Business Meetings

Activity 1: Match the vocabulary with its definition

1. Absent ( ) A. To close a meeting

2. To Accomplish ( ) B. To assign roles or tasks to certain people
3. To Address ( ) C. To deal with; speak about
4. To Adjourn ( ) D. Not present
5. Agenda ( ) E. Thinking to gather ideas
6. To Allocate ( ) F. List of objectives to cover in a meeting
7. Brainstorm ( ) G. To succeed in doing something
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8. To Collaborate ( ) A. To begin
9. To Commence ( ) B. Private; not to be shared
10. To Comment ( ) C. To assign
11. Confidential ( ) D. To work together as a pair or group
12. Deadline ( ) E. To make something happen; follow through
13. To Designate ( ) F. To express one’s opinion or thoughts
14. To Implement ( ) G. Due date for completion
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15. Mandatory ( ) A. Goals to accomplish
16. Minutes ( ) B. On time; not late
17. Objectives ( ) C. Required
18. Punctual ( ) D. To finish
19. To Recommend ( ) E. Raised hands to express an opinion in a vote
20. Show of hands ( ) F. Plan to make something work
21. Strategy ( ) G. A written record or everything said at a meeting
22. To Wrap up ( ) H. To suggest

Activity 2: Classify the phrases below according to the categories.

i. Agreeing on the ground rules for the vii. Giving apologies for someone who is xiv. Reading the minutes of the last meeting
meeting (contributions, timing, decision- absent xv. Stating the principal objectives of a
making, etc.) viii. Giving control to the next participant meeting
ii. Allocating roles ix. Introducing the agenda xvi. Suggesting and agreeing on a time, date,
iii. Closing an item x. Introducing the first item on the agenda place, etc. for the next meeting
iv. Closing the meeting xi. Moving forward xvii. Summarizing
v. Dealing with recent developments xii. Next item xviii. Thanking participants for attending
vi. Finishing up xiii. Opening the meeting xix. Welcoming and introducing participants

*______________________________________:
• Good morning/afternoon everyone.
• If we are all here, let’s begin.
*______________________________________:
o Please join me in welcoming (name of
participant)
o It’s a pleasure to welcome (name of
participant)
o I’d like to introduce (name of participant)
*______________________________________:
I’m afraid (name of participant) can’t be with
us today. He/She is…
(name of participant) would like to apologize
for being absent.
*______________________________________:
❖ First, let’s go over the report from the last
meeting which was held on (date).
❖ Here are the minutes from our last meeting.

*______________________________________: *______________________________________:
▪ We’re here today to… ➢ Jack, could you tell us how the XYZ project is
▪ Our aim is to… progressing?
▪ I’ve called this meeting in order to… ➢ Jack, how is the XYZ project coming along?
➢ Has everyone received a copy of the report on
current marketing trends?

*______________________________________:
✓ So, if there is nothing else we need to discuss,
let’s move on.
✓ Shall we get down to business?
✓ Is there any other business we need to discuss
before we begin this meeting?
*______________________________________:
• Have you all received a copy of the agenda?
• There are three items on the agenda. First…
• If you don’t mind, I’d like to go in order.
• If you don’t mind, I’d like to skip item one and
move on to item two.
*______________________________________:
o We will hear a short report on each point,
followed by a discussion.
o The meeting is due to finish at…
o We’ll have to keep each item to ten minutes.
Otherwise, we’ll never get through.
*______________________________________:
o Right, it looks as though we’ve covered the
main items.
o Is there any other business we need to talk
about?
*______________________________________:
▪ Can we schedule the next meeting, please?
▪ So, the next meeting will be on (date).
*______________________________________:
Thank you all for attending.
I really appreciate your kind attention.
*______________________________________:
❖ The meeting is now adjourned.
❖ You are all dismissed so that you can continue
with your duties.

*______________________________________:
▪ (name of participant) has agreed to take the
minutes.
▪ (name of participant) has kindly agreed to give
us a report on this matter.
▪ (name of participant) will lead point one. (name
of participant) will lead point two…

*______________________________________:
So, let’s start with…
Shall we start with…
So, the first item on the agenda is…
Pete, would you like to start.

*______________________________________:
❖ Shall we finish this topic and move on?
❖ If nobody has anything else to add, we can
continue.

*______________________________________:
➢ Let’s move onto the next item.
➢ The next topic on the agenda is…

*______________________________________:
✓ I’d like to let Mark, who is going to lead the
next topic, speak.
✓ Right, Megan, over to you.

*______________________________________:
• Before we close, let me just summarize the
main points.
• To sum it up…
• In brief…