Thinking, Listening & Speaking
If you have established a good working relationship with your mentor, you are already well on your way to being prepared for your teleconferences. It is important that you are prepared for teleconference calls: during these calls, your words, your preparation, your questions, and your answers will be closely scrutinized by your mentor and/or committee. While no one expects perfection, the bar is nonetheless set high. Be comforted, however, in knowing that you are well prepared for these challenging events, and that your mentor and/or your committee want to help you succeed.
The conversation of the conference call starts, in fact, before the call itself: it begins when your readers or committee read your writing. Your written words have already spoken volumes to your committee. Your words have demonstrated your preparedness to talk deeply and broadly about your material, as well your ability to contextualize your knowledge within the field and the work done by other scholars. In many ways, the teleconference is simply an extension of this conversation.
In other words, even before you meet over the phone, your mentor and/or committee is engaged in an academic conversation with you. Once the teleconference begins, however, the dynamics of that conversation shift: you as the writer are no longer the primary speaker, and your readers are no longer the primary listeners. Once you are actually on the telephone, you all will share responsibility for careful speaking and listening.
Your mentor and/or committee will listen closely to what you have to say. The words you choose in this conversation, as well as your tone, style, and overall confidence allow your mentor and/or committee to better understand your thinking and preparation for the call. In turn, you should listen carefully to their recommendations and advice. When they offer advice or counter-suggestions, their goal is to strengthen your academic work, not to attack you personally. Their advice comes from their deep experience and expertise, and their comments are meant to strengthen your chances for success. Criticism of your work is quite healthy, as it pushes you to think further about issues or questions that your committee believes merit additional inquiry. Such criticism should not be construed as disapproval of you as an individual.
Tips on Speaking, Listening, and Thinking
Here are some suggestions for making the most of your teleconference.
Conversational Etiquette
- Prepare for the call
- Be prepared to take notes throughout the call, asking for clarifications where you need them, and keeping track of your ideas as well as your committee's recommendations.
- Use your time to clearly articulate your thoughts and intentions.
- When you disagree with your mentor's or a committee member's comments, note what is being asked of you and be willing to move on with the conversation. This is not the time to argue or try to triumph in a disagreement. There will be time, later, to revisit any issues that disturbed you.
- Remember that advice and counter-suggestions are meant to strengthen your chances for success, not to indicate that your mentor and/or committee disapproves of you as a person. Your committee's focus will be on the work you have done, not on you yourself.
- Speak in turn, and allow others their chance to speak as well. Interruptions are considered impolite and inappropriate.
- Expect that changes will be suggested, modifications may be required, and topics that may seem adequate to you might seem inadequate to your committee. Keeping the proper perspective will help you produce a stronger exam or dissertation.
Phone Etiquette
- Speak clearly and at a reasonable pace. Speech that is slow and deliberate is difficult to follow, and speech that is too rapid gives an impression of anxiety or uncertainty.
- Speak in a moderate tone; you may be asked to speak louder or more quietly, depending on the quality of the conference call connection.
- Hold the call in a private area, away from noise and interruptions. Make sure that people around you know that you should not be interrupted while you are on the phone.
- If possible, use a land-line rather than a cellular line.
- Use a headset or a handset rather than a speaker phone. Even minor background noises can be audible to - and distracting for - the committee
- Turn off any phone services that will interrupt the conference call, such as call-waiting or 3-way calling. Make sure your family and friends know that you are unavailable unless an emergency arises.
- Only use your office phone if your employer has given you permission. Make sure that no calls will be coming in to you during this time.
- Expect that changes will be suggested, modifications may be required, and topics that you may feel are adequate might be seen differently by your committee. If you keep the proper perspective, the end result will be a stronger exam or dissertation.
