business english conference call€¦ · business english conference call ©2014 acadsoc limited...

Business English Conference Call

©2014 Acadsoc Limited

Homework from previous week

Revise what you have learnt in the previous lesson and conduct a spontaneous

phone conversation with your tutor.



Carefully Listen to the audio and answer the following questions.

Audio Link: http://www.acadsoc.com.cn/IES/Aplayer.aspx?code=62E243B0A8B0F8A5

http://www.acadsoc.com.cn/IES/Aplayer.aspx?code=62E243B0A8B0F8A5

http://www.acadsoc.com.cn/IES/Aplayer.aspx?code=62E243B0A8B0F8A5



Questions

1. Was it a face-to-face meeting?

2. How many people were there in the meeting?

3. Did you notice the name of the speakers in the meeting? Where do you think they

were from?

4. What was the name of the host in the meeting?

5. There was an operator in the meeting, what do you think her duties in the meeting

were?



What is a Conference Call?

A Conference Call is a meeting via telephone that connects three or more parties on the same

call. A conference call is also referred to as telephone conferencing, audio conferencing and

teleconferencing.

A conference call allows the calling party to have more than one called party listen in to the

audio portion of the call. The conference calls may be designed to allow the called party to

participate during the call, or the call may be set up so that the called party merely listens into

the call and cannot speak.

Below, is the transcript of the sample conference call you have listened to in the beginning of

the class, read it and make notes of all the useful terms, phrases and sentences to be used in a

conference call.



Operator: Good morning. Welcome to the Softcell Incorporated first quarter 2008 quarterly results

conference call. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode, but the floor will be open for your

questions following the introductory remarks. I’d now like to turn the conference over to Ms. Marie Tascon,

Senior Director of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, madam.

Marie Tascon: Good morning. Thanks for joining us. Speaking today is Softcell’s CFO Peter Goody, joined by

COO Jim W. Brook for the Q&A session with analysts. Please note that the information you’ll hear during our

discussion today may consist of forward-looking statements regarding revenue and margins. Actual results

could differ materially from our forecast. To view the supporting slides while listening, log on to

softcell.com/investor. With that, I’ll turn the call over to Peter Goody.

Peter Goody: Thank you, Marie. It’s good to be on this call to report our best quarter ever, with the highest

revenue and earnings in Softcell’s history. Revenue grew 35% year over year to $9.6 billion, an increase of

almost $2.5 billion over the previous December quarter’s record-breaking results.

Peter Goody: In closing, we believe these outstanding results reflect the excellence of our innovative

products. We are very enthusiastic about our announcements for 2008, including new SoftTalk software and

an updated SoftPro.

Marie Tascon: With that, I’d like to open the call to questions. Please limit yourselves to one question only.

Operator: Our first question will come from the line of Jane Bratworth with Morgan Stanley.

Jane Bratworth: On the SoftTalk expectations for 2008, are you guys providing any type of update today?

Jim W. Brook: We remain very sure about hitting the 10 million goal for 2008.

Operator: The next question comes from Ahmed Jamal with Merrill Lynch.



Ahmed Jamal – Merrill Lynch: Jim, in terms of the SoftTalk rollout internationally, there’s been a lot of talk

about China -- anything specific relative to the China market?

Jim W. Brook: We open our first stores in China this year. We’ll also be rolling out additional European

countries during 2008.

Operator: Next question from Kurt Abramsky with Deutsche Bank.

Kurt Abramsky – Deutsche Bank: Could you give us any, either quantitative or qualitative, commentary on

how European Softtalk uptake is faring versus your U.S. experience?

Jim W. Brook: Kurt, you know, we just launched in France in November and in the U.K. and Germany a bit

earlier so we have very limited experience but we are very happy with all the launches so far.

Operator: The next question comes from Jeanne Beauvoir with Credit Suisse.

Jeanne Beauvoir - Credit Suisse: Peter, is it too early to offer a little more colour on the SoftTalk seasonality

question. Your guidance obviously implies seasonality for the whole company,

Peter Goody: We’ve not yet been through a March quarter with SoftTalk so we don’t have any history to go

by as we do with other products. We can report in April.

Marie Tascon: Time for just one final question.

Operator: And that will come from Tim Lu with Goldman Sachs.



Tim Lu - Goldman Sachs: I’d like to ask you, Peter, about your overall market guidance. It’s good to hear you

are not seeing any weakness. I understand your products are unlikely to be in the most economically

exposed segment, but is there likely to be some exposure if we see, for example, a recession in Europe as

well as the U.S. In your 10% growth forecast have you assumed some kind of economic weakening within

Europe specifically?

Peter Goody: The 10% is based pretty much on a very concrete situation, how we see the trends. It’s

something that we feel is quite solid.

Marie Tascon: Thanks very much, Tim and thanks to everyone. A replay of today’s call will be available as a

webcast on softcell.com/investor and via telephone. The number for the telephone replay is 989-313-2111

and the passcode is 5237883. Replays will be available at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time today.

Operator: Ladies and gentle, this concludes today’s presentation. We thank everyone for your participation

and have a wonderful day.



General Terms in a Conference Call

Chairperson/Moderator Host or leader of the meeting.

Conference Bridge A facility within a service provider that connects all participants of a

conference call together and supports the call whilst it is ongoing.

Dial-in Number / Call-in

Number

The number you dial to join the conference call. It differs from

country to country and will also be different depending on the

method you choose to join the call with, whether it’s a landline,

Skype or mobile.

Listen-only

Participants can hear a presentation, pre-recorded message or

meeting, but cannot speak or participate in the conference. This

function can be enabled with touch tone keypad commands or by an

operator.



How to Chair a Conference Call?

Step 1- Schedule and Plan

Be mindful of other’s schedules when deciding on time.

If other attendees are in different areas, business, or time zones, make sure you are not

interfering with their plans.

Avoid lunch breaks, first thing in the morning calls, and calls that require an attendee to

work after normal business hours.



Step 2 – Send out a Meeting Request

Send out a meeting request as soon as you have scheduled a time.

The meeting request have to include everything the attendees and participants will require

to log into the conference call (call in number and password), and an agenda with topics that

need to be discussed.

The agenda should cover any questions or concerns you anticipate from other members.

Step 3 – Make a List

Make a list of attendees, participant, including where they are from and general information

you have about them.

You can use this to chat while you are waiting on additional attendees to join.



Step 4 – Send a Reminder

Send a reminder email the day of the day of the call if it is after lunch, or the day before if the

call is scheduled in the morning.

A reminder will help make sure everyone arrives on time.

Use this opportunity to send any reports or documents that will be needed on the call.

If someone else created those materials, give them credit (or to prevent blame from falling

on you) by forwarding the message they sent you containing the documents.

It is your responsibility to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that everyone has

completed their responsibility prior to the call.

Step 5 – Review any Information You will be Presenting

Step 6 – Start the call

Be on time.

Log on to the conference call at least 10 minutes early.

Some tools won’t let you log on until the time scheduled and some won’t let anyone

communicate until a leader with a special password logs in.

Be sure to test the conference bridge in advance if you are unfamiliar with the tool you will

be using.



Step 7 – Initiate Small Talk if Someone is Late

Usually, at least one person will be late, it is wise to have some notes handy to initiate small

talk and avoid a long silence at the beginning of the call.

Make sure all the attendees are introduced to anyone they are not familiar with.

Start the call 3-5 minutes after the scheduled start time when possible.

Step 8 – Follow the Agenda

Keep an eye on your clock as attendees may not be able to stay past the scheduled stop time.

Be aware of the time needed for your presentation, it is your job to make sure everything is

covered.

Step 9 – Stay Focused and Take Notes

Avoid using the mute button while others are speaking.

It is an opportunity to show how much you know about the topic you are discussing.

Don’t over promise and feel free to say you will get back to everyone with answers to

questions you were not expecting.



Step 10 – At the End of the Call

Ask if anyone has questions and make sure they are answered or will be answered after the

call.

If a follow up meeting is needed, schedule it before anyone hangs up.

Thanks everyone for their time and wish them a good day or weekend.

Step 11 – Create a Recap

Immediately after the call, create a recap and send it to all the participant.

A recap ensures everyone understands and has a list of their responsibilities and it

documents the conversation in writing in case there are any discrepancies later.

Step 12- Follow Through

Take action as discussed and answer any questions in a reasonable amount of time.

If any deadlines were set, meet them.

If work from other departments or employees was promised, be sure it is delivered.



Homework

What do you think are the benefits of Conference Call?

Present.

business english conference call€¦ · business english conference call ©2014 acadsoc limited...

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