How to manage conference calls in English

Conference calls can be complicated to manage in a foreign language like English but there are plenty of tactics you can use to make it easier.

Here are some phrases that could come in handy to be assertive and participate:-

HOW TO START A CONFERENCE CALL

• I would like to welcome everyone here today.
• Thanks for attending.
• Could you all state your names, clearly, before speaking, please?
• Please indicate which office / department / project / site you represent.
• I would like to start by giving you an overview of + noun

HOW TO INTERRUPT DURING A CONFERENCE CALL

• Sorry, would you mind if I asked a brief question?
• Just to clarify, are you saying that / do you mean that....?
• Would you mind if I jumped in there, please?
• I'm terribly sorry to interrupt but...
• So sorry to interrupt but before we move on*, I’d like to add my thoughts on this topic. (*Note: to move on means to start doing or discussing something new.)
• May I add something quickly?

HOW TO CLARIFY SOMETHING

• I didn't get that sorry, would you mind saying it again please?
• Could you speak up a bit please?
• Could you explain that in layman's terms (non technical language) please?
• Would you mind going through/over that again please?
• I didn't catch what you said, do you mean.....?

OTHER USEFUL PHRASES

• Can you leave it with me? / Leave it with me and I'll get back to you ASAP.
• I think that may have been a misunderstanding. / I think you may have misunderstood me sorry.
• I'll look into it and let you know.

Now let's try and put some of that into practice by listening to an extract from a conference call (featuring several different English accents) and do some related activities below:-

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/conference-calls-0