English is the language of international business. To remain competitive in the workplace, business people can benefit by increasing their business language fluency. Business meetings are a key part of the modern workplace and it's possible to develop effective communication skills for these situations.
Understanding the right phrases, language and conversational tone to use during a workplace meeting can boost career progression in our world's fast-paced international economy.
Here are some essential communication skills for a business meeting, including useful phrases, vocabulary and terminology. You can improve your ability to lead meetings and deliver workplace presentations.
Leading a meeting in English
When leading a meeting, it’s important you ask everyone to introduce themselves and provide a brief meeting agenda. A formal business meeting could start in the following way:
Meeting introduction
Start the meeting by welcoming your attendees and introducing yourself. You can start with a simple greeting, using phrases such as:
“Good morning / afternoon”
“Let’s begin”
“I’d like to welcome everyone”
“Since everyone is here, let’s get started”
“I’d like to thank everyone for coming today”
Introduce yourself
“I’m [your name]. I’ll keep this meeting brief as I know you’re all busy people”
“I’m [your name] and I arranged this meeting because…”
Ask others to introduce themselves
For effective discussions during the meeting, it’s essential that individuals attending the meeting are well-acquainted with each other. The person leading the meeting could ask everyone to introduce themselves in the following way:
“Let’s go around the table and introduce ourselves, [name] do you want to start?”
“Let’s introduce ourselves quickly - please state your name, job title and why you are here”
You ideally want people to say their name, position in the company and reason for being at the meeting. This will help guide any discussions during the meeting.
Set the agenda
It is also important to start the meeting by outlining the agenda clearly as well as the key objectives of the meeting. The objectives can be stated with the following phrases:
“We’re here today to discuss”
“There are [number] items on the agenda. First…”
“Today I would like to outline our plans for”
Define action points to be completed before the next meeting
Give an overview of what needs to be completed before the next meeting. Use the following phrases:
“[Name], can you have these action points finished by next week’s meeting?”
“Before the next meeting, I want [action point] completed so we can discuss the results”
“By the next meeting, we’ll have [action point] in progress”
Get involved in meetings
It is a good idea to show that you are actively involved in the meeting. Active participation in the meeting is reflected by asking questions if you do not understand what is being said, or if there is agreement / disagreement.
How to interrupt politely
If you have something to add to what is being said, you can interrupt with the following phrases:
“Sorry, but just to clarify”
“Sorry I didn’t quite hear that, could you say it again?”
“That’s an excellent point [person’s name], what about doing [action point] as well?”
“From our department’s perspective, it’s a little more complicated. Let me explain”
You can also use phrases such as:
“I've never thought about it that way before. How does it affect [this point]”
Asking questions There are many ways to ask questions during the meeting. The following phrases are suitable when asking for someone to repeat what they have said:
“Could you repeat that please?”
“Could you run that by me one more time?”
For clarification the following phrases can be used:
“I don't fully understand what you mean. Could you explain it from a different angle?”
“Could you explain to me how that is going to work?”
“Just to be clear, do you mean this [repeat the explained point in the way you understand it]”
The person leading the meeting or giving the presentation can also ask:
“Are there any more comments?”
“What do you think about this proposal?”
“Are there any areas of this project we are not thinking about?”
Presenting at a meeting
During the presentation, it’s important to engage your audience and clearly set out the structure of your presentation. You can use the following expressions to achieve this:
Introducing your topic
The presentation should begin by introducing its purpose with phrases such as:
“Thank you for getting here on time. Today we’re here to discuss”
“We’re here to discuss the progress on [name of project] project”
“Due to issues identified in [project name], we’re here to come up with a quick resolution”
The presenter can also outline the presentation procedure to ensure clarity, with phrases such as:
“We’re going to run through the main points of the agenda”
“The presentation will cover these topics”
Concluding your presentation
The presentation should end by briefly going over the key messages and action points again. The conclusion should ensure that the individuals present in the meeting leave with a clear idea about the next steps. It’s also polite to thank the audience for attending.
The concluding phrases could be:
“To summarize then, let me just run through what we’ve agreed here”
“Before we end, let me just summarize the three main points”
“To sum up what I’ve presented”
“That brings us to the end of my presentation, thank you for listening”
Answering questions
The presentation can also end by requesting input or feedback from the participants and answering their questions. The following phrases can be useful for such situations:
“Any final thoughts before we close the meeting?”
“If you have further questions or want to discuss any of it in more detail, we can meet privately, or you can send me an email [have email address on the final presentation slide]”
“I’d like to thank everyone for sharing their time today and any feedback would be valuable”
“So do we think this is the correct way to proceed?”
“Are there any objections to what I covered?”
Additional business meeting phrases
Aside from the typical benefits, clear communication is required to hold off an interruption, delegate tasks, confirm decisions, apologise for being late, or excuse you early from a meeting. The following phrases can prove useful for such situations and help ensure a productive meeting.
Some useful negotiation phrases during a meeting include:
“I hear what you’re saying, however our senior manager is very clear on this one”
“I understand that we can’t do that, but can we discuss some other alternatives?”
“I agree with what you are saying, however have you considered [different method]?”
“How about this as an alternative [proceed to explain your alternative method]”
When the meeting is on a tight schedule and the discussion is dragging on, you can use these phrases:
“I'm afraid that's outside the scope of this meeting”
“Why don't we return to the main agenda of today's meeting”
“We’ve gone slightly off topic, let us get back to [main agenda]”
You can plan a future meeting by saying:
“I’d like to set up a meeting with you at your earliest convenience. When are you free?”
“I’d love to continue this conversation at a second meeting, when are you next free?”
“We haven’t covered everything we needed to, shall we set up another meeting?”
You can learn more English for the workplace with Business English Coaching and practice what you learn in realistic and personalised business scenarios with a native English speaker with extensive business experience.
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