UNIT 6

(extra material – Meeting)

PART I: GENARAL STUDIES

1. Look at these opinions about meetings. Put a tick beside the opinions you share and a cross
beside the ones you disagree with.
1. The purpose of most meetings is to decide when the next one will take place.
2. A meeting is a group of people who can decide nothing alone and who decide together that
nothing can be done.
3. It’s better to send everyone a memo about a new procedure than to have a meeting about it.
4. Meetings help everyone to feel personally involved in decision-making.
5. It’s better for the boss to make a decision than to have a meeting.
6. The most important person at a meeting is the chairperson.
7. The most important piece of paper at a meeting is the agenda.
8. Most meetings are un-necessary; they’re just a way of making people feel important.
9. It’s better to talk to each person individually than to call them together for a meeting.
10. A meeting may be the only chance the members of a group actually have to see each other
face to face.
11. Meetings lead to better decisions because of the exchange of information and ideas.
12. You can never rely on the person who takes the minute to tell the truth about what have
actually happened at a meeting.
13. More time is wasted during meetings than during any other business activity.
2. Look at the following eight problems. What kind of meeting is the best way of dealing with
each one?
a. A one-to-one meeting of two people involved
b. A meeting of four or five of the people involved
c. A meeting of about ten of the people involved
d. A meeting of everyone involved
e. No meeting: one person should decide what to do and then inform everyone by phone or by
sending out a memo
2.1. A large customer continually pays late. Your sales manager and credit controller have politely
and repeatedly complained but this hasn’t made any difference. The time has come to decide
what to do about this.
2.2. In a small factory the older workers are ignoring safety rules and encouraging the younger ones
to do the same. Some of these rules may be excessively cautious and the older workers’
production rates are very good.
2.3. In a medium sized factory, groups of workers operate as teams. One group has been getting
poorer results than the other teams and verbal warnings have had no effect.
2.4. The firm is having a bad year and it will probably be necessary to make five members of the
office staff redundant. The normal policy is “last in – first out”.
2.5. Someone has been leaking information about your firm’s products to your competitor. It may
be a member of your staff or one of your preferred suppliers.
2.6. The board requires a report on your department’s long-term plans over the next ten years.
2.7. The territories covered by your sales force have been unchanged for ten years. A revision of the
boundaries might make the team more efficient.
2.8. There is a company picnic next month and everything has to be planned and organized.
 PART II: LANGUAGE WORK
1. STANDARD EXPRESSIONS

Giving an opinion Expressing reservations

(strong) I’m convinced we should use an You have a point, but …
agent. I agree to some extent, but …
I’m sure the Japanese market has I suppose you are right, but …
big potential. Maybe that’s true, but …
I have no doubt the new factory will Disagreeing
make life a lot easier.
(neutral) I think we need a bigger sales force. (strong) I don’t agree with you at all.
As I see it, we must build up our I totally disagree.
middle management. You’re quite wrong about that.
In my opinion, we should offer a It’s out of the question.
bonus. Of course not.
(tentative) It seems to me we should try to Rubbish/ Nonsense/ No way
diversify.
I tend to think our designs are old- (neutral) I don’t really think so.
fashioned. I can’t see that. I’m afraid.
I feel our competitors are more I’m afraid I can’t agree with
market-oriented. you there.
Agreeing (tentative) Hmm, I’m not sure.
(strong) I totally agree. I tend to disagree.
I agree entirely with Peter. Do you really think so?
Is that a good idea?
I couldn’t agree more. Making a suggestion
Absolutely/ Precisely/ Exactly (neutral) I suggest (that) we buy from
the French supplier.
(neutral) I agree with you. I would suggest strengthening
I think you are right. our management team.
That’s true. My suggestion would be to
spend more on R&D.
(tentative) Hmm, maybe you are right (tentative) We could sell the business.
Perhaps. Perhaps we should make a
I tend to agree. takeover bid.
I suppose so.
Checking comprehension/ reformulating
To put that another way, … It might be worth appointing a
If I follow you correctly. …. new agent.
So what you are saying is …. Why don’t we borrow some
Does that mean …? more money?
Are you saying …?

2. OTHERS
2.1. If you are in a meeting, you can find out what the other people in the group think
- What is your view on this, John?
- Dr. Brown, what do you think about this?
- Do you agree?
- Ms Smith, what’s your opinion?
2.2. If you want to interrupt someone and put forward your opinion
- If I could just make a point here… Could I make a suggestion?
- Sorry to interrupt but I’d just like to say that … It seems to me that …
2.3. If you want to find out if the others in the group understand what you have said or if they
agree with you
 Do you see what I mean? Don’t you think so?
Are we unanimous? Don’t you agree?
Are you with me? Does anyone object?
2.4. If you don’t understand what someone has said
Sorry, could you say that again, please? Sorry, I didn’t quite understand.
I’m sorry, I didn’t catch what you said. Sorry, I’m not quite with you.
2.5. If you want to make strong recommendation
You should/ shouldn’t ____________. I think/ don’t think you should
________.
I would advise you to ____________.
2.6. If you want to suggest other possibilities
What about ______________ ? How about __________?
Why don’t you ______________?
2.7. If you want to respond to the suggestion?
That’s a good idea. That’s out of the question.
That’s a possibility. I don’t think that’s the answer.
I’m not sure about that.
3. Listen to people giving and responding to suggestions and fill in the blanks
Suggestions Responses
1 _____________ your present customers. ____________________ that’s the
_____________ .
2 ______________________ your agency ____________________ about that.
on the Internet?
3 ________________ languages training in ____________________ the question.
their companies?
4 __________________________ more _______ , that’s ______________,
unusual languages. ____________________ to employ
any more people.
5. _________________ specialist translator _______ , that’s ______________
on the Internet? _______________ I will try it.

PART III: SKILL WORKS

1. VOCABULARY
Complete the following sentences with appropriate words from the list.
agenda casting vote consensus minutes circulate
apologies Chairperson items arising conduct
1. In all formal meetings and most informal meetings, there is a ________ whose job is to
________ the business of the meeting and to ensure that the meeting objectives are achieved.
2. It is helpful in both formal and informal meetings to have an ________, listing the points that
are to be discussed. It is usual to ________ this in advance so that participants can prepare
adequately for the meeting.
3. If there are too many ________ on the agenda, it is inevitable that the meeting will be over-long
and so less effective.
4. After formal meetings, the secretary writes up the _________, an official record of the
discussion that has taken place.
5. If you cannot attend a meeting, it is customary to send your ________ to the chairperson, who
reads out the names of any absentees at the beginning of the meeting. After naming absentees,
the chairperson may ask if there are any matters ________ out of the minutes of the last
meeting.
6. When decisions must be taken, the chairperson hopes there will be a ________ on what should
be done. Otherwise, a vote should be taken and sometimes the votes for and against are equal. If
this happens, the only way to break the deadlock is for the chairperson to give his or her
______.
2. READING/ WRITING
Read the text and complete the following chart.
MAKE MEETINGS WORK FOR YOU
Do you dread meetings more than Monday morning? Do you find them boring, unproductive and
far too long? Meetings are central to most organizations; people need to know what their colleagues
are doing and then take decisions based on shared information and opinions. How well you present
yourself and your ideas, and how well you work with other people, is crucial to your career.
RUNNING A MEETING
Only call a meeting if you (and your colleagues) are quite clear about its purpose. Once you are certain of
your objective, ask yourself whether it could be better achieved through alternative means, such as a
memo.
Meeting called on a routine basis tend to lose their point. It’s better to wait until a situation or
problem requires a meeting. If in doubt, don’t waste time having one.
If you’re sure a meeting is the solution, circulate a memo several days in advance specifying the
time and place, objectives, issues to be discussed, other participants and preparation expected.
Meetings should be held in the morning, if possible, when people are usually more alert, and should
last no more than an hour. Six is the optimum number of participants for a good working meeting.
Inviting the whole department (more than 10) increases emotional undercurrents such as “Will my
suggestions be taken seriously?”. Larger meetings can be productive as brainstorming sessions for
ideas, provided participants can speak freely without feeling they will be judged.
A successful meeting always leads to action. Decisions should take up the bulk of the meeting
minutes, including the name of the person delegated to each task, and a deadline for its completion.
Circulate the minutes after the meeting and again just before the next one.
Draw out quieter members of the group. Encouragement helps create a relaxed and productive
atmosphere. Do not single out any individual for personal criticism – they will either silently
withdraw, upset and humiliated, or try to come up with excuses rather than focusing on the
problems in hand. Save critical comments for a private occasion.
If you are talking for more than 50 per cent of the time, you are dominating the meeting.
ATTENDING A MEETING
However informal the meeting, it always pays to prepare a few key points in note form to put across
or discuss. If you are unprepared, you will not be able to concentrate on what your colleagues are
saying and others are less likely you listen to you because you will either waffle or sound hesitant.
Don’t memorize notes or read them out like a sermon. This inhibits your natural gestures: the eyes
contact and body language that is essential to effective communication.
If you cannot answer a question, don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know but I’ll find out and get back
to you by …” (give a definite date).
Phrase your criticisms and proposals positively. Seek to offer solutions rather than to complain.
Arrive early and sit close to the chair person to ensure that you aren’t ignored. If you are late,
apologize and find a seat quickly and quietly. Don’t try to sneak in as if you are invisible.
DOs DON’Ts
Chairperson 1. have a clear purpose 1. go on for more than an hour

Participants

3. sneak in if you are late

3. LISTENING/ SPEAKING
3.1. Three managers are discussing the recruitment of sales representatives (reps) for their new
Spanish sales organization.
Listen and note their reactions to the alternatives. Write F if they are for them and A if they are
against them.
Alternatives Marcel Carlos Nancy
Recruit new Spanish Sales reps
Transfer French Sales reps
3.2. Listen again and complete these notes of the meeting.

THE NEW SPANISH SALES ORGANIZATION

Alternative 1
Take on new Spanish sales representatives and (1)_______________________.
Alternative 2
Teach our French sales reps Spanish and (2)____________________________.
The advantage of Alternative 2 is the French sales staff has already got (3) ________. The
disadvantage is it takes (4) _______________________.

The disadvantage of Alternative 1 is that it takes a year to (5) ______________. On the other
hand, it is a Spanish (6) __________. So we should employ Spanish (7) ________________.

3.3. Match these phrases from the conversations to the correct box below.
a. I don’t agree. g. Why don’t we … ?
b. Any view on this? h. I think we should ….
c. I don’t think we should ….. i. We need to discuss ……
d. What do you think? j. The important thing here is …..
e. How do you feel about that proposal …. k. We can either … or …
f. It’s a waste of time.
NANCY MARCEL CARLOS
1. Introduces the subject

2. Presents the alternatives

3. Asks for an opinion 4. Makes a point

5. Makes a proposal

6. Asks for a reaction 7. Disagrees

9. Rejects the suggestion 8. Suggests an alternative

10. Asks for an opinion

11. Gives an opinion