Those of us in investor relations are already gearing up for Q4 earnings, and the longest document many of us will work on is the conference call script. 

The earnings conference call represents a valuable opportunity to directly reach out to analysts and shareholders.  Practically everyone who cares about the company's performance will either listen to the call or catch the replay.  There's a lot of pressure to perform, and the quality of management's prepared comments sets the tone.  So the script must make all your key points -- and make them clearly.

This is easier said than done.