MODUL PERKULIAHAN

Mata Kuliah English for Business

Modul 11:
Business Meeting

Mengetahui hal-hal mendasar mengenai business meeting.

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11

Business Meeting
1
Understanding Business Meeting
Good meetings are result of good planning. The time you spend before will result in
major benefits later by efficiently using the meeting time, accomplishing objectives,
 and avoiding the need for follow-up meetings. When deciding to hold a meeting, you
should also decide who should attend and what is the purpose of the meeting. To help
in planning meetings, below is a checklist of major elements essential for meeting
effectiveness:

1. Purpose

Plan meetings with purpose. Define the purpose or objective of the meeting (e.g., to
reach consensus on how volunteer leaders should allocate their time).

2. Participant

Who needs to attend this meeting to accomplish the purpose?

3. Structure

How should the meeting be organized to best accomplish the purpose? Some techniques
may include: guest speakers, videos, brainstorming sessions, panel sessions,
discussion groups, demonstrations, etc. Whatever technique is selected, it should have
the greatest impact on the participants to attain the meeting objective.

4. Location and Time

Select a meeting place that best matches the participant's needs, the objective, and the
meeting structure. When planning where to meet, give consideration to size, comfort,
accessibility, adequate parking, room acoustics, equipment needs, etc.

5. Agenda

A meeting agenda should be prepared and distributed to participants at least three days
prior to the meeting day. An agenda is crucial to meeting success in three ways: 1) it
clarifies the objectives so people understand the meeting purpose and tasks; 2)
distributing the agenda prior to the meeting helps participants plan and prepare to
make an effective contribution; and 3) during the meeting, the agenda provides
direction and focus for the discussion.

6. Responsibilities

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 There should be a mutual understanding of not only the meeting purpose, but also
individual assignments and how they fit into the total program. In task-oriented or
policy deciding meetings, it is best to prepare a written summary of assigned duties so
individuals know what their responsibility is for the meeting.

7. Confirmation

If it is a first meeting or if the meeting is on a new day or time, individually contact all
participants a week to three days before the meeting day. Contact can be as simple as
sending everyone a friendly reminder through office e-mail, phone calls, or a post
card reminder through the mail.

Preparing and Organizing a Meeting

 Calling a meeting

There are a number of ways that you may call or be called to a meeting. Some meetings are
announced by e-mail, and others are posted on bulletin boards.

Sample e-mail

To: [email protected]
cc: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Meeting

Hi everyone,

We will be having a meeting next Friday from 2.30pm-4.30pm in Room 3.

All supervisors are expected to attend. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the
upcoming tourist season. As you probably have heard, this could be our busiest season
to date. There are already twenty bus tours booked from Japan, and fifteen walking
tours booked from North America.

We are also expecting Korean and Australian tours in late summer. Please make
arrangements to have other staff members cover your duties during the meeting.

Thank you,
Pierre

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Sample Notice:

MEETING

LOCATION: Room 3
DATE: Friday, May 5th
TIME: 2:00 PM-4:00 P.M.
FOR: Supervisors only
SUBJECT: Tourist Season
Please note that ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY!

 Writing an Agenda

In order to keep the meeting on task and within the set amount of time, it is important to
have an agenda. The agenda should indicate the order of items and an estimated amount
of time for each item.

1. Welcome, Introduction: Pierre and Stella (5 minutes)

2. Minutes from previous meeting: Jane (10 minutes)

3. Japan Tours: Pierre (15 minutes)

4. N.A. Tours: Kana (15 minutes)

5. Korean Tours: Thomas (15 minutes)

6. Australian Tours: Pierre (if time allows 10 minutes)

7. Feedback from last year: Everyone (15 minutes)

8. Vote on staff picnic: Everyone (15 minutes)

9. Questions/Closing remarks/Reminders: Everyone (5 minutes)

 Taking the Meeting Minutes

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Meeting minutes, or mom (minutes of meeting) can be defined as the written record of
everything that's happened during a meeting. They're used to inform people who didn't
attend the meeting about what happened, or to keep track of what was decided during the
meeting so that you can revisit it and use it to inform future decisions.

 Structure of Meeting Minutes

 Organization Name

 Date

 Opening: When the meeting is called to order, where it is being held, and who call it
to order.

 Present: All present members.

 Absent : Any members who are not present.

 Approval of Agenda

 Approval of minutes

 Business from the previous meeting: Any motions or topics that are previously raised,
a brief description of what took place, and whether they were approved or rejected.

 New Business: Any motions or topics that are raised for the first time at the meeting,
a brief description of what took place, and whether they were approved or rejected.

 Addiction to the agenda; Any additional items that were raised by committee
members.

 Adjournment; What time the meeting was adjourned and by whom, as well as where
the next meeting will be held and when.

 Minutes submitted by

 Minutes approved by

Sample of meeting minutes

Toronto Association of Beekeepers

Meeting Minutes

May 25, 2020

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Opening

The regular Meeting of the Toronto Association of Beekeepers was called to order at
08.00 am on May 25, 2020 in the Hive by Tatiana Morand.

Present:

Jane Robertson, facilitator

Anita Palmer, secretary

Thomas Routledge, board member

Kana Smith, board member

Nolan Barths, board member

Zachary Rodrigo, executive director

Absent

James Clarkson

Approval of Agenda

The agenda was unanimously approved as distributed.

Approval of minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were unanimously approved and distributed.

Business from the previous meeting:

Budget Committee Report

The budget for 2020 has been finalized, and was distributed at this meeting by Kana
Smith, who led the committee. She ran through an itemized list of the line items, with
board members asking questions periodically. The main change from 2019s budget was
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 an increased marketing spend. The motion to accept the revised budget was seconded
and passed.

New business

New Hive Research

Thomas Routledge explained the result of the research she had been doing into the new
brand of hives that some members have been purchasing. She found that to buy them in
bulk for the association would be too expensive, and recommended against it. His
motion to dismiss this proposal was seconded and passed.

Additions to the Agenda

Zachary Rodrigo made a motion that a honey sale at the local farmers’ market be
discussed. Jane Robertson dismissed the motion, and proposed adding it to next
month’s meeting instead. Nolan Barths seconded that motion, and it was added to the
agenda for next meeting.

Agenda for next Meeting

Marketing Plan for Gala

Gala Agenda

Farmer’s Market Honey Sale

Adjournment

Meeting was adjourned at 11.30 PM by Jane Robertson. The next general meeting will be
at 09.00 am on May 30th 2020, in the Hive.

Minutes Submitted by: Anita Palmer

Approved by : Zachary Rodrigo

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  Leading a Meeting

 Introducing yourself

You’ll want to start the meeting by welcoming your attendees and introducing yourself. You
can start with a simple greeting, using phrases such as:

 “Good morning / afternoon”

 “I’d like to welcome everyone”

 “Since everyone is here, let’s get started”

 “I’d like to thank everyone for coming today”

After greeting them, 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…”

 Asking others to introduce themselves

For effective discussion 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 ways:

 “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.

 Setting the agenda

Likewise, it is important to start the meeting by outlining the agenda clearly and the key
objectives of the meeting. The objectives can be stated with the following phrases:

 “I've called this meeting in order to”

 “We’re here today to discuss”

 “There are [number] items on the agenda. First…”

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  “Today I would like to outline our plans for”

 Defining action points to be completed before the next meeting

When the meeting has finished, 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”

Describing about Participating in a Meeting

 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”

 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..”

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  “To sum up what I’ve presented..”

 “That brings me 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, if any. The following phrases will 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?”

 Getting Involved in a meeting

Active participation in the meeting is reflected by asking questions and interrupting the
presenter politely if you do not understand what is being said, or if there is agreement /
disagreement. It is a good idea to show that you are actively involved in the meeting.

 How to interrupt politely

If you accidentally speak over someone or 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; can 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 phrase such as:

 “Excuse me for interrupting”

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  “I've never thought about it that way before. How does it affect [this point]”

 Asking questions

There are many different ways to ask questions during the meeting. The following phrases
are suitable when asking for someone to repeat what they have said:

 “Can you repeat that please?”

 “Can you run that by me one more time?”

 “Can you repeat that in a simplified way?”

For clarification the following phrases should 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?”

Making Meeting Report

A meeting report is created in order to provide information about the discussion that
transpired on a particular meeting. It allows the proper and accurate documentation of the
things that have been talked about by the sample meeting attendees and the resolutions for
specific concern items that are needed to be implemented.

As you read more about meeting reports, you might often see them conflated with meeting
minutes. This conflation, though technically incorrect, is understandable: Meeting
minutes are more structured and detailed, and a report is shorter and only covers the main
points. Minutes are used more commonly, though some companies also use reports.

 Structure of meeting report

 Company name
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  The writer’s name

 Date

 Summary; it describes the highlights discussed in the meeting.

 Scope: the topic or issue of the meeting.

 Business activity: brief detail regarding the issues raised in the meeting.

 Timeline and status: highlight the status of the topics.

 Findings: the result of inquiry found in the meeting.

 Conclusion: the actions taken based on the findings in the meeting.

Sample meeting Report

Moller Law Firm

Business Meeting Report

Prepared by

Ella Rincon

([email protected])

July 18, 2022

Executive Summary

This report outlined the highlights from the meeting regarding last month’s case
completion and its employee’s performance and productivity. The management found
that Dina was falling in her productivity. One of the recommendations was to assign
her to another case and have Sarah Greene handle hers instead.

Scope

The meeting covered the group’s pending and future cases, including its employees’

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 performance and productivity rate for June 2022.

Business Activities

Business Activity Description Responsible

Review Pending and Determine pending cases Kathleen Smith

Upcoming cases for July 2022 and assign
employees to work on
upcoming cases

Discuss employee Determine employees with Jennifer Springs

performance and productivity rate below
productivity rate 85% and set a one-on-
one meeting with them

Timeline and Status

Business Activity Period Status

Review pending and July 17, 2022 Completed

upcoming cases

Discuss employee July 17, 2022 Completed

performance and
productivity rate

Findings

The findings were as follows:

1. The group recorded four pending cases of July 2022

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 2. Dina Lane had the lowest productivity rate among all employees of July 2022.

Conclusion

Close to completing its four pending cases, the group would be ready to accept additional
cases next month.

Recommendation

1. Remove Dina Lane from the case and have Sarah Greene handle it instead.

2. Assign a case that is suitable for Dina Lane’s expertise.

Useful tips to run effective meeting

 Begin on time and end on time

Starting a meeting late sends the message that it's okay to be late and it shows a lack of
respect and appreciation for those who make the effort to arrive on time. Some people
may have back-to-back meetings. Ending on time shows respect for participant’s valuable
time.

 Stick to the Agenda

Review the agenda with participants at the beginning of the meeting and ask them if any
changes need to be made on time allocations or discussion content. Continually refer back
to the agenda throughout the meeting to keep discussion centred on the stated purpose and
specified agenda items.

 Control dominating individuals

Make sure each individual has a fair chance of expressing ideas and opinions. Do not let one
person dominate the discussion. Of equal importance is to ensure that quiet participants
are expressing their ideas and opinions.

 Bring Food

Food energizes and motivates people more effectively than any other meeting tactic.
Although many people still prefer the standard coffee and donuts, alternatives such as
fruit, juice, and cookies can be provided.

Exercise 1
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Writing

Unscramble these words into good sentences!

1. their/ flexible/ companies/ past/ in/ of/ encourage/ staff/ through/ meeting/ tried/
informal/ formats/ the creativity/ to.

2. discussing/ link-up/ a video/ issues/ via/ meeting/ beats/ definitely/ email.

3. More/ making/ CEOs/ can be/ efficient/ see/ meetings/ of/ some/ the task.

4. Meetings/ into/ companies/ better/ of/ is/ time/ large/ a trend/ meetings/ to reintroduce/
use/ there/ now/ to make/ among/ structure.

5. The job/ making/ the meeting/ responsibility/ participants/ taking/ done/ are/ personal/
for/ gets/ sure/ that.

6. More/ start/ most/ costs/ thinking/ their/ companies/ had to/ about

7. Next/ travel/ replace / experts/ 10 years /in the/ as much as/ video/ will/ predict/
business/ 20 %/ of/ that /conferences

8. Realize/ as/ a meeting/ the same/ video/ a face to face/via /people/ conference/ is not/
have to/ that/ meeting.

9. A real/ having/ conference/ may not/ as/ a video/ meeting/ be/ easy as.

10. Sometimes/ can/ and/ hand/ aggressive/ on/ gestures/ body/ more/seem / screen

Exercise 2

Speaking Activity; Role Play

Make a business meeting simulation with these rules:

1. Make a group within four (at least) or five members.

2. Every group must be consisted of;

 A facilitator

 Secretary

 Board members

 Director

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Each member has its own duty to lead the meeting, do presentation, ask some questions and
making minutes or making report.

3. Choose one or some issue to raise during in the meeting.

4. Write a brief agenda as the guidance for the meeting.

5. Submit meeting minutes or meeting report at the end the simulation.

Exercise 3

Writing: Crossword Puzzle

Across

1. Another word for prepare; I’ll ... a quotation for you and send it to you by Friday. (2 words
-4,2)

4. If I come to your team meeting at 70 a.m., ... I be able to leave at midday?

8. To hold a meeting later than originally planned: Unfortunately, I can't make our meeting
on Tuesday. Could we ... the meeting to Wednesday.

9. Another word for badly: Sales performed very... here

10. Another phrase for let's finish our meeting now; Let's ,.. things up here

13. To support a motion: I’ll... that.

14. To start a discussion: Who wonts to get the ball ...?

16. The opposite of I think you're absolutely right: I completely ....

20. To reject an offer or suggestion: l am afraid I won't be able to ... you up on that

21. The voice quality is terrible: The voice quality is not really up to ....

22. A group of people who work together in a department: Every Tuesday all the people in
my deportment get together for a quick ... meeting.

23. Explaining why something has happened: I think this was as a ,,, of some bad planning
on our part.

25. Not exacts: Can you give me a ... idea of how much this will cost?

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Down

2. Another word for schedule: Could you ,,, a meeting with the marketing assistant for next
Tuesday?

3. To speak when somebody else is speaking: Can I ... here?

5. Another way to say examine: Our objective today is to ... the new advertising campaign. (2
words - 4, 2)

6. (Dan) can't come to the meeting: (Dan) has sent his ....

7. May I ... Tim McCarthy to you? Tim, this is Charlotte Bone.

11. To change the time: Can we ... our meeting? I am afraid I won't have time on Tuesday
after all

12. To make a democratic decision: Right. Let's put this to a ,,,,

15. The written record of a meeting: Have you got o note of that for the ... , Ms Michaels?

17. A person in control of more formal meetings: A ... should finish the meeting on time, even
if a decision hasn't been reached

18. Another word for soy something about: Does anyone want to ... on that?

19. Another way to say Let's start now: Let's get ... to business

24. The list of topics to be discussed in a meeting: Colin has asked me to draw up a quick ...

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