Many successful mastermind groups meet by telephone. There is no need to commute to and from the meeting, search for parking, or pay for a beverage or meal-saving time and money. There is a huge, expansive pool from which you can recruit members. You can mastermind with people outside your local area and, in fact, with people anywhere in the world. Another advantage is in having members in the same industry without the worry of competition.
Mobility
A long-distance mastermind group makes it easier for members who travel for business to participate. Also, when a member of a well-bonded group that's been meeting for two years by telephone relocates from San Francisco to Chicago, or even Munich, for example, they take their group with them with nary a ripple except a possible shift in meeting time to allow for the time difference.
Anonymity
There may be some reasons you can't or don't want to draw members for your mastermind group from your local community, such as:
- You live in a very isolated or rural area and there isn't a pool of likely candidates from which to choose members.
- You are well known or grew up in the area where gossip is a favorite pastime. You are starting a new endeavor, making a career change, planning to resign from various boards, whatever. You desire strict confidentiality with no possibility of leaks to a fellow mastermind member's spouse who may mention to someone else and so on.
- You know too much about the people in your area and can't help but bring those preconceived opinions and feelings to bear when choosing members for your group.
Starting with a certain amount of anonymity and a clean slate can be a very positive and freeing thing for a mastermind group. Everyone begins from the same place with no expectations or shared history.
Pure Listening
When meeting by phone, you are not influenced by a person's appearance, facial expressions, body language, distracting cross talk, or anything else of that nature. Some people are uncomfortable and have trouble articulating their thoughts when speaking in a group of people who are staring at them while they talk; yet, they are able to express themselves very well on the phone.
Telephone Etiquette
You will want a quiet, private space for meeting with your long-distance mastermind group. If you have occasional background noise that can't be helped, such as a barking dog, sirens or construction noise, use the mute button on your phone, if you have one. Most teleconference services provide the option of pushing key on your telephone to mute and un-mute yourself.
Beware of the temptation to use your mute button for engaging in off line conversations, no matter how brief; or to answer another phone call or cover the sound of tapping keys as you are responding to email or other multi-tasking. Your complete attention is needed and desired for full participation and brainstorming. People can tell when you are not fully present.
Nuts and Bolts
Telephone headset - A telephone headset helps eliminate fatigue, saves you a trip to the chiropractor, and helps you listen better.
Timer - Use a simple kitchen timer with a clearly audible tone that can be heard by everyone on the phone line to signal a person's sharing time is up.
Recording Device - If you want to record the calls yourself, Olympus makes small digital voice recorders that are very affordable.
Teleconference Service - There are several and many are free. I use FreeTeleconferenceCall.com, which has been easy to use, has great customer service, and allows you to record the call for free. When you register they assign a telephone number and pin, which is yours to use 24/7. No reservations required.
Message Board - Yahoo Groups is a top choice of many long-distance mastermind groups who want the option of keeping in touch between meetings. I found it easy to set up private, members only access boards for my groups. Members can opt to read messages on the group site or by email. http://groups.yahoo.com
As you can see, there are many pros to creating a long distance mastermind group. The only con might be if you work solo and welcome the interaction with an in-person group. If you are really ambitious you can start or join one of each.
No comments:
Post a Comment