English for bisnis Vocabulary for organising meetings

            Vocabulary for organising meetings

      I - Introductions

            Opening the Meeting

      Welcoming and Introducing Participants

      Stating the Principal Objectives of a Meeting

     Giving Apologies for Someone Who is Absent

II - Reviewing Past Business

     Reading the Minutes (notes) of the Last Meeting

     Dealing with Recent Developments

III - Beginning the Meeting

      Introducing the Agenda

      Allocating Roles (secretary, participants)

    Agreeing on the Ground Rules for the Meeting (contributions, timing, decision-making, etc.)

IV - Discussing Items      Introducing the First Item on the Agenda
     Closing an Item
     Next Item

   Giving Control to the Next Participant

V - Finishing the Meeting

      Summarizing

       Finishing Up

          Suggesting and Agreeing on Time, Date and Place for the Next Meeting

                   Thanking Participants for Attending
                     Closing the Meeting

The following pages focus on each part of the meeting and the appropriate language for each situation.

A.Interrupting

q   May I have a word?

q  If I may, I think...

q   Excuse me for interrupting.

q   May I come in here?

B.Giving Opinions

v   I (really) feel that...

v   In my opinion...

v  The way I see things.

v   If you ask me,... I tend to think that...  

C.Asking for Opinions  Do you (really) think that...
 (name of participant) can we get your input?
 How do you feel about...?

D.Commenting on Other Opinions

Ø   I never thought about it that way before.

Ø   Good point!

Ø   I get your point.

Ø   I see what you mean.

E.Agreeing with Other Opinions 

q   Exactly!

q  That's (exactly) the way I feel.

 I have to agree with (name of par

F.Disagreeing with Other Opinions  

v   Up to a point I agree with you, but...

v   (I'm afraid) I can't agree

G.Advising and Suggesting 
  We should...
 Why don't you....
 How/What about...
 I suggest/recommend that... 

H.Clarifying  

Ø   Have I made that clear?

Ø   Do you see what I'm getting at?

Ø   Let me put this another way...

Ø   I'd just like to repeat that...  

I.Requesting Information 

• I'd like you to...
• Would you mind... I wonder if you could  

J.Asking for Repetition  

v   I didn't catch that. Could you repeat that, please?

v   I missed that. Could you say it again, please?

v   Could you run that by me one more time

K.Asking for Clarification

q    I'm afraid I don't quite understand what your are getting at.

q   Could you explain to me how that is going to work?

q   I don't see what you mean. Could we have some more details, please?

L.Asking for Verification

v  Do you mean that...?

v  Is it true that ...?

M.Asking for Spelling

       Would you mind spelling that for me, please?

      Asking for Contributions for Other Participants

       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?

N.Correcting Information

v   Sorry, that's not quite right.

v  I'm afraid you don't understand what I'm saying.

v   That's not quite what I had in mind.

v   That's not what I meant.  

O.Keeping the Meeting on Time  

Ø  Well, that seems to be all the time we have today.

Ø   Please be brief.

Ø   I'm afraid we've run out of time.

Ø   I'm afraid that's outside the scope of this meeting.

Ø   Let's get back on track, why don't we?

Ø   That's not really why we're here today.

Ø   Why don't we return to the main focus of today's meeting.

Ø   We'll have to leave that to another time.

 BY AGUS BAMBANG SUTIKNO