Business English - the Language of Meetings

Explore four meeting structures in person, online, offline, and hybrid, and how each affects how meetings run, along with roles, responsibilities, and essential premeeting groundwork.

Learn the key meeting roles—the chair or facilitator, timekeeper, gatekeeper, minutes taker, and participants—and their duties in starting, guiding, recording decisions, and next steps.

Explore in-person, virtual, and hybrid meetings, outlining setups, advantages, and drawbacks, while applying prep steps: arrive on time, read the agenda, come prepared, and ensure tech readiness.

Learn why meetings exist, from sharing information and gathering feedback to making decisions, brainstorming ideas, and solving problems, with roles, pros and cons, and clear outcomes.

Explore the diverse types of meetings, from kick-off and status updates to one-on-one, team, department, company, and training sessions, and learn how each sets roles, milestones, and information flow.

Learn to arrange meetings effectively by clarifying why, who, where, when, and what, using key collocations, phrasal verbs, and email-based planning.

Learn to write an agenda with topics, purpose, lead, and timing, and distribute it in advance, ideally three or four days before the meeting for preparation.

Explore how meetings begin, including who starts, how to start, and essential opening steps, plus small talk and the formal–informal dynamics shaped by culture and expectations.

Learn to chair a meeting with clear structure: call to order, set purpose and timeframes, manage participation, summarize decisions, and assign action points for the next meeting.

Minutes and notes provide a written record of agreed actions, decisions, attendees, and agenda items, with referenced documents; use templates and recordings to capture key points.

Master small talk as a bridge before meetings by asking open-ended questions, listening, and sharing common ground on topics like weather, travel, and hobbies.

Learn how to open meetings with formal and informal phrases, welcome attendees, introduce participants, set time limits, and state aims, including idioms such as get to the point.

Keep the agenda visible to guide meetings, help stay on topic and respect time. Learn formal and informal phrases to steer discussions, refocus, and manage pace.

Learn to tailor speech and dress for meetings by considering local culture, company culture, and meeting type; when in doubt, use formal address and attire.

Explore vocabulary for use during the meeting, including expressions, idioms, and phrasal verbs for asking questions, interrupting, clarifying, and giving opinions. Also explains the formal‑informal gradient in meetings.

Learn to make suggestions in meetings using formal and informal vocabulary. Apply phrases such as I would recommend, I suggest, why don't we, and let's put the price up.

Master formal and informal phrases for asking for opinions in meetings, encouraging quiet participants, and tactfully stopping someone who hogs the discussion.

Explore formal and informal vocabulary for giving opinions in meetings, from strong assertions like I firmly believe to weaker signals like I tend to favor, plus idioms.

Learn formal and informal vocabulary for asking for clarification in meetings, including phrases to request repetition, more details, or confirmation, while avoiding blame.

Master formal and informal ways to express strong and weak agreement or disagreement, including idioms and meeting-specific phrases, to navigate decisions and keep conversations productive.

Learn to interrupt politely in meetings using formal and informal expressions, with chair guidance to manage interruptions and cultural considerations.

End the meeting with a concise summary of the main points, confirm all agenda items are covered, thank participants for attending, and end with brief small talk.

Learn how to write and distribute clear, engaging meeting minutes after a meeting, ensuring actions are captured and understood.

Write and distribute meeting minutes using notes to capture decisions and actions. Use passive voice when appropriate and file digitally via PDF and online storage like Google Docs.

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