BUSINESS ENGLISH PHRASES

Meetings In English
Super Triple Pack

Series One 1. Meetings 1: Discussing A Problem

2. Meetings 2: Effective Participation in Meetings
3. Meetings 3: Getting your ideas across
4. Meetings 4: Leading and facilitating
5. Meetings 5: Problem-Solving and Brainstorming

Gold Series 6. Meetings Gold Series 1: Opening A Meeting

7. Meetings Gold Series 2: Chairing A Meeting
8. Meetings Gold Series 3: Making Proposals
9. Meetings Gold Series 4: Commenting, Giving
Opinions and Interrupting
10. Meetings Gold Series 5: Summarising, Clarifying
and Closing

Platinum Series 11. Meetings Platinum Series 1: Structure Convincing

Arguments
12. Meetings Platinum Series 2: Effective Active
Listening
13. Meetings Platinum Series 3: Discussing and
Evaluating a Proposal
14. Meetings Platinum Series 4: Project Kick-Off
Meetings
15. Meetings Platinum Series 5: Effective
Argumentation

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 BUSINESS ENGLISH PHRASES

Meetings 1
Discussing a Problem

Introducing a problem Ok everyone, let’s get started.

I think we have all noticed the problem of timelines.
Let’s turn to a problem that’s on everyone’s mind,
reduced budgets.
Introducing a problem We need to tackle a pressing problem today, which is
the reduced budget for the T7 project.
I know we have all been thinking about the issue of
the reduced budget for the T7 project.
Today we are going to discuss the problem of the
reduced budget for the T7 project.
Focusing a discussion on a specific How can we deal with this problem? Any ideas?
problem What are the underlying causes of the problem?
What is at the root of this problem?
Focusing a discussion on a specific What’s behind this problem?
problem Perhaps we can begin by breaking down the problem.
Stopping interruptions Hang on Mia, let James finish.
Hold on Yang, can we let Aneta finish.
I think it is important that everybody contributes.
Stopping interruptions One moment John, perhaps we can allow Javier to
finish.
I wonder if we can give Regina the opportunity to
finish.
Let Sara finish her point.
Encourage working in a team I think we are all on the right track.
We are definitely on the same page now.
I think we’re all on the same wavelength.
Rephrasing problems as How could we cut costs without losing quality?
challenges How should we approach this problem without losing
quality?
How can we meet our deadlines without losing quality?
Close a discussion We’ve have some great solutions.
We’ve made great progress.
I think we’ve solved it.
Evaluating ideas I’d like to hear what everyone thinks about each idea.
I’m open to feedback but let’s keep in mind the main
problems we’ve defined.
Let’s take a look at the solutions considering what our
objectives are.
Expressing negative opinions with I can’t see that idea working given that the project
a reason deadlines are so tight.
I just can’t see this working due to the risks involved.
It will be very difficult to implement keeping in mind our
small budget.
The client won’t agree due to the high cost involved.
Eliminating ideas politely We’ll have to discard this option as it isn’t feasible.
Does everyone agree that we can eliminate the second
option?
This is a great idea, but it’s just not suitable at this time.
I’m afraid we’ll have to rule out this option due to the
risks and costs involved.

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Confirm best option Closing this Business Unit is the best course of action.
It’s clear that closing this Business Unit is the best
option.
Clearly closing this Business Unit is the obvious choice.

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 BUSINESS ENGLISH PHRASES

Meetings 2
Effective Participation in
Meetings
Interrupting Sorry, can I interrupt?
Can I just say something?
Carolina, sorry. Can we go back to the last point?
Finishing your point I haven’t finished what I was saying.
No wait a moment, I hadn’t finished.
Can I just finish what I was saying?
Presenting an idea I think we need to focus on one idea at a time.
In this situation, I’d focus on getting more market share
first.
In this case, I’d focus first on building the brand.
Commenting Yes, that’s interesting Pedro, that’s a good point.
Yes, I see what you mean.
I’d like to hear more about that.
Emphasizing I’d like to point out that, operating costs increased 7%
last month.
Let me emphasize that operating costs decreased 4% in
rd
the Q3 (3 Quarter).
Can I draw your attention to the Q3 results?
Giving an opinion In my opinion, we should focus on increasing revenues
from our existing client base.
From my point of view, we could wait until January 1st.
My view is that we should wait till December.
Considering alternatives Have you considered other target markets?
We also need to consider other target markets.
What about our existing target market?
Question technique: What sort of problem is it?
Open questions Can you give me more details?
What’s your opinion?
Question technique: Do you plan to start next month?
Closed questions Is there another meeting planned?
Are you going to speak to Jeremy about this?
Question technique: What do you think?
Opinion questions Pedro, what’s your opinion?
What’s your point of view?
What’s your perspective?
Agreement: I totally agree with you.
Total agreement I’m 100% behind you.
That’s a very good point.
Agreement: I agree with you, but we need to be cautious.
Limited agreement I'm not against it, but I think we need to be cautious.
I see your point, but I think we need to be careful.
Agreement: I can see what you’re getting at.
Wait to be convinced On the one hand I agree we need to move now, but on
the other hand I think we need to be careful.
I just think we need more time.
Agreement: I totally disagree.
Total disagreement I couldn’t agree less.
It’s not possible, because the timeframe is too short.
Making a suggestion One possibility would be to go back to the original plan.
Perhaps we should wait to make a decision until we

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 have the full picture.
I’ve got a suggestion, what about using marketing?
Making a suggestion Maybe we could look for partners to enter this market.
Shall we try to find partners to enter this market?
What if we launched the product in November?
Making strong recommendations I strongly recommend that we wait until 2013.
There’s no alternative we need to act now.
I think we have to do something now.
Making neutral recommendations I propose we implement the new sales plan now.
I recommend we implement the new sales plan now.
I suggest we implement the new sales plan now.
Why don’t we implement the new sales plan now?
Making weak recommendations Perhaps we could consider a new timescale for the
project.
Maybe we should think about a new timescale for the
project.

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 BUSINESS ENGLISH PHRASES

Meetings 3
Getting your ideas across

Meeting purpose The purpose of today’s meeting is to brainstorm

ideas for new products.
The goal of today’s meeting is to brainstorm ideas
for new services.
Let’s review the meeting’s goals.
Ask for opinions Juan, what do you think about the current situation?
Wendy, what’s your opinion?
Sara, I’d like your opinion on the situation.
Ask for opinions Patricia, what’s your point of view about the current
situation?
Park, can we have your thoughts about the current
situation?
Kiyoko, what do you think?
Giving neutral opinions I think both options are good.
Overall there’s good and bad points for each
option.
I can see advantages and disadvantages for both.
Interrupting Sorry, can I interrupt?
Excuse me, can I interrupt?
Yang, can I say something here?
Carolina, sorry I don’t agree.
Finishing your point I haven’t finished what I was saying.
No wait a moment, this strategy needs more time.
Can I just finish what I was saying?
Disagreeing using questions Are you sure about that point?
What’s the evidence to support that idea?
Is that really true in this case?
Won’t that idea put us even further behind schedule?
Supporting other people’s ideas I think there’s a lot of support for that idea.
That idea makes a lot of sense to me too.
I’ve seen other examples that support this idea.
Giving positive feedback True, I think it’s a great point.
That’s right Sara and I’m glad you made that point.
You’ve brought up a very valid point Vinod.
Disagreeing using BUT It may be expensive, but I think it could generate a lot
of business in the mid-term.
It’s a good idea, but we don’t have enough budget.
I understand what you mean, but I don’t think it’s
feasible.
Agreement: I agree with the main idea but not the timeframe.
Limited agreement I'm not against it, but the timeframe is unrealistic.
I see your point, but the timeframe is not realistic.
Agreement: I can see what you’re getting at.
Wait to be convinced On the one hand I think it is a good idea, but on the
other hand it is going to cost a lot more than
expected.
I just think we need more time.
Agreement: I totally disagree.
Total disagreement I couldn’t agree less.
It’s not feasible, it’s too expensive.

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Introducing a new opinion From a sales perspective we would gain market
share.
Here’s what I’ve been thinking about this point.
I’ve got something I’d like to share on this point.
Introducing a new opinion How about this for an idea, what if we look at this
from the opposite side?
I’d just like to add something on this point.
Let me just expand on this idea.
Highlighting consequences If we did that, we could save 12%.
As a result of this, the project would be more
feasible.
What this all means is time savings.
If we do this, it will result in huge savings.

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Author

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