Advances in communication technology are reducing the need for business travel and making it possible for virtual teams to collaborate more easily and more successfully. But such virtual communication is not without its technical problems. And if there are problems, it is important to deal with them competently and quickly so that they don’t continue.
Questions
As you read the communication between Anita and her colleagues, make a note of the answers to these three questions:
- How could Anita have avoided the problem she has when trying to join the conference call?
- How do the participants overcome the audio problems with Craig?
- How do the participants deal with the problem of Dieter and Anita talking over each other?
11:04 Hi, Dieter. I can’t access the call. I can’t find the code. Can you send it to me? Thanks. A.
Sure. Dial in: 0800 3355991. Access code: #130499. We’re waiting for you.
Anita is having problems dialling into the conference call.
Right, it looks like Anita’s here now, too. Anita, can you hear and see us OK?
Yes, I can. Sorry I’m late, everyone. I had trouble accessing the call.
OK. We’ve been discussing the first point on the agenda and have agreed to move the project timeline back by a week. Any objections, Anita?
No, that’s fine.
Good. So, let’s move on to the second point on the agenda.
Sorry, Dieter, you’re breaking up.
I said let’s move on to the second agenda point — our office layout.
OK. Got it. The connection’s not great.
Sorry about that. I’m just out of a client meeting and still on my way back to the office. Let me dial in again… OK, I’m back. Is that better?
Yes, that’s great now. Very clear.
Good. Anyway, Anita, can you share your screen with the others and show them the office plan I sent you earlier?
Sorry, did you send a file? I didn’t get it.
I sent it to Anita earlier. [Dieter and Anita talk over each other]
I have it here and am sharing it now. [Dieter and Anita talk over each other]
Sorry, what? I didn’t catch any of that.
Sorry, Anita. We were talking over each other there. Craig, I was just saying I’d shared the file with Anita earlier. Anita, you go ahead.
Sure. If you can all look here at this first slide, you’ll see the current office layout. As you know, we’ve been running out of space. There are some suggestions for changes on this second slide.
Sorry, I can’t see what you’re looking at. Can you share your screen with us?
I thought I was… How about now?
Yes, I can see it now.
Me, too.
Answers
Here are the answers to the three questions we asked:
- Anita could have checked beforehand that she had the access details and then planned to join the call earlier in case there were any difficulties.
- First, Craig actively points out that there is a problem. Then Dieter hangs up and dials into the conference call again.
- Again, Craig points out that there is a problem and that he does not understand (or “catch”) what Dieter and Anita have said. Dieter repeats what he had said before, and then hands over to Anita.
“Have been” + “-ing” verb form
You can use the structure “have been” + “-ing” verb form to talk about ongoing
activities that started in the past and continue into the present. Look at these two examples from the dialogue of the conference call:
- We’ve been discussing the first point on the agenda.
- As you know, we’ve been running out of space.
Useful phrases for talking about technical problems
A. Having access problems
- I can’t access the call.
- I can’t find the access details.
- I don’t have the access code.
- I need to install the program to access the call.
B. Having audio/video problems
- Sorry, I can’t hear/see you.
- Sorry, I didn’t catch that.
- Your voice is muffled / too loud / too quiet.
- I think your mic is on mute.
- You’re breaking up.
- Sorry, I got only half of that.
- The connection is really bad / not great.
- Your picture is very dark/bright/pixelated/blurry.
C. Organizing the call
- Can you see the pointer on the screen?
- I can’t see what you’re looking at.
- Could you share your screen with me?
- I can’t access the file.
D. Managing the discussion
- Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.
- We’re talking over each other.
- You go first.
- Could you repeat that, please?
- Are you following me?
- Did you hear/understand that?
E. Solving problems
- If necessary, use the chat field or send a text message to communicate.
- Sorry, this isn’t working.
- Let me call you back.
- Let me dial in again.
- Let me try again.
- I’ll send you an email.
Key tips!
- Be prepared when accessing the conference call. Make sure you have the necessary codes and try to join the call early.
- Don’t speak too quickly.
- Don’t talk over other people. Help everyone to have their say (“turn taking”).
- If there’s a problem with the sound, mention it immediately.
- Don’t just let it continue.
- Share key documents before the call so that — even if technical problems do occur — everyone has the information.
Telefonkonferenzen sind eine Alternative zu Geschäftsreisen – sofern sie funktionieren. Lesen Sie hier auf Englisch, wie sich mögliche technische Probleme lösen lassen.