Download English for Meetings: A Practical Guide to Successful Meetings and more Schemes and Mind Maps Business English in PDF only on Docsity!
English for meetings: holding or attending a meeting with success
Ex 1: Types of meetings: Match the types of meetings with their descriptions a) People who work in the same department have this type of meeting regularly. b) This is a meeting o f a company's most senior managers. c) If you need new ideas you have this type of meeting. d) This is a meeting for a company's investors. e) At this type of meeting you talk about what has been accomplished on a project. f) This type of meeting is held at the beginning of a project Ex: Complete these sentences 1 The meeting leader is called the ____________________________. 2 A well-organized meeting will have an _____________________ - that's a list of topics (often called ________________________ ) that will be discussed. 3 ____________________ goals and time limits, ____________________ to the agenda, and knowing how to refocus, are key components of an effective meeting. 4 In some meetings, one person keeps notes that will be the official record of the meeting - these are called the meeting _____________________________. 5 Some meetings use a formal system of voting , in which a decision is made if it receives the ____________________________ (more than 50%) of the votes. Other meetings use a less formal system of decision-making, aiming for the group to come to a _________________________ (a general agreement).
Ex 2: Match the descriptions with the items on the formal meeting agenda. a ) It stands for any other business, when issues which are not on the agenda can be discussed. b) These are the main points for discussion at the meeting. c) This is when the notes of the last meeting are checked for accuracy. d) This is the point in the meeting when the chairperson reports who is not able to attend. e) This is when any issues relating to the last meeting are discussed. Ex : Match these words to their definitions below: _______ chairperson _______ agenda _______ item _______ minutes ______AOB ______ consensus ________venue
- a list of subjects to be discussed at a meeting
- a person who is in charge of a meeting
- an official written record of what is said and decided at a meeting
Unfortunately I often don't have enough time to actually get on with my work.
- It's important that the team knows about these changes. Let's _____________ a meeting and give everyone the details.
- l'm going to ____________ our meeting this morning so I’ll be making sure that we stick to the agenda and that we finish on time.
Making Arrangements for a meeting
Email Invitation: Ex 1: Read the two emails and answer the questions 1 Which meeting is more formal? 2 Which meeting asks for the points to be discussed? 3 Which meeting gives indication of how long it will last? 4 Which meeting do you need to attend? Which meeting will take place virtually? 5 Which invitation states who will chair the meeting? Email 1 I am just emailing to see if you are available on the 22nd^ March to have a teleconference with the sales team who are visiting us from Singapore. It should only take an hour at the most but it would be great if you could find the time. Let me know. Please find attached the agenda and the minutes from the previous meeting. Mr Hammond will lead the meeting. Email 2 We have scheduled the next brainstorming meeting for 2 pm on Thursday 7th^ October. I have booked the conference room. I hope this is convenient for everyone. Please send me any items you would like to be included on the agenda by Monday 4th^ at the latest. Looking forward to see you there. Ex 2: Complete the gaps with a suitable word
I am emailing to see if you are ________________ to meet at 11.30 next Tuesday. I have _______________ the meeting room on the fourth floor. I realize it is short notice but everyone’s_______________ are busy. It should only _______________ one hour at most. I hope it is ________________ for you. I have attached the ________________ from the previous meeting. If you would like any _______________ to be one the agenda, please let me know by Friday afternoon. Useful expressions Ex: Put the words in the right order to make sentences 1 time meet could week a schedule we to next? 2 meet go details person and over perhaps could we in the? 3 meeting then forward to I you look 4 questions call if meeting give a me before any have you the 5 appointment time I’m have that afraid another at I
Structuring a meeting
Ex 1: Write in order these steps describing the way a meeting is normally held: a) Giving Apologies for Someone Who is Absent b) Moving Forward / Introducing the Agenda/ Stating the aims c) Welcoming and Introducing Participants d) Suggesting and Agreeing on Time, Date and venue for the Next Meeting e) Allocating Roles (secretary, participants) / Agreeing on the Ground Rules for the Meeting (contributions, timing, decision-making, etc.) f) Stating the Principal Objectives of a Meeting h) Closing the Meeting g) Reading the Minutes (Notes) of the Last Meeting
- I have received two a) a copy of the agenda?
- Has everybody received b) the meeting.
- If we can’t agree, I think we should take c) apologies for absence.
- It’s getting late, so I propose we close d) the agenda.
- I think this would be a good time to break e) a vote.
- We have lots to discuss, so let’s stick to f) for lunch.
- It’s five past nine, so I’d better open g) side-tracked.
- Can we start by approving h) any other business.
- We seem to have reached i) handout.
- That’s interesting, but I think we’re getting j) the meeting.
- I’ll just give out this k) a unanimous decision.
- Before we finish, we need to deal with l) the minutes of the last meeting?
- It looks like we've covered m) then I think we'll wrap this up.
- If no one has anything else to add, n) the main items on the agenda. Ex 4: Complete these expressions
- Could we ________________ a meeting for next week?
- I look ________________ meeting you then.
- I ________________ I have another appointment at that time
- I have ________________ from Cathy and Stuart who cannot attend for health reasons.
- I've called this meeting ________________ look at the new advertising campaign.
- Unfortunately, Steven wasn't able to ________________ today.
- Are you saying that we should ________________ the meeting, and ________________ a teleconference instead?
- Do you feel we should ________________ the conference until next year?
- Could I just ________________ you there? I don’t quite follow you.
- A : we are looking for new and creative ideas to make your product attractive to customers. B: ________________ hiring a design agency. C : I ________________ our staff acquire new marketing skills
- Could I ________________ here? Perhaps, we could increase our retail shops.
- If no one has anything else to add, then I think we'll ________________. Ex: Answer the questions or complete the sentences 1 How does a chair person know about absentees for a meeting before hand? 2 To get started, the chairperson ___________ 3 What is the task of a minute-taker (secretary)? A minute-taker __________ 4 Why is drawing up an agenda for a meeting important? It helps ________ 5 If the meeting attendees have a general agreement about a matter, they are said to
6 If all the attendees vote for a proposal, then they are said to ___________ 7 What happens if a chairperson can’t make it for a meeting? 8 When you book a room for a meeting, and get in touch with participants to agree on a date for the meeting, you _______________ 9 Before dealing with the first item of the agenda, the chairperson _________ 10 After dealing with AOB items, the chairperson _____________ Ex : Complete this conversation from a meeting with suitable expressions:
Donald Peters: Excuse me, _16___________. _____________? Alice Linnes: I just stated that we need to give our rural sales teams better customer information reporting. John Ruting: _17_______________. ___________________? Alice Linnes: Well, we provide our city sales staff with database information on all of our larger clients. We should be providing the same sort of knowledge on our rural customers to our sales staff there. Jack Peterson: I must admit I never thought about rural sales that way before. _18_______________ Alice. Well, let me begin with this Power Point presentation (Jack presents his report). As you can see, we are developing new methods to reach out to our rural customers. CLOSING THE MEETING Meeting Chairman: Unfortunately, we're running short of time and won’t be able to discuss the ideas we've seen presented. We'll have to leave that to another time. Jack Peterson: Before we _19_______________ , let me just summarize the main points: 1 ____________ 2 ___________ 3 ________ Meeting Chairman: Thank you very much Jack. Right, it looks as though we've covered the main items. Is there _20_______________? Donald Peters: _21_______________ the next meeting, please. Meeting Chairman: Good idea Donald. How does Friday in two weeks’ time sound to everyone? Let's meet at the same time, 9 o'clock. I'd like to thank Jack for coming to our meeting today. The meeting is closed.
