Good, strong communication skills and practices are critical to all businesses and organizations. Communication is how business teams make sure they are all on the right page and striving toward achieving the same goals in the best way possible.

However, there can always be too much of a good thing – even communication. As with many other things in life and in the workplace, finding the right balance is key.

In a business setting, over-communicating can have many of the same effects as not communicating often enough. Holding too many meetings, scheduling too many conference calls and overloading coworkers’ or employees’ email inboxes can affect morale and how well everyone works together as a team, which can lead to decreased performance.

So, to avoid the pitfalls of communicating too often, here is how to know when there might be too much communication.

Why teams and coworkers shouldn’t communicate too much

Morale and teamwork are everything when it comes to capitalizing on and increasing productivity. One of the quickest ways to harm a team’s level of productivity, though, is to communicate too often or in overbearing ways.

Too many meetings and too many conference calls can be one of the primary sources of over-communication. According to one survey, 24% of more than 1,400 professionals surveyed stated that too many meetings or too many conference calls was one of the most significant issues standing between them and better productivity.

That is why business and organizations must find a sweet spot for when to schedule a conference call or a meeting – which are entirely necessary to keep tabs on status updates and goals.

Admittedly, it is hard to know how many meetings may be too many. That same survey we previously cited suggests that if any employee must attend more than six meetings or conference calls during a week, then they likely will feel that is too much. For most people, the ideal number of meetings and calls falls somewhere between two and five per week.

Conference calls shouldn’t be marathon events

When you do host a conference call, it’s important to keep track of time. Aside from always being sure you start and end on time, conference calls should not go on forever. Nobody enjoys marathon meetings or calls.

Ideally, conference calls should last about 45 minutes. That time length allows for enough time to address important information, share key updates and ask a few questions with answers that might benefit multiple people who are participating in the call.

The goal here is to be efficient and effective with your time – and participants’ time. The best way to do this is to create a better conference call agenda that lays out a list of topics and talking points that need to be discussed in the allotted time frame.

As for that time frame, it’s OK to schedule some calls and meetings that may go over 45 minutes in length, but this should be communicated ahead of time so participants can prepare with plenty of notice in advance.

Keep calls short by meeting regularly

It may seem a bit counterintuitive, but to keep conference calls (and meetings) shorter, schedule enough meetings regularly so that the list of updates and other conversation does not consume an entire morning or afternoon for a single phone call.

Scheduling standing weekly or monthly meetings (the frequency will depend on your team’s communication preferences and needs) is an effective method of making sure there is enough space between scheduled meetings, while also ensuring nobody will go too long without getting new information or updates that they need to do their job well.

Consider who needs to know specific information

When it comes to businesses and organizations, not everyone needs to know every specific detail on all updates possible.

For example, an executive might schedule a conference call to share an update and invite the entire company or too many departments within the organization. This is all too common.

However, perhaps not everyone who is now expected to join the call actually needs the information. Or, maybe the information could be delivered to them in a more time-efficient manner, such as over email.

This same problem can also occur in individual departments. A manager may schedule a meeting or a call with too many members of a department when the actual conversation of the call does not affect each member equally. Another frequent occurrence, though, is a manager who wants too many updates and asks everyone to join all calls in which these updates are provided.

All of these examples share one thing in common: There are likely many people on these conference calls who likely believe too much communication is a problem.

Don’t check in too often

Despite wanting to know exactly where a project stands and how much progress is being made at all times, managers should never want to check in too often with their employees. This is a helpful communications tip that every manager can put to use to help ease concerns of too much communication.

Like mentioned above, set a schedule for regular check-ins or meetings and stick to it. Don’t constantly ask for updates over email or via a separate messaging service unless it’s absolutely critical, such as when hard deadlines are approaching.

Managers who do not follow this advice may fall into the trap of micromanaging, which often goes hand in hand with poor communication or unhelpful communication policies – or both. Set good communication policies, including how and when communication should occur, and trust your employees or coworkers to follow those policies.

Identify a better communication tool

In business, so much of following better communication practices comes down to the tools and methods used to communicate with coworkers, employees and clients. That’s where a better conference call service can work wonders.

Plus, you don’t have to pay to enjoy a better conferencing experience. With Conference Town, you and your team can get even more out of your conference calls without spending a dime.

Give Conference Town a try by signing up for a free account or starting a free instant conference today.