Essential English for Meetings

Schedule a Meeting

Propose and Confirm

• I'd like to have a meeting soon. How does Monday sound?
• Monday sounds great.
• If Monday doesn’t work for you, when is a good time? I can adjust my schedule.
• Are you available for a meeting on Monday?
• Are you available for a meeting sometime this week?
• What's your schedule like this week?

Adjust and Reschedule

• I don’t think Monday works for me.
• I’m afraid we’ll have to reschedule our meeting.
• I’m sorry to cancel on such short notice.
• If you're busy, I can work around your schedule.

Finalize the Meeting

• Let’s have a quick meeting on Monday.
• I'll clear some time on my schedule tomorrow morning.

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Manage Meeting Flow

Clarify and Confirm

• Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. Would you mind slowing down a bit?
• Would you mind repeating that?

Transition Between Topics

• Next, Jack is going to tell us about the admin page that our team has developed.
• Could you take the lead on item 5?
• Jane is going to walk us through the survey results.
• I’d like to hand it over to Jack, who’s going to lead the next point.

Prioritize Agenda Items

• I’d like to skip item 2 and go directly to item 3.
• We’re running short on time, so let’s move on.
• We’re almost at the end of our meeting, so let’s go over item 4.
• If nobody has anything else to add, let’s move on to the next item.

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Speak in a Meeting

Manage Time

• Let’s make this meeting brief.
• The meeting ran over.
• We’re a little short on time, so I’ll just take one more question.
• We are running short on time, so we do need to wrap up.

Contribute to the Discussion

• Can I add one thing?
• Tom, is there anything you’d like to add?
• I'd like to get your thoughts on this plan.
• What are your thoughts on this?
• Are we all on the same page?
• I'm glad we're on the same page.

Decision-Making and Follow-Up

• Let’s hold off on the decision for now.
• Let’s hold off on the press conference until tomorrow.
• I’ll look into it and get back to you.

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Clarify and Understand

Request Clarification

• Could you clarify that?
• Could you clarify what you mean by that?
• Could you clarify your last question?
• I’m not sure if I fully understand your question.

Acknowledge and Respond

• I haven’t had a chance to think about it yet.
• I’ve come up with a great idea.
• Is it time-sensitive?
• I know you’re busy, so I’ll be brief.
• Mike, can you take it from here?
• I’m sorry, but I’m not with you on that.
• Were you able to find out?
• Were you able to sort that out?

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Engage Participants

Add Input and Introductions

• I’m so sorry to interrupt, but I’d like to add to what you said before we move on.
• I’m happy to join you today. I’m thrilled to be a part of this initiative. It’s a pleasure to meet you all today.

Start the Discussion

• Who would like to kick things off?
• Today, we’re going to start off by looking at last week’s sales performance.
• I’ll keep this meeting brief as I know you’re all busy.
• Let’s get the ball rolling.
• Since everyone is here, let’s get started.

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Handle Technical Glitches and Unplanned Situations

Address Connectivity Issues

• You’re back. I’m sorry. We lost you for a minute.
• Yeah, I was assuming the answer wasn’t that good, so you just cut me off.

Prepare and Apologize for Delays

• Let me pull up a slide that I was hoping to use for this, real quick. So please bear with me just one sec.
• Did I put you on the spot there? Sorry about that.

Deal with Unexpected Requests

• You’ve really put me on the spot here.
• Could you give us an update on ~?

Promise Follow-ups

• Let me look into that and get back to you.
• Let me look it up and get back to you.
• Let’s move on, and we can circle back at the end.

Respect Time Constraints

• I know everyone’s busy, so I’ll make it quick.

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Wrap Up the Meeting

Conclude the Discussion

• Let’s run through the last slides pretty quickly.
• With that, let’s go ahead and wrap up.
• That’s it for today.

Share Additional Resources

• There are a few items I’d like to share.
• Can you share the link in the chat?

Express Gratitude

• Thank you for coming all the way here.
• Thank you for your time.

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Create a Private Meeting

Initiate a Private Conversation

• I’m glad I caught you. Do you have a minute?
• Can I see you for a sec?
• I heard you wanted to see me.
• Can I have a word with you in private?

Prefer In-Person Discussion

• I’d like to discuss this in person.
• Let’s just talk in person, okay?
• It’s so nice to meet you in person.