Do you know how to run your meetings? This lessons covers the main types of meetings and the language you will need. Please visit http://skype-englishschool.com

1. Skype English School Learning Beyond the Classroom Magnificent Meetings By Anna & Dawn

2. Learning Objectives To know and be able to use appropriate vocabulary and phrases To know different types of meeting To be able to chair a meeting

3. Meeting Vocab To organise a meeting Arrange Set up Fix To make a meeting earlier than originally planned Bring forward To make a meeting later than originally planned Put back Postpone To not have the meeting at all cancel Be in charge of a meeting Run Chair Go to a meeting attend Do not go to a meeting Miss

4. Types of Meeting Chat Informal discussion Brainstorming As many ideas as possible are produced for review later Project meeting/Team Meeting A meeting of employees working together on a project Department meeting/Departmental Meeting

5. Types of Meeting Meeting with suppliers For example to negotiate prices for an order Meeting with Clients For example to discuss a contract Board Meeting An official meeting of the company directors Annual General Meeting AGM (BrE) Annual Meeting AM (AmE) Shareholders discuss the copmany’s annual report

6. The Role of the Chairperson Before the meeting A good chairperson is a good organiser They will prepare an agenda before the meeting to outline what will be discussed They will invite attendees to the meeting by circulating the agenda They will ensure that a suitable venue for the meeting is available

7. The Role of the Chairperson During the Meeting The chairperson must be a good timekeeper, the meeting should begin on time without waiting for latecomers The chair will appoint a minute taker who will record the details of the meeting Each point on the agenda should be address and the chairperson will ensure that the discussion moves forward to the next point. They must ensure that each participant is given the opportunity to make their point The chair should deal with disagreements tactfully making sure everyone feels heard. Finally they should ensure the meeting concludes on time.

8. The Role of the Chairperson After the Meeting After meetings the minutes should be circulated so that any action points may be followed up At the next meeting the chairperson will ask for the minutes to be read The minutes are an accurate record of what took place at the prior meeting including any action points.

9. Opening The Meeting OK, Let’s get started. It’s about time we got started. Let’s begin, shall we? Let’s make a start. Shall we make a start? Let’s get down to business.

10. Setting the scene As you know, I’ve called this meeting to … The main purpose of this meeting is to… As you are aware… The main objective is … Our focus for the meeting is… I’ve arranged this meeting to …

11. Inviting people to speak Would you like to open the discussion, Jill? Perhaps you’d like to get the ball rolling Jill? Jill would you like to kick off ? What are your feelings on this, John? What do you think about this, John ? What about you, John? What’s the general feeling on this?

12. Making your point As I see it … In my opinion I believe… Obviously… Personally , I think that The way I see it.. It looks to me as if.. It’s clear to me ..

13. Heated discussions In a meeting, you discuss topics. In the discussion, some people may agree with you and some may disagree. They may have differences of opinion with you, but it is important to keep calm and remain courteous. It is OK to disagree, but it’s not OK to be impolite or rude or to lose your temper.

14. Strong Agreement You’re perfectly right I couldn’t agree more Precisely Exactly Absolutely

15. Mild Agreement You may be right there That’s true, I suppose I suppose

16. Mild Disagreement That’s not really how I see it I don’t really agree I can’t really go along with you there I think you’re mistaken I’m afraid I can’t agree with you there

17. Strong Disagreement I’m sorry, but that’s out of the question! I think you’re wrong! Of course not! That’s absurd! That’s ridiculous ! NB be careful using “that’s ridiculous” and “that’s absurd”, they are very strong and can be offensive.

18. Discussion Techniques - Hedging Hedging is when you avoid disagreeing directly. I take your point about punctuality, but clocking in and out would not be very popular. I understand what you are saying about the needs of each department, but each department must be treated in an appropriate way. I see/know what you mean, but we must look at the human factors as well as the numbers. I hear where you’re coming from on this, but we must remember this is an advertising agency not a car factory.

19. Checking understanding, interrupting and referring back To interrupt someone politely: Can I come in here? If I can just stop you for a moment… Sorry to interrupt you, but.. To refer back to what was said As we were saying earlier… To go back to what I was just saying… To go back what X was saying earlier… To refer back to what was said Are you saying that…? Are you suggesting that…? Are you implying that…? If I understand you correctly,…

20. Agreement, Consensus or Compromise It may be possible to reach agreement or to reach an agreement about something, or be able to come to a consensus (something that most people can agree with) It may be possible to compromise or to find a compromise (people accept less than they wanted at first) Or perhaps the differences are too great and there will be a disagreement.

21. In Conclusion We’re running out of time We’re going to have to stop there To go over what’s been said I’ve heard both sides of the argument To sum it up I think you’ll have to agree to disagree I’ll let you know my decision Unless anyone has anything else to add Thank you for coming