Meeting Participation
Meetings are a key part of business life. Let’s learn the language to participate effectively and professionally.
Starting a Meeting
Opening the meeting (Chair)
- Good morning, everyone. Shall we begin?
- Thank you all for coming. Let’s get started.
- I’d like to welcome everyone to today’s meeting.
- If everyone’s here, let’s make a start.
Stating the purpose
- The purpose of today’s meeting is to…
- We’re here today to discuss…
- Today’s agenda includes…
- We need to make a decision about…
Introducing participants
- I’d like to introduce [Name] from [Department].
- For those who don’t know, this is [Name], our new…
- Let me quickly introduce everyone around the table.
Tip: If you’re joining a meeting virtually, briefly introduce yourself: “Hi, this is [Name] from [Department] joining from [Location].”
Giving Opinions
Expressing your view
- In my opinion…
- I think/believe that…
- From my point of view…
- As far as I’m concerned…
- It seems to me that…
- My view is that…
Strong opinions
- I’m convinced that…
- I strongly believe…
- There’s no doubt in my mind that…
- I’m absolutely certain that…
Tentative opinions
- I tend to think that…
- It’s possible that…
- Perhaps we could…
- I’m not entirely sure, but…
Agreeing and Disagreeing
Agreeing
- I completely agree.
- That’s a good point.
- I couldn’t agree more.
- Exactly! / Absolutely!
- I think you’re right.
- I’m of the same opinion.
Partially agreeing
- I see your point, but…
- That’s true, however…
- You have a point, although…
- I agree to some extent, but…
Disagreeing politely
- I’m not sure I agree with that.
- I see it differently.
- I’m afraid I disagree.
- With respect, I have a different view.
- I take your point, but…
- I understand what you’re saying, however…
Cultural tip: In English business culture, direct disagreement like “You’re wrong” is considered rude. Always soften disagreement with phrases like “I see your point, but…”
Asking for Clarification
When you don’t understand
- Could you explain that in more detail?
- What exactly do you mean by…?
- I’m not sure I follow. Could you clarify?
- Could you give me an example?
- Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.
Confirming understanding
- So what you’re saying is…
- If I understand correctly…
- Just to clarify, you mean…
- Let me make sure I understand…
Contributing Ideas
Suggesting
- How about…?
- What if we…?
- Why don’t we…?
- I suggest/propose that we…
- One option would be to…
- Have you considered…?
Building on others’ ideas
- That’s a great idea. We could also…
- To add to what [Name] said…
- Building on that point…
- I’d like to expand on that…
Changing the topic
- Moving on to the next point…
- That brings me to another issue…
- On a related note…
- If I may change the subject slightly…
Interrupting Politely
- Sorry to interrupt, but…
- If I could just come in here…
- May I add something?
- Could I just say something?
- Before we move on…
Closing a Meeting
Summarizing
- Let me summarize what we’ve discussed.
- To sum up the main points…
- So, to recap…
Action items
- So the next steps are…
- [Name] will take care of…
- We need to have this done by…
- Let’s schedule a follow-up for…
Closing
- I think that covers everything.
- Thank you all for your contributions.
- We’ll send the minutes out by tomorrow.
- See you at our next meeting.