Equipment:

1. Please use headphones. They don’t have to be fancy; the ones you use with your iPhone are fine.
2. Please use Chrome or Firefox. Sometimes Internet Explorer works for this, but most of the time it doesn’t.

Preparation before the call:

1. Please look at the typical questions below and think about them a bit. Your answers don’t have to sound perfect, it just helps you know where the conversation will probably go.
2. Go to a quiet conference room if you can. Your microphone will pick up noises around you (your neighbor’s phone conversation, for example), and we’d like to hear as much of your voice as possible, not your neighbor’s voice.
3. Matt will email you a link before the call. Click that link to start the conversation with Matt.

Typical questions:

1. Tell us your name.
2. Tell us what company you work for, and what you do there.
3. Think of a company that does something you like. Tell us what they do, and what you like about it.
4. Tell us about something else you’ve seen done, something you like. It can be the same company, or a different company.
5. Now think of something you DON’T like. Tell us what it is, and what you don’t like about it.
6. Tell us another thing, something you wish companies would do better.
7. Before we go, is there anything else you’d like to mention? For example, a company that does things really well, or something you wish companies did differently.

Other notes:

1. Confidentiality: Remember that these recordings are public, but we know that much of your work is confidential. So if we ask for too much information, just say something like, “I prefer not to mention names,” or “I prefer not to mention the company by name; let me just say they are in aerospace manufacturing.” Of course, we like as much detail as possible, but if you don’t want to mention a name, don’t worry, it won’t hurt our feelings.
2. Why we’re doing this: The main people who listen to these podcasts are our clients, and they are wondering, what can we do to communicate more clearly with our investors and analysts? So you are basically talking to the people you follow, and you are telling them, “This is what I need from you, this is what I wish you would do differently.”
3. Thank you so much for participating in this interview. You have no idea how valuable your opinions are to us. After all, our job is to help companies communicate better with their investors and analysts, and your opinions help us tell the companies exactly what their audiences need from them.