Meetings: Introduction
Opening
- Good morning/afternoon, everyone.
- If we are all here, let's get started / start the meeting / start.
Welcoming and Introducing
- Please join me in welcoming (name of participant)
- We're pleased to welcome (name of participant)
- I'd like to extend a warm welcome to (name of participant)
- It's a pleasure to welcome (name of participant)
- I'd like to introduce (name of participant)
Stating the Principal Objectives
- We're here today to ...
- I'd like to make sure that we ...
- Our main aim today is to ...
- I've called this meeting in order to ...
Giving Apologies for Someone Who is Absent
- I'm afraid.., (name of participant) can't be with us today. She is in...
- Unfortunately, (name of participant) ... will not be with us to day because he ...
- I have received apologies for absence from (name of participant), who is in (place).
Reading the Minutes (notes) of the Last Meeting
- To begin with I'd like to quickly go through the minutes of our last meeting.
- First, let's go over the report from the last meeting, which was held on (date)
- Here are the minutes from our last meeting, which was on (date)
Dealing with Recent Developments
- Jack, can you tell us how the XYZ project is progressing?
- Jack, how is the XYZ project coming along?
- John, have you completed the report on the new accounting package?
- Has everyone received a copy of the Tate Foundation report on current marketing trends?
Moving Forward
- So, if there is nothing else we need to discuss, let's move on to today's agenda.
- Shall we get down to business?
- Is there Any Other Business?
- If there are no further developments, I'd like to move on to today's topic.
Introducing the Agenda
- Have you all received a copy of the agenda?
- There are X items on the agenda. First, ... second, ... third, ... lastly, ...
- Shall we take the points in this order?
- If you don't mind, I'd like to go in order today.
- Let's skip item 1 and move on to item 3
- I suggest we take item 2 last.
Allocating Roles (secretary, participants)
- (name of participant) has agreed to take the minutes.
- (name of participant), would you mind taking the minutes?
- (name of participant) has kindly agreed to give us a report on ...
- (name of participant) will lead point 1, (name of participant) point 2, and (name of participant) point 3.
- (name of participant), would you mind taking notes today?
Agreeing on the Ground Rules for the Meeting (contributions, timing, decision-making, etc.)
- We will first hear a short report on each point first, followed by a discussion of ...
- I suggest we go round the table first.
- Let's make sure we finish by ...
- I'd suggest we ...
- There will be five minutes for each item.
- We'll have to keep each item to 15 minutes. Otherwise we'll never get through.
Introducing the First Item on the Agenda
- So, let's start with ...
- I'd suggest we start with...
- Why don't we start with...
- So, the first item on the agenda is
- Pete, would you like to kick off?
- Shall we start with ...
- (name of participant), would you like to introduce this item?
Closing an Item
- I think that takes care of the first item.
- Shall we leave that item?
- Why don't we move on to...
- If nobody has anything else to add, lets ...
Next Item
- Let's move onto the next item
- Now that we've discussed X, let's now ...
- The next item on today's agenda is...
- Now we come to the question of.
Giving Control to the Next Participant
- I'd like to hand over to (name of participant), who is going to lead the next point.
- Next, (name of participant) is going to take us through ...
- Now, I'd like to introduce (name of participant) who is going to ...
Summarizing
- Before we close today's meeting, let me just summarize the main points.
- Let me quickly go over today's main points.
- To sum up, ...,.
- OK, why don't we quickly summarize what we've done today.
- In brief, ...
- Shall I go over the main points?
Finishing Up
- Right, it looks as though we've covered the main items.
- If there are no other comments, I'd like to wrap this meeting up.
- Let's bring this to a close for today.
- Is there Any Other Business?
Suggesting and Agreeing on Time, Date and Place for the Next Meeting
- Can we set the date for the next meeting, please?
- So, the next meeting will be on ... (day), the . . . (date) of.. . (month) at ...
- Let's next meet on ... (day), the . . . (date) of.. . (month) at ... What about the following
- Wednesday? How is that?
Thanking Participants for Attending
- I'd like to thank Marianne and Jeremy for coming over from London.
- Thank you all for attending.
- Thanks for your participation.
Closing the Meeting
- The meeting is finished, we'll see each other next ...
- The meeting is closed.
- I declare the meeting closed.
Getting the Chairperson's Attention
- (Mister/Madam) chairman.
- May I have a word?
- If I may, I think...
- Excuse me for interrupting.
- May I come in here?
Giving Opinions
- I'm positive that...
- I (really) feel that...
- In my opinion...
- The way I see things...
- If you ask me,... I tend to think that...
Asking for Opinions
- Are you positive that...
- Do you (really) think that...
- (name of participant) can we get your input?
- How do you feel about...?
Commenting
- That's interesting.
- I never thought about it that way before.
- Good point!
- I get your point.
- I see what you mean.
Agreeing
- I totally agree with you.
- Exactly!
- That's (exactly) the way I feel.
- I have to agree with (name of participant).
Disagreeing
- Unfortunately, I see it differently.
- Up to a point I agree with you, but...
- (I'm afraid) I can't agree
Advising and Suggesting
- Let's...
- We should...
- Why don't you....
- How/What about...
- I suggest/recommend that...
Clarifying
- Let me spell out...
- Have I made that clear?
- Do you see what I'm getting at?
- Let me put this another way...
- I'd just like to repeat that...
Requesting Information
- Please, could you...
- I'd like you to...
- Would you mind...
- I wonder if you could...
Asking for Repetition
- I'm afraid I didn't understand that. Could you repeat what you just said?
- I didn't catch that. Could you repeat that, please?
- I missed that. Could you say it again, please?
- Could you run that by me one more time?
Asking for Clarification
- I don't quite follow you. What exactly do you mean?
- I'm afraid I don't quite understand what your are getting at.
- Could you explain to me how that is going to work?
- I don't see what you mean. Could we have some more details, please?
Asking for Verification
- You did say next week, didn't you? ('did' is stressed)
- Do you mean that...?
- Is it true that...?
Asking for Spelling
- Could you spell that, please?
- Would you mind spelling that for me, please?
Asking for Contributions
- We haven't heard from you yet, (name of participant).
- What do you think about this proposal?
- Would you like to add anything, (name of participant)?
- Has anyone else got anything to contribute?
- Are there any more comments?
Correcting Information
- Sorry, I think you misunderstood what I said.
- Sorry, that's not quite right.
- I'm afraid you don't understand what I'm saying.
- That's not quite what I had in mind.
- That's not what I meant.
Keeping the Meeting On Target (time, relevance, decisions)
- We're running short of time.
- Well, that seems to be all the time we have today.
- Please be brief.
- I'm afraid we've run out of time.
- I'm afraid that's outside the scope of this meeting.
- Let's get back on track, why don't we?
- That's not really why we're here today.
- Why don't we return to the main focus of today's meeting.
- We'll have to leave that to another time.
- We're beginning to lose sight of the main point.
- Keep to the point, please.
- I think we'd better leave that for another meeting.
- Are we ready to make a decision?
Arranging a meeting
Asking for a meeting
- Could we schedule a time to meet next week?
- I’d like to schedule a meeting as soon as possible.
- Could I suggest that we meet?
- Can we meet and go over this together?
- Perhaps we could meet and go over the details together?
- Do you have time to meet next week?
- I was wondering if you might have time to meet on Thursday.
Suggesting a meeting time
- How about Monday at nine?
- How would Wednesday at four o’clock be for you?
- How about sometimes after lunch?
- Could we meet next week?
- Would it be possible for us to meet on Friday afternoon next week?
- Can I suggest 7.30 on Thursday evening?
- Could we schedule a time to meet next week?
- Would half past five suit you?
Saying that you can attend
- Sounds good.
- Yes, that works for me.
- Yes, that would be fine.
- Yes, I can manage that.
Confirming the day and time
- See you on Monday at seven.
- So, I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday at four.
- So that’s Tuesday at 3 p.m. in your office.
Agreeing the length of a meeting
- Should we plan for the whole afternoon?
- Let’s leave the timing of the meeting open for now.
- How long should we plane on meeting for?
- The meeting should take about an hour and a half.
Saying that you’re looking forward to seeing someone
- It’ll be nice to see you then.
- I’m looking forward to meeting you then.
Saying sorry and rescheduling a meeting
- I’m calling about our meeting next week.
- I’m terribly sorry.
- I’m afraid I have to ask you if we can reschedule our meeting next week.
- I’m afraid something has come up.
- Sorry to inconvenience you.
- Could we postpone the meeting until Wednesday at the same time?
- Would you be able to meet on Tuesday instead?
- Would it be possible to meet a bit later/earlier?
Introductions and small talk
Introduction yourself
- Hello. My name’s…
- Hi everyone. My name’s…
- Hello. I’m…
- Pleased to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- How do you do? I’m…
Making introductions
- Ms Lai, do you know Mr Weimann?
- Chris, have you met Fiona yet?
- Mr Saramanago, I’d like you to meet Ms Copeland.
- Delphine, this is Eric. Eric, Delphine.
Asking someone to use your first name
- Please, call me Chris.
- By the way, it’s Frances.
- And you can call me…
- And I’m…
Asking how someone is
- How are you?
- How are you doing?
- How are things going?
- How’s business?
Making small talk
- Which hotel are you staying at?
- How long have you worked for your company?
- Did you come here by plane?
- Which airport did you fly into?
- Is this the first time you’ve come here for a meeting?
- Are you a colleague of, … ?
- Do you know my colleague, … ?
- Is this your first visit to (country/town)?
Showing interest in what someone is saying
- Right.
- Oh, really?
- Interesting.
- That’s absolutely fascinating!
- I see.
Starting a meeting
Welcoming participants to a meeting
- It’s nice to see everyone.
- It’s great to see everybody.
- I’m glad you could all make it today.
- Hello everybody.
- It’s good to see you all.
Saying who can attend the meeting
- I have apologies from Tina and Bob.
- Derek has sent his apologies.
- Petya can’t make it either.
- Unfortunately, Tim wasn’t able to make it today.
- Laura can’t be with us today.
- Laura has sent her apologies.
Stating what the meeting’s about
- We’re meeting today to talk about…
- Our objective today is…
- We’ll be discussing…
- Jim will be examining…
- Jeremy will present an analysis of…
- John will be giving us an overview of…
Introduction participants at a meeting
- Before we begin, can I introduce Chris Hall to you all?
- Does everyone know Mary Norman?
- This is Christina, one of our consultants.
- Let me introduce…
Asking participants to introduce themselves
- Why don’t you introduce yourself to everyone?
- Tell us a bit about yourself.
- Could you tell us all who you are and say something about yourself?
Giving details about yourself
- I’m the business development manager.
- I’ve been with Burotech PLC since 2002.
- I’ve worked for the company for four years.
- I’m based in the Madrid office.
- I work at our Cambridge branch.
Proceed to the list of Grammar lessons.
Говорение
IELTS Practice Tests Online
