Listening Exercises B1 – Meetings

The language of meetings

1. Listen to five sentences and tick which sentence you hear.


a I think so too.

 I think that’s true.

b Do you agree?

 Do you see?

c Could you say what you mean?

 Could you explain what you mean?

d Let’s move on, shall we?

 Let’s move on, can we?

e It’s not ideal.

 It’s a deal.

f Yes, I agree.

    Yes, I see.

Answer & Transcript

a I think so too.

b Do you see?

c Could you explain what you mean?

d Let’s move on, shall we?

e It’s a deal.

f Yes, I agree.

2. Listen again and write each expression.


a I think you’re absolutely right.

b _____.

c _____.

d _____.

e _____.

f _____.

g _____.

h _____.

Show answers

b That’s not right at all.

c I think we’re drifting off the point a bit.

d Right, now let’s move on, shall we?

e Can you explain what you mean by that?

f Could I come in here, please?

g Let’s get down to business, shall we?

h What’s your opinion on this?

3. Now listen again and repeat each expression, using the same stress and rhythm.

Transcript

a I think you’re absolutely right.

b That’s not right at all.

c I think we’re drifting off the point a bit.

d Right, now let’s move on, shall we?

e Can you explain what you mean by that?

f Could I come in here, please?

g Let’s get down to business, shall we?

h What’s your opinion on this?

Participating in a discussion

1. Listen to this extract from a company meeting and tick the phrases you hear.

Could we perhaps ___ ?

What / How about __ing?

We might consider __ing.

I suggest we ___

I propose we ___

Why don’t we ___ ?

Show answers

We might consider __ing, I propose we ___

2. Listen again. Tick ✓ the suggestions each person accepts, and cross ✗ the suggestions they reject.

Suggestions

Catherine

Mark

Julie

Peter

Spend more money on marketing

Hire a new sales manager

Answer & Transcript

Suggestions

Catherine

Mark

Julie

Peter

Spend more money on marketing

Hire a new sales manager


Transcript

Catherine:     OK, so let’s get started, shall we? The first item on the agenda is what are we going to do about the decline is sales? We have to do something. I’d like to start be asking Mark.

Mark:     Well, we might consider spending more money on marketing.

Catherine:     Hmm. Judie, do you have any thoughts?

Julie:     I think that’s a good idea. More marketing means more sales.

Peter:     Sorry, can I come in here?

Catherine:     Yes, Peter. Of course.

Peter:     I couldn’t disagree more with Julie and Mark. Marketing is expensive, and we have no guarantee that the costs will be worth it. Perhaps you can give us your opinion, Catherine?

Catherine:     Yes, well, I can see where Mark and Julie are coming from, but I have a problem with increasing our marketing budget for the same reason that Peter has just given. We can’t be sure of the results. I propose we hire a new sales manager. How do you feel about that, Mark?

Mark:     That sounds reasonable to me. I think some new blood would be a good thing.

Julie:     I have no problem with that, either.

Catherine:     So, Mark and Julie both think it’s a way forward. Peter?

Peter:     Well, I’m afraid that’s not how I see it, Catherine. Again, it means trying to spend our way out of this crisis and I’m not very keen on that idea at all.

Finishing a meeting

1. Listen and complete the missing information in each summary.


a managers to get a ________. / sales force to ________.

b new product is ________. / some ________. and ________. issues

c need to start a programme of ________. / begin next ________.

Show answers

a ten percent bonus / double within six months

b a success / reliability and pricing

c staff redundancies / spring

2. Listen again and complete the expression each person uses to show they are going to give a summary.


a Let me ________.

b I’ll quickly ________.

c To ________.

Answer & Transcript

a just summarize the main points.

b go over today’s main points.

c sum up, then ___

Transcript

a OK, so before we finish, let me just summarize the main points. All managers are to get a ten percent bonus, in line with contractual agreements, and the sales force is to double within six months. Right, I think we’ve covered everything, so shall we call it a day?

b And now I’ll quickly go over today’s main points. We all agree that the new product is a success. That’s good. But there are some reliability issues we need to tackle and also pricing. If we do that, I am sure it will be too profitable. Good. So it looks like we can finish early today.

c Er ___ to sum up, then, it seems we need to start a programme of staff redundancies. This will probably begin next spring. Now, we’ll have to cut this meeting short, I’m afraid. I have some urgent business to attend to ___

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