Try to do this exercise for the next 1 hour meeting or review call that you have.  Who dominates the conversation and how long do they speak for ? Is it the boss who speaks on behalf of everyone and takes up 30-50% of the conversation ? is there a loud mouth who dominates the conversation with 40-50% of the TSOV ? Are there people who do not speak or participate at all and hence have a TSOV of 0% ?

What is the ideal TSOV and why does it matter ? An ideal score is a low score for each person evenly distributed. For instance if there is a team of 10 people, the optimal score is around 10% where everyone participates equally . However may not always happen. Hence we must always watch out that no one should have a TSOV over 20% and no one should be at 0%. 

What are the benefits of an evenly split TSOV in an organisation ?

• It brings the best ideas forward from everyone
• It builds the confidence of the junior members of the team to contribute
• It helps everyone give inputs on projects making proposals stronger
• It allows anyone to raise the red flag on any issues that see coming up
• It builds inclusiveness, participation and collaboration

Teams with even TSOV scores for everyone are proven to be more innovative, collaborative, faster in execution and tend to make less mistakes. 

How can you foster an inclusive culture in every meeting and call.

• Do the round robin – ask everyone to speak on the subject for atleast 1 minute and ask them to share new ideas on the topic under discussion
• Make it clear to everyone that monopolizing the conversation is poor leadership and everyone must state their points and ask others for their views
• If anyone dominates the call and prevents others from speaking let them know separately in a one on one that this is poor behaviour
• Use the chat box or a feedback collection form to ensure everyone’s voice is heard even if the meeting is short
• Ask at the end of each meeting “how useful and engaging was this meeting for you ?” on a score of 1-10. If the score is below 7 then evaluate how the meeting was run and what you can do to give the space to everyone to speak
• Senior most person (s) speak last – make that the rule in every meeting

Team share of voice is a valuable tool to bring the best out of everyone in every meeting and call. 

Ask yourself – what is the TSOV for each team member. Is there anyone who has too much or too less. If so take action – bring out the best voice of everyone and make them feel heard.

It’s the start of bringing the best out of everyone.