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 & 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 off line, 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 best he or she 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.

Troubleshooting
If you have a question or problems are experienced during the call, you may contact our staff by:

• 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.
• Our Event Reservations line is staffed 24 hours per day, seven days per week and can be reached by calling (US: 800-473-0602 or 303-446-4604 / Canada: 1-800-668-4703 or 1-514-843-3220 / UK: 0800-528-0800 or +44-207-855-0288).

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 Global Crossing 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.

Regardless of how many lines you reserve, we are usually able to handle all participants that may call in for your conference. However, if you underestimate the number of participants, the following may occur:

• Callers may experience an increased hold time before being answered 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 figure, 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.

Dedicated Call Center
Global Crossing's commitment to Event conference calls is underscored by our dedicated Event call center. The separation from the traditional corporate traffic enables the staff to be trained to specifically conduct Event calls. The Event Operators attend Customer Service and basic leadership training as well as training in the software that is specially designed to accommodate Event traffic. This commitment to quality has earned us the business of a significant portion of the Fortune 500.

Software
The software Global Crossing uses was designed for the special demands of Event calls. A list is automatically generated by the names the operator types in when participants call in. Lists that are provided to us before a call are uploaded into our system and allow the operators to choose the name rather than typing all the participant information. Therefore connecting callers to your conference more efficiently.

Peak Times
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 speaker phone has capability of reaching all speakers in the room.
• Multiple locations- when turning the call over to another speaker introduce them by stating their 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, Global Crossing considers the call 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. Global Crossing can also consult with this person if desired. 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
Global Crossing prefers to establish a line that the presenter(s) will be on 15-45 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/or establishing the line early helps identify and rectify audio problems before the meeting begins.

We recommend establishing 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 associated with this feature. Contact your Account Manager for details.)

If requested, our Conference Operator will 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.

Instructions for Formatting Participant Lists

• Complete the host company information at the top of the Participant List Template.
• In the phone number field indicate the phone number of the individual we can contact with questions regarding the participant list.
• Complete the First and Last Name fields with no punctuation and no middle initials (First and Last Name fields are mandatory)
• Company Name and Priority fields are optional Please indicate any Q&A priority by placing an asterisk or the numbers 1-8 in the Priority field.
• Organize the list alphabetically by the participant's Last Name.
• Type the Reservation Number in the subject line of the e-mail.
• E-mail the participant list to eventlist@cfer.com and canres@cfer.com 48 hours prior to the start of the conference. Lists that are not received 48 hours prior to the conference start time or are not in the format mentioned above could increase the hold time of your participants.
• For your reference, we are providing a copy of the following abbreviations, which will be utilized on your conference call by our Operations Staff for consistency and clarity. If possible, please utilize the following abbreviations:

Download the Participant List Template.

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