Event Call Audio Tips

Chairperson Tips

• Develop and follow an agenda.
• Speakerphone quality is critical to the success of an Event conference call. Please take the time to ensure that you have a high quality phone available for the conference.
• Regardless of speakerphone quality, your voice will be heard more clearly if you speak directly into the phone.
• If you are dialing in to the conference, please call in at least 10 minutes before the scheduled start time of the call. Use this time to check audio quality and review the call details with the operator.
• When you are ready to begin the call, the operator will ask for several seconds of silence and then introduce you. Please do not begin speaking until the operator has turned the call over to you.
• Give clear directions to the operator. This is particularly important during a question and answer period that is controlled by the operator. Remember to tell the operator when you are ready to take questions. If you say "thank you" or "next question" after you have answered a question the operator will know you are ready for the next question.
• If you are presented with a question that is awkward or would be better handled offline, announce to the operator that you would like to move on to the next question.
• The operator will monitor the call 100% of the time. If there are any significant audio or technical problems during the call, the operator will inform you and resolve it as they can.
• During the call, avoid:
  • Shuffling through papers.
  • Moving around.

Q&A Options

Priority Polling

• A priority indicator may be assigned to pre-identified individuals or companies. Priority status allows a caller to automatically move to the top of the queue as soon as they register their question. There are up to eight levels of priority status available or a single, equal priority status that can be assigned.
• All participants on the conference have the ability to ask questions. For an additional fee, you may utilize our Communication Line feature to participate in the management of your Q&A session. This option is ideal if want to communicate live with the main operator at all times for things like when to start the question and answer session, prioritizing the question queue, or gather input from support teams whom you have invited to this line to help answer questions.

Troubleshooting
If you have a question or problems are experienced during the call, you can contact our staff as follows:

• If you are listening to the conference call, you can press the "*" followed by the "0" on your push-button phone to notify an operator that you need assistance. This is available to everyone on the call.
• Our Event Reservations line is staffed 24 hours per day, seven days per week and can be reached by calling +1 888-447-1081 or +1 514-849-5771

Reserving the Number of Lines
Estimating the number of participants who will attend your Event Conference Call is a critical factor in its success. This is because your conferencing service provider will use this figure to:

• Reserve the appropriate network and bridge facilities to provide the capacity for your call.
• Assign the appropriate number of operators to make sure your participants' calls are answered quickly and efficiently with minimal delay.

• Callers may experience an increased hold time before being greeted by an operator.
• The call may start later than the scheduled begin time.
• Callers may be redirected to a new call in number. This is communicated to your participants instantaneously as they call in so that they do not have to be answered by an operator twice. However they will have to hang up the line and redial the new call in number.

How to Plan the Size of an Event Call

• To get a preliminary participant estimate, develop a list of invited participants. On average, 65% of invited participants will call in. It is helpful to start with a higher estimate of lines and if needed, lower the number as it gets closer to the call date as opposed to initially reserving a lower number of lines and raising them a few days before the call.
• If you have conducted prior conference calls with similar subject matter, look at the attendance of those calls to estimate the number of lines that will call in. If you are unsure of how many participants were on your previous conference calls, contact us and we may be able to provide you with a history of participation.
• Look at any unusual circumstances surrounding the call. Has there been publicity surrounding your topic? Has your stock been trading at an unusually high volume? Have you recently been involved in a merger or acquisition? If your conference call is addressing an issue that could generate excessive interest, you should reserve a higher number of lines. Again, if possible, look at prior calls with similar circumstances to help develop an estimate.

Peak Times
Be aware of peak times when scheduling your Event call. In conjunction with the quarterly earnings announcements, the Event call center experiences a significant increase in volume every three months; January, April, July and October. The most commonly requested hours for conference calls are 11:00am ET and between the hours of 4:00pm and 5:00pm ET.

Multiple Speakers

• Be sure the speaker phone has capability of reaching all speakers in the room.
• When turning the call over to speakers at other locations, introduce each speaker individually by name.
• If the last speaker did not introduce you, identify yourself.

Auditorium/Live Audience Situations

What is an Auditorium Situation?
Whenever a speaker is presenting in front of a live audience, this is considered an auditorium situation. Typically, an auditorium situation involves the combination of a microphone or public address system with a teleconference phone line. Since there is the addition of audio/visual technology, as well as the live audience, these calls require more detailed front-end preparation.

Preparing for an Auditorium Event
Generally, the location where the event is to be held will provide an audio/visual staff technician to assist in preparing the room for the meeting. It is important to involve this person early in the process and make them aware that a teleconference will be connected to the meeting. You can also consult with your reservation team if needed. The following items are typically required where the event is taking place:

• At least one analog telephone line.
• A teleconferencing room system, usually containing a mixer, amplifier and a telephone hybrid.
• Microphones (fixed or wireless) for all presenters and for any audience members that may need to ask questions.
• Proper configuration of the room to maximize acoustic conditions.

During an Auditorium Event
It is recommended that you establish a line that the presenter(s) will be on 30-45 minutes before the meeting is to begin. Additionally, we can conduct a test call the morning or evening before the meeting is to take place. Testing and establishing the line early helps identify and rectify audio problems before the meeting begins.

It's also recommended you establish a separate communication line to coordinate the start of the meeting, the question and answer session and to troubleshoot any audio problems. The communication line needs to be separate from the presenters and handled by a person who has access to a technician. (Additional charges may be associated with this feature. Contact your Account Manager for details.)

If requested, the Conference Operator can announce all instructions to the telephone participants off line from the meeting so that the information is not broadcast through the room. However, the names of the callers asking questions will need to be announced during the questions and answer session.