be one person who will present the information of that agenda items. It is important that you don't have people talking over each other. What happens is that when people are talking over each other everyone else leaves with the same understanding they had before meeting and no sharing took place.
Additionally, the afterward of the teleconference is important. Send an email or have a call that will outline the shared understanding discussed during the conference call. This will allow the participants to remember what was important and any actions associated with it. It is a good practice.
Teleconferences do not have to be a waste of time. But they need to be done right to make it worth while.
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