ESL Phrases for Performing Well in Business Meetings

One of the most common requirements of business English is holding meetings in English. The following sections provide useful language and phrases for conducting meetings and making contributions to a meeting. Conducting a Meeting These phrases are useful if you need to run  a meeting. Opening Good morning/afternoon, everyone.If we are all here, lets get started / start the meeting / start. Welcoming and Introducing Please join me in welcoming (name of participant)Were pleased to welcome (name of participant)Id like to extend a warm welcome to (name of participant)Its a pleasure to welcome (name of participant)Id like to introduce (name of participant) Stating the Principal Objectives Were here today to ...Id like to make sure that we ...Our main aim today is to ...Ive called this meeting in order to ... Giving Apologies for Someone Who is Absent Im afraid.., (name of participant) cant be with us today. She is in...Unfortunately, (name of participant) ... will not be with us to day because he ...I have received apologies for absence from (name of participant), who is in (place). Reading the Minutes (notes) of the Last Meeting To begin with Id like to quickly go through the minutes of our last meeting.First, lets go over the report from the last meeting, which was held on (date)Here are the minutes from our last meeting, which was on (date) Dealing with Recent Developments Jack, can you tell us how the XYZ project is progressing?Jack, how is the XYZ project coming along?John, have you completed the report on the new accounting package?Has everyone received a copy of the Tate Foundation report on current marketing trends? Moving Forward So, if there is nothing else we need to discuss, lets move on to todays agenda.Shall we get down to business?Is there Any Other Business?If there are no further developments, Id like to move on to todays topic. Introducing the Agenda Have you all received a copy of the agenda?There are X items on the agenda. First, ... second, ... third, ... lastly, ...Shall we take the points in this order?If you dont mind, Id like to go in order today.skip item 1 and move on to item 3I suggest we take item 2 last. Allocating Roles (secretary, participants) (name of participant) has agreed to take the minutes.(name of participant), would you mind  taking the minutes?(name of participant) has kindly agreed to give us a report on ...(name of participant) will lead point 1, (name of participant) point 2, and (name of participant) point 3.(name of participant), would you mind taking notes today? Agreeing on the Ground Rules for the Meeting (contributions, timing, decision-making, etc.) We will first hear a short report on each point first, followed by a discussion of ...I suggest we go round the table first.Lets make sure we finish by ...Id suggest we ...There will be five minutes for each item.Well have to keep each item to 15 minutes. Otherwise well never get through. Introducing the First Item on the Agenda So, lets start with ...Id suggest we start with...Why dont we start with...So, the first item on the agenda isPete, would you like to kick off?Shall we start with ...(name of participant), would you like to introduce this item? Closing an Item I think that takes care of the first item.Shall we leave that item?Why dont we move on to...If nobody has anything else to add, lets ... Next Item Lets move onto the next itemNow that weve discussed X, lets now ...The next item on todays agenda is...Now we come to the question of. Giving Control to the Next Participant Id like to hand over to (name of participant), who is going to lead the next point.Next, (name of participant) is going to take us through ...Now, Id like to introduce (name of participant) who is going to ... Summarizing Before we close todays meeting, let me just summarize the main points.Let me quickly go over todays main points.To sum up, ...,.OK, why dont we quickly summarize what weve done today.In brief, ...Shall I go over the main points? Keeping the Meeting On Target (time, relevance, decisions) Were running short of time.Well, that seems to be all the time we have today.Please be brief.Im afraid weve run out of time.Im afraid thats outside the scope of this meeting.Lets get back on track, why dont we?Thats not really why were here today.Why dont we return to the main focus of todays meeting.Well have to leave that to another time.Were beginning to lose sight of the main point.Keep to the point, please.I think wed better leave that for another meeting.Are we ready to make a decision? Finishing Up Right, it looks as though weve covered the main items.If there are no other comments, Id like to wrap this meeting up.Lets bring this to a close for today.Is there Any Other Business? Suggesting and Agreeing on Time, Date and Place for the Next Meeting Can we set the date for the next meeting, please?So, the next meeting will be on ... (day), the . . . (date) of.. . (month) at ...Lets next meet on ... (day), the . . . (date) of.. . (month) at ... What about the following Wednesday? How is that? Thanking Participants for Attending Id like to thank Marianne and Jeremy for coming over from London.Thank you all for attending.Thanks for your participation. Closing the Meeting The meeting is finished, well see each other next ...The meeting is closed.I declare the meeting closed. Meeting Participation Vocabulary The following phrases are used to participate in a meeting. These phrases are useful for expressing your ideas and giving input during  a meeting. Getting the Chairpersons Attention (Mister/Madam) chairman.May I have a word?If I may, I think...Excuse me for interrupting.May I come in here? Giving Opinions Im positive that...I (really) feel that...In my opinion...The way I see things...If you ask me,... I tend to think that... Asking for Opinions Are you positive that...Do you (really) think that...(name of participant) can we get your input?How do you feel about...? Commenting Thats interesting.I never thought about it that way before.Good point!I get your point.I see what you mean. Agreeing I totally agree with you.Exactly!Thats (exactly) the way I feel.I have to agree with (name of participant). Disagreeing Unfortunately, I see it differently.Up to a point I agree with you, but...(Im afraid) I cant agree Advising and Suggesting Lets...We should...Why dont you....How/What about...I suggest/recommend that... Clarifying Let me spell out...Have I made that clear?Do you see what Im getting at?Let me put this another way...Id just like to repeat that... Requesting Information Please, could you...Id like you to...Would you mind...I wonder if you could... Asking for Repetition Im afraid I didnt understand that. Could you repeat what you just said?I didnt catch that. Could you repeat that, please?I missed that. Could you say it again, please?Could you run that by me one more time? Asking for Clarification I dont quite follow you. What exactly do you mean?Im afraid I dont quite understand what your are getting at.Could you explain to me how that is going to work?I dont see what you mean. Could we have some more details, please? Asking for Verification You did say next week, didnt you? (did is stressed)Do you mean that...?Is it true that...? Asking for Spelling Could you spell that, please?Would you mind spelling that for me, please? Asking for Contributions We havent heard from you yet, (name of participant).What do you think about this proposal?Would you like to add anything, (name of participant)?Has anyone else got anything to contribute?Are there any more comments? Correcting Information Sorry, I think you misunderstood what I said.Sorry, thats not quite right.Im afraid you dont understand what Im saying.Thats not quite what I had in mind.Thats not what I meant. Meeting Format Meetings generally follow a more or less similar structure and can be divided into the following parts: I - Introductions Opening the MeetingWelcoming and Introducing ParticipantsStating the Principal Objectives of a MeetingGiving Apologies for Someone Who is Absent II - Reviewing Past Business Reading the Minutes (notes) of the Last MeetingDealing with Recent Developments III - Beginning the Meeting Introducing the AgendaAllocating Roles (secretary, participants)Agreeing on the Ground Rules for the Meeting (contributions, timing, decision-making, etc.) IV - Discussing Items Introducing the First Item on the AgendaClosing an ItemNext ItemGiving Control to the Next Participant V - Finishing the Meeting SummarizingFinishing UpSuggesting and Agreeing  on Time, Date and Place for the Next MeetingThanking Participants for AttendingClosing the Meeting