The Language of Company Meetings
The amount of meetings I’ve been in – people would be shocked. But that’s how you gain experience, how you can gain knowledge, being in meetings and participating. You learn and grow by participating.
— Tiger Woods
Did you know?
Studies have shown that the employees with higher meeting participation also earn more money.
Also, the more you participate, the better you will feel while building your English block by block.
Practice makes perfect!
What do you know about company meetings?
Take a quick quiz in order to do a pre-check on your skills. It just takes 3 minutes and will help identify your weaknesses and show you where to focus.
Phrasal Verbs
Group # 1
to dive into
to bring up
to figure out
to go over
to follow up
Phrasal Verbs
Group # 2
to head in
to carry out
to show up
to hand out
to come up with
You are here.
Leading a Meeting
Getting Involved
Presenting Topics
Starting on a positive note. Psychology is on your side.
Say something in the first 5 seconds that the audience can agree and connect with if you want to help build a connection. This has been proven time after time in studies related to relationship building.
“There is only one chance to make a first impression.”
Agree with your guest. Very simple.
You: “Did you find the building easily?”
Client: “Yes, no problem.”
You. “Welcome to…”
And, if there is a negative answer, agree in the negative.
You: “Did you find the building easily?”
Client: “No, it was a bit tricky.”
You. “Yes, I agree. The street signs are a little difficult to see.”
And for those of use still connecting in the virtual world…
You: “Were you able to connect easily?”
Client: “Sure, no problem.”
You. “Welcome to…”
And, if there is a negative answer, again agree in the negative.
You: “Were you able to connect easily?”
Client: “No, it was a bit tricky.”
You. “Yes, I agree. Google is a bit strange sometimes.”
Leading a Meeting
When leading a meeting, it’s normal that you request everyone to introduce themselves and then you hand out a brief meeting outline, or an agenda. Both formal and informal business meetings could kick off the in the following ways: Introducing yourself, or introducing others.
Introducing yourself
One way to kick off the meeting is by welcoming your attendees and introducing yourself. You can start with a simple greeting, using lines such as:
“Good morning / afternoon.”
“Let’s begin.”
“I’d like to welcome everyone.”
“Now that everyone is here, let’s get started.”
“I’d like to thank everyone for connecting today.”
After greeting your audience, then you introduce yourself, present your topic, and thank the audience again. We will cover two ways to do this, one short (A), and one long (B).
A
Short Form
“Hello, my name is … ”
“The topic of our meeting is …”
“Thanks for joining me.”
B
Long Form
“Good day/morning/evening/ everyone. It is a pleasure to be here with you all today.”
“Hello, and for those of you who don’t know me, my name is … ”
“As you saw in the agenda, the topic of our meeting is …”
“Thanks for joining me.”
Asking others to introduce themselves
For effective participation during the meeting, it’s paramount that individuals attending the meeting are well-acquainted with each other. The leader of the meeting could ask everyone to introduce themselves in the following ways:
“Let’s head around the table and introduce ourselves, [name] do you want to start?”
“Let’s introduce ourselves quickly – please say your name, position and why you are here today.”
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 and direct and figure out any questions that may come up.
Example Introduction
“Good day everyone. It is a pleasure to be here with you all.”
“For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Eric. ”
“As you saw in the agenda, the topic of our meeting is about standard company meeting language.”
“Now I would like to introduce a few members of my team.”
“Let’s head around the table and introduce ourselves, [name] do you want to start?”
Now or Later. When to take questions.
Taking Questions after the Topic
This can be a great strategy to help keep the meeting on time and prevent any distractions or getting off topic and loose control of the agenda and meeting.
“There will be plenty of time for questions at the end of my presentation …”
“We would appreciate it if you could hold any questions for the end of the …”
“I’d appreciate it if you could save any questions or comments for the …”
“We’d thank you if you could leave any questions for the end of the presentation …”
Taking Questions at Anytime
If your meeting and topics are more under control and you feel like you have the experience to answer questions at anytime, be my guest.
“Please feel free to interrupt at anytime if you have any questions.”
“If you have any questions, jump in at any time.”
“Do not hesitate to ask at any time if you have any questions.”
Informing about the length
Time is money. Let the attendees know what to expect. Keep on track and respect your guests time and schedule.
“Today, our meeting will take about 45 min.”
“We would like to let you know that the meeting will take about half an hour.”
“We have around 30 minutes scheduled for today, so if you have to …”
“Our meeting will be about 20 minutes today.”
Setting the Agenda
It is normal to start the meeting by outlining the agenda clearly and the key objectives thereof. The objectives can be expressed with the following lines:
“We’ve called this meeting in order to point out …”
“We’re here today to bring up some …”
“There are [number] items on the agenda. First we need to figure out …”
“Today I would like to dive into our plans for …”
Call to Action
When the meeting has wrapped up, give an overview of what needs to be carried out before the next meeting. Use the following phrases:
“Tom, can you have these action points wrapped up by next week’s meeting?”
“Before the next meeting, I want the Sun Valley Course analysis tied up so we can go over the results.”
“By the next meeting, we’ll have the Sun Valley Course analysis in progress.”
Prepositions – Before & By
In the case of time, these prepositions have the same meaning.
By 5:00pm means anytime before 5:00pm, therefore 4:45pm, 4:30pm or simply anytime before 5:00pm…
By Friday means Thursday night at a reasonable hour.
Getting Involved in Meetings
Active participation in the meeting is key. This is demonstrated by diving in and asking questions and interrupting the presenter politely if you do not pick up what is being said, or if there is an agreement or disagreement.
6 Ways to “jump in”
“Sorry, but …”
“(I´m) so sorry …?”
“Excuse me, however …?”
“May I jump in? …”
“Excuse me for interrupting, but …”
“I hate to be rude, but …”
How to interrupt politely
Sometimes you need to jump in. But how do you do this without feeling rude?
Here are some lines that will help you get your say, without stepping on anyone’s toes.
“Sorry, but just to clarify could you please …”
“(I´m) so sorry I didn’t quite hear that, can you say it again?”
“Excuse me, but what have you figured out about The Sun Valley Course?”
“May I jump in? From our departments perspective, it’s a little more complicated. Let me explain …”
“Excuse me for interrupting”
“I hate to be rude, but how does it affect the balance sheet?”
Asking questions
There are infinite different ways to bring up questions during the meeting. If you need someone to repeat something, to clarify, or asking for more information, the key is to ask. The more you ask, the more you will be remembered and also the more you will take away from the meeting.
Repeating
“Can you repeat that please?”
“Can you run that by me one more time?”
“Can you repeat that in a simplified way?”
Clarification
“I don’t fully understand what you mean. Could you go over it from a different angle?”
“Could you explain to me how you will carry out the project?”
“Just to be clear, is this what you mean … [paraphrasing the speaker]?”
Getting more information
“Does anyone have any more comments?”
“What do you all think about this plan?”
“Are there any areas of this project we are not following up on?”
Presenting at a Meeting
Eventually everyone has to present what is going on in your department to the rest of the group. Being prepared will make you feel much more confident and ready to carry out the presentation.
Presenting your Topic
The presentation should begin by its purpose with lines as:
“Thank you for your attention. Today we’re here to discuss …”
“I would like to bring up the progress on the Sun Valley Golf Course project.”
“Due to issues identified in the Sun Valley Golf Course project, we’re here to figure out a quick resolution”
Dividing your Presentation
Informing the audience about how the presentation will be delivered can help increase engagement and help you carry out your objective.
“I have broken the presentation into three …”
“We have divided our presentation into …”
Concluding
You should wrap up by briefly going over the key messages and action points again. The conclusion should ensure that the guests present in the meeting finish with a clear idea about what to do next. It’s also kind to thank the audience for attending.
The concluding phrases could be:
“To summarize then, let me just go over what we’ve brought up here …”
“Before we wrap up, let me just summarize the three main points …”
“To sum up what I’ve presented …”
“That brings me to the end of my presentation, thank you for listening.”
Final Thoughts
Answering questions
This is the opportunity to see what people really think once the formal meeting has ended and their guard is down.
“Any final thoughts before we wrap up the meeting?”
“If you have further questions or want to discuss any of it in more detail …”
“I’d like to thank everyone for coming today and any feedback would be valuable”
“So do we think this is the correct way to follow up?”
“Are there any objections to what I covered?”
Phrasal Verbs
Group # 3
to wrap up
to tie up
to wind up
– to end or finish something.
Phrasal Verbs
Group # 4 – Verbs in motion with the preposition by.
to go by
to come by
to drop by
to swing by
to run by
-All just mean a quick visit.
Additional Lines to Navigate a Meeting
Being prepared will make you feel much more confident and ready to carry out the objective.
When you need to defend an interruption, you can say:
“Can we dive into that point later?”
“May I finish what I was saying and then …”
“Would you please let me make my point?”
“Let’s make a note of that and come back later.”
When the meeting is on a close schedule, you can use these phrases:
“I’m sorry, but that’s outside the scope of this meeting.”
“Why don’t we return to the main agenda of today’s meeting.”
“We’ve headed slightly off topic, let us get back to the Sun Valley Golf Course.”
Being Late… (and leaving early)
You may run into a problem and show up a few minutes late. Or, you may have crossed your schedule and have to head to the other side of town. How do you deal with this without being rude?
It is ok to be late, but don’t blame others. Use “I” to take responsibility for your tardiness.
“Excuse me for being late, I was …”
“Sorry for not getting here on time, I was …”
“I apologize for being late, I didn’t look at my watch.”
If you need to head to another meeting, here are some lines to help excuse yourself.
“Excuse me, unfortunately I have to leave early. I need to head over to the Finance Dept …”
“I’ve got to head out, I’ve got overlapping meetings”
“Sorry I’m going to have to leave now, I am heading up to the Sun Valley Golf Course.”
Phrasal Verbs
Group # 3
to wrap up
to tie up
to wind up
– to end or finish something.
Phrasal Verbs
Group # 4 – Head with a preposition, means Go.
to head to
to head over
to head in
to head out
to head by
“head” just means “go”.
Make your Meeting Better
Three tips to making meetings better: Separating, Standing, Shrinking. Take 2 minutes and learn from Steven Rogelberg, a UNC-Charlotte professor, and expert on meetings.
- Separation – the attendees are being separated from something else that they wanted or needed to do. So make sure you can make the attendees feel comfortable.
- Standing – Try something different. If you are always standing, try sitting, and if you are sitting, try a standing meeting.
- Shrink – Make meetings shorter than they are scheduled. Reduce the time and you can make everyone more efficient and enjoyable.
This book will change your life.
How can we use the hidden patterns of the day to build the ideal schedule? Why do certain breaks dramatically improve student test scores? How can we turn a stumbling beginning into a fresh start? Why should we avoid going to the hospital in the afternoon? Why is singing in time with other people as good for you as exercise? And what is the ideal time to quit a job, switch careers, or get married?
Did you know?
Fun Meeting Facts
How to pronounce “percenta”…
(Pronouncing “precenta”. Push the percent and of together to have a more native sound)
Over 70% of directors bring other work.
About 90% of people daydream during the meeting.
Over 25% of the time irrelevant topics are brought up.
39% of members admit to dozing off.
75% of members and shareholders think virtual meetings set up better polling options.
34% of companies plan to dive into VR Tech for virtual meetings within 5 years.
47% of directors and members say that Mondays are the least productive day to go over meeting topics.
What they say…
Quotes from some famous users…
“When the outcome of a meeting is to have another meeting, it has been a lousy meeting”
-Herbert Hoover
“Keep things informal. Talking is the natural way to do business. Writing is great for keeping records and putting down details, but talk generates ideas. Great things come from out luncheon meetings which consist of a sandwich, a cup of soup, and a good idea or two. No martinis.”
-T. Boone Pickens
“It took me years to work out the difference between net and gross. In meetings I just used to say, ‘Tell me if it’s good or bad news.”
-Richard Branson
Verb Collocations
COLLOCATION TYPE 1:
Verb + Infinitive form
to offer
to decide
to refuse
to hesitate
to fail
to plan
to hope
to please
to arrange
to seem
to want
to prepare
Examples
to offer to negotiate
to decide to sign
to plan to resign
to hope to meet
to prepare to find
to seem to be
PRONUNCIATION TIP:
Connect your first verb and then, make your pause between the “to” and the second “verb”.
For example, “Do you want-to go to the meeting.”
For example, “Do you want to go to the meeting.”
And then do not pronounce “to” as “two” or “too”, it has a different pronunciation as “ta”.
“Do you wanta go to the meeting.”
COLLOCATION TYPE 2:
Verb + ing form
to suggest
to practice
to postpone
to deny
to admit
to discuss
to risk
to complete
to finish
to avoid
to consider
to understand
Examples
to suggest reviewing
to discuss defaulting
to consider offering
to risk losing
to finish setting out
to postpone performing
In a meeting, you want to sound normal and follow the normal rules in order to reach your objective more effectively. When you use standard lines and phrases, you sound normal. As native speakers, we all grow up seeing and hearing these expressions everyday and use them in and out of the boardroom. We like what feels familiar, and therefore we get together with and come to agreements with people who make us feel that way.
Tips to help you speak & write more clearly.
Check out the full article here on Legal English Writing Tips
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About the Author
Eric Froiland
Eric is a legal English teacher from the United States and has been based out of Bogota, Colombia for the last 10 years. He is the owner and founder of Legal English Innovation SAS, which is recognized as the top legal English academy in Colombia and is an official Test of Legal English Skills (TOLES) examination center.
