![]() ![]() In English, saying “I disagree” can be a little too direct, and may be considered impolite. I agree with you in principle, but… (this means you agree with the opinion in theory, but not in practice).I agree with you up to a point, but… (this means that you agree with some of the opinion, but not all of it).(you can use this phrase to refer to another colleague’s opinion) Here are some appropriate phrases for this purpose – again, based on degree of strength. Once other people in the meeting have expressed their opinions, you can react by agreeing or disagreeing. My initial reaction is… (use this phrase to show that this is an opinion you haven’t thought very deeply about).The word “honest” is a diplomatic way to signal that you are going to say something negative or unpopular) If you want my honest opinion, I think that… / To be honest… (use these phrases when you want to express a negative or critical opinion.In my experience… / I find that… (use these phrases to base your opinion on your experience).Now let’s learn some phrases for giving your opinion – with some detail in order to give you some flexibility in the way you express your opinion: If there’s a specific person who you would like to hear from, you can ask him or her directly by using these phrases: To ask people for their opinions, you can say:Īfter one person has expressed his or her opinion, you can say “Thanks,” to acknowledge the opinion, then use these phrases to ask for more people to respond: Meetings often begin with the presentation of some information and then a request for opinions. Our main goal today is to … Our main goal today is to determine the budget for 2013.I’ve called this meeting in order to ….As you can see from the agenda, we’ll be talking about….Sheila, would you like to introduce yourself?įinally, it’s good to state the specific topic or objective of the meeting, in order to focus the discussion:.Please join me in welcoming Please join me in welcoming Jim, a consultant who will be helping us with project management.I’d like to take a moment to introduce… I’d like to take a moment to introduce Carla, from the public relations department.If there are new people in the meeting, or people from different departments who might not know each other, the chairperson may introduce them: Since everyone is here, let’s get started.To start the meeting, the meeting leader (who is called the chairperson or chair) may use one of these phrases: Other meetings use a less formal system of decision-making, aiming for the group to come to a consensus (a general agreement). Some meetings use a formal system of voting, in which a decision is made if it receives the majority (more than 50%) of the votes. Finally, meetings are held to make decisions. Meetings are also held to collaborate (work together) on projects and give updates – reports of progress and current status. ![]() A strategy is a plan for completing a project, and to “allocate tasks” means to assign specific items of work to specific people. Brainstorming is often done as a first step in a project, before there is a definite plan.Īnother reason to hold a meeting is to develop a strategy and allocate tasks. ![]() “Brainstorming” is creating a lot of different ideas, so that they can later be analyzed, evaluated, and the best ones can be selected. Why hold a meeting? There are many different reasons. In some meetings, one person keeps notes that will be the official record of the meeting – these are called the meeting minutes. ![]() Several people did not attend the development meeting.Ī well-organized meeting will have an agenda – that’s a list of topics (often called items) that will be discussed.Did you go to the project team meeting?.When you participate in a meeting, you “attend” the meeting (formal) or “go to” the meeting. You can also use “schedule,” “arrange” or “organize” to talk about having a meeting in the future. Let’s hold a meeting to discuss the policy changes.We’re going to have another department meeting on Friday.The verbs typically used with “meeting” are “have” and “hold”: Many of them – such as the phrases for expressing opinions, agreeing, and disagreeing – can also be used in other situations outside of work. Today you’re going to learn almost 100 practical English phrases to use in meetings. You can click here to sign up and get all 40 lessons! This is a free sample from the Business English Course. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |