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Top Ten Ways to Set a Boundary During a Teleclass

by Verena Aibel

Teleclass leaders and participants have certain rights and responsibilities. One is to make sure we voice our expectations up front and mirror what we see going on during the call to help keep the class focused.

Teleclass leaders and participants have certain rights and responsibilities. One is to make sure we voice our expectations up front and mirror what we see going on during the call to help keep the class focused. Certainly there are inspired moments during a teleclass and new topics arise. Balancing this with the desire to cover the main points is the challenge for not just the leader but for all participants. How we go about voicing our opinion can show leadership when we do it in a tactful and coherent way. This includes the tone, pitch, word choice and timing matter.

In order not to break the rhythm of a call or make people on the call wrong, avoid the tendency to just hang up with no explanation (especially not suggested if you're the leader!) or threaten the leader and callers (I'm going to hang up if...). Practice saying things like the following…

1. "Please tie this in with _____________(the original topic) for me."

2. "I feel we've been talking about "x" for awhile. I'm really curious about what else we can learn about _________(the original topic). Any more input?"

3. "What else do we need to know about _________(the original topic)?"

4. "Maybe I'm not clear on the purpose of this call. Could someone please explain to me how this relates to _________(the original topic)?"

5. "That's really fascinating/interesting (choose one). Maybe we could talk more about that later in an email or after the call."

6. "It sounds like there's another teleclass in this topic. For now, let's get back to the original focus of this call."

7. "Pause. Let's hold that thought for another time. Let's take another look at___________"

8. "Quite frankly, this is going over my head (or "I'm feeling lost"). Could you please break it down into smaller steps for me?"

9. "I'm feeling uncomfortable with where this is going. Let's please bring the topic back on track."

10. "We only have so much time set aside for _______(the original topic) and I want to make sure we cover the main points. Unless you really want to devote more time to this new topic, let's get back to these points."