Communicate clearly on calls
Students practise opening a call, checking sound, interrupting politely, clarifying information, summarising decisions and agreeing action points.
Lesson overview
Students practise common situations in business conference calls, including technical problems, turn-taking and follow-up actions.
Lesson aims
- Use key vocabulary for conference calls.
- Start and manage a professional call.
- Ask for clarification and check understanding.
- Interrupt politely and bring the discussion back on track.
- Summarise decisions and confirm action points.
Warm-up questions
- How often do you have video or conference calls?
- What can go wrong during an online meeting?
- What makes a conference call clear and professional?
Key idea
Successful conference calls need clear language, good turn-taking, short summaries and confirmed next steps.
Conference call vocabulary
10 minutes · Drag and drop the correct words or phrases into the sentences.
A project conference call
Read and practise the dialogue.
Host: Good morning, everyone. Can you all hear me clearly?
Marta: Yes, I can hear you.
Tom: I can hear you too, but my connection is a little unstable.
Host: Thanks for letting us know. Let’s start with today’s agenda. First, we’ll review the project timeline. Then, we’ll discuss the budget and confirm action points.
Marta: Sorry, could you repeat the second point?
Host: Of course. The second point is the budget.
Tom: Can I just add something about the timeline?
Host: Sure, but let’s keep it brief because we have three items to cover.
Tom: The design team needs two extra days, so the first deadline may change.
Host: Thanks. So, to summarise, Tom will send a revised timeline by tomorrow, and Marta will check the budget by Friday.
Comprehension
Conference call: marketing campaign meeting
Listen to the four audio clips and answer the questions. Answers reveal inside each white question box.
Audio 1
Audio 2
Audio 3
Audio 4
Part 1: General understanding
Part 2: Detailed comprehension
Part 3: True or False
Part 4: Conference call phrases — drag and drop
Drag each purpose to the correct phrase from the conference call.
will and going to for action points
Use will when you decide something during the call. Use going to for plans that already exist.
Decision now: I’ll send the notes after the call.
Existing plan: We’re going to test the system tomorrow.
Action-point pattern: I’ll + verb + by + deadline.
Conference call grammar drill
Write action points
Conference call language bank
A deeper reference section for opening, managing, contributing to and closing professional conference calls.
1. Opening the call and checking technology
Purpose: Start smoothly, make sure everyone can hear and see the shared material, and create a professional tone.
| Situation | Useful phrases |
|---|---|
| Welcome everyone | Thanks for joining today’s conference call. Good morning everyone, thanks for making the time. |
| Check sound/video | Can everyone hear me clearly? Can you see my screen now? We may have a slight connection delay. |
| Handle technical problems | You’re breaking up a little. Could you mute your microphone when you’re not speaking? I’ll reconnect and join again in a moment. |
2. Setting the agenda and moving between topics
Purpose: Tell participants what the meeting will cover and keep the discussion organised.
| Situation | Useful phrases |
|---|---|
| Introduce the agenda | Let’s start with today’s agenda. The main purpose of today’s call is to discuss... We have three main points to cover. |
| Move to a new point | Let’s move on to the main agenda. The next item is... Now I’d like to turn to... |
| Keep the call focused | Let’s come back to the main point. That’s useful, but perhaps we can discuss it after the call. To stay on schedule, let’s focus on... |
3. Giving updates and presenting information
Purpose: Share progress, figures, deadlines and status clearly so everyone understands the situation.
| Situation | Useful phrases |
|---|---|
| Share progress | We’re currently on schedule. The design team is ahead of schedule. We’ve completed the first stage of the project. |
| Present data | According to our latest figures... The projections are based on current trends and past performance. We expect sales to increase by... |
| Refer to visuals | Could you share your screen? As you can see on this slide... This chart shows the expected growth. |
4. Agreeing, disagreeing and asking questions
Purpose: Respond professionally, ask for clarification and show that you are following the discussion.
| Situation | Useful phrases |
|---|---|
| Ask for clarification | I have a question about... Just to clarify, do you mean...? Could you explain that point in a little more detail? |
| Agree | That sounds reasonable. I agree with that approach. That should be fine. |
| Disagree politely | I see your point, but I’m not sure that will work. I’m slightly concerned about the timeline. Could we consider another option? |
| Interrupt politely | Can I just add something here? Sorry to interrupt, but there’s one important point. Could I quickly respond to that? |
5. Assigning action points and confirming deadlines
Purpose: Make sure everyone knows what they need to do after the call.
| Situation | Useful phrases |
|---|---|
| Assign responsibility | Who will be responsible for that? David, could you take care of the final approval? Jennifer will send the design mockups after the call. |
| Confirm deadlines | Can you send that by Friday? That should be fine. Let’s agree on a deadline before we finish. |
| Summarise decisions | So, to summarise, we’ve agreed that... The key action points are... I’ll send the meeting minutes within the next hour. |
6. Closing the call
Purpose: Give people one final chance to speak, confirm next steps and end politely.
| Situation | Useful phrases |
|---|---|
| Invite final comments | Does anyone have any other questions? Is there anything else we need to discuss? Any final comments before we finish? |
| Signal the end | Before we wrap up... I think that covers everything for today. Let’s leave it there for now. |
| Close politely | Thanks again for your time. Thank you, everyone. Speak to you soon. I’ll follow up by email after the call. |
Conference call role cards
Work in groups. Hold a short conference call and agree action points.
You lead a project update call. Start the call, introduce the agenda and keep the discussion on track.
Goal: Confirm three action points by the end.
The campaign plan is almost ready, but you need the final product images.
Action needed: Ask who can send the images and by when.
The budget is higher than expected. You need two days to check the numbers.
Action needed: Explain the issue and suggest a deadline.
There is a small software problem. You can fix it, but you need feedback from the team.
Action needed: Ask for comments by tomorrow morning.
Call checklist
- Check everyone can hear clearly.
- Introduce the agenda.
- Ask for clarification at least once.
- Interrupt politely at least once.
- Summarise decisions.
- Confirm owners and deadlines for action points.
Final review
Check the key language from the lesson.