Need to stock up on your business English skills? Like many business professionals, holding meetings in English will probably a frequent requirement for you. Here’s a quick cheat sheet you can use for that end (for more, of course, consult your English language software). Sure, you’ll probably need a lot more to be functional, but this should get you through ever-awkward introductions.
First Things First. Always beam a big smile when you stand in front to introduce yourself to the attendants. Simply, “Good morning, my name is… and welcome to this meeting for ….”
Welcome the Participants. If the participants aren’t all that familiar with each other, welcome them formally and introduce them to everyone. You can use any of the following phrases to introduce each individual.
“Please join me in welcoming…”
“I’d like to introduce…”
“It’s a pleasure to welcome…”
Principal Objectives. After the pleasantries, it’s good to go right in and state the meeting’s principal objectives. You can lead off with the following phrases.
“We’re here today to… ”
“Our main aim today is to…”
“We called this meeting in order to…”
Agenda. So participants know what’s going to be covered, you’ll need to introduce the agenda. It will be immensely helpful if you have a printed copy that everyone can refer to. If you do, ask everyone, “Have you all received a copy of the agenda?”
If you plan to go in the order it’s been listed, just say so: “There are X items in our agenda. We’ll go over these points in exact order.”
If you plan to skip a few, you can say: “We’ll skip item 2 for now, but we’ll go over it later.”
Discussing Items. When going through each item in the agenda, simply lead with any of the following phrases.
“So, we go to the first point…”
“Regarding the first point…”
Related posts:
- How To Write Business Letters With Confidence As A Second-Language English Learner
- Learning English to Reduce Misunderstandings in Business
- Learning English Will Help You Do Business in the United States
- How To Expand Your English Vocabulary On A Daily Basis
- Successful Business Communication For ESL Speakers
