Conference calls in English. Part 2 – Phrases to use

Conference calls are probably the most difficult thing non-natives have to do in English. Our aim is to make communication easier for your business, so we’ve put together a list of useful words and phrases for you to use on a conference call.

Introduction

Each participant should announce their presence. Make sure all invitees are present. New members should be introduced to other participants.

1. Hello, Paweł here.
2. Hello, it’s Paweł speaking.

Tip: due to some delay that may occur in the online call , it’s better to say ‘hi’ first and then say your name as the first word is often lost.

Attendance check

1. Is Kasia on the line?
2. Do we have Kasia on the call?
3. Do we have Kasia yet?
4. Are we waiting for anyone else?
5. Thank you for joining us today.
6. I’m afraid Paweł is absent today. We will have to proceed without him

Beginning phrases

1. Welcome to the conference call…
2. Is everyone ready to start?
3. Shall we start?
4. As you know, today we are discussing X…
5. Did everyone receive the agenda? / Has everyone received the agenda?

Sound or video issues

Remind participants to speak clearly right from the start. Avoid too many people speaking at the same time.

1. If you are not speaking, please put yourself on mute.
2. Paweł, I can hear background noises, please can you put yourself on mute when you are not talking?
3. The sound (video) quality is not good, please can everyone speak up?
4. I can’t hear Kasia, can everyone else hear Kasia?
5. Sorry can you repeat that, the sound quality is poor?

Screen or document sharing

1. I’m sharing my screen, can everyone see it?
2. I’m uploading the document now, can you see it?

Ending phrases

Be aware of the time restrictions and make sure everyone else knows too. Summarise the key decisions and action points. Make sure everyone knows the next steps, individual actions to be taken, and relevant deadlines.

1. Is there anything else to discuss?
2. So, to summarise we have decided to focus on online sales.
3. Let’s finish / close the call, thank you everyone.
4. Thank you for your contribution/participation/ideas, let’s speak again next week.
5. We’ve run out of time so let’s wrap up and close the call.
6. Shall we schedule a follow-up call in 2 weeks?

You can download this vocabulary in pdf format 

Eklektika_Conference call in English_part 2_EN