The Kick-Off

Meeting
Pharmaceutical Company Meetings
A What is discussed in each kind of meeting?

Can you think of any other types of meetings?

What kind of meeting is most common for you?

 PRESENTATION
A Some of the things you might discuss in an information- sharing meeting are listed below, but
the second word in each collocation has been switched with another. Switch them back . The
first two have been done for you.
Collocations
production margin quality campaigns customer budgets
balance appraisals sales chains recruitment setting
market channels advertising control salary support
staff sheets cost development training relations
profit methods supply projections price procedures
distribution trends product cutting IT reviews
Discussion

B Use the template below to help you talk about the meetings you attend . Use some of the
phrases above or choose others that are more relevant to your own line of business .

Well, a lot of the meetings I go to these days tend to be about _______ and
usually that will involve discussing things like _______. The most important figures we
look at are _______. So I'll probably have to prepare and issue copies before the meeting.
If there's any real disagreement, it will generally be about _______. But, frankly, the worst
thing about the meetings _______.
 PRESENTATION

A Use the template below to help you talk about the meetings you attend.

Well, a lot of the meetings I go to these days tend to be about _______ and
usually that will involve discussing things like _______. The most important figures
we look at are _______. So I'll probably have to prepare and issue copies before
the meeting. If there's any real disagreement, it will generally be about _______.
But, frankly, the worst thing about the meetings _______.
 PRESENTATION
A Complete the collocations in the boxes. They are all things the leader of a meeting might do.
the agenda the main goals areas of conflict
the final decision the meeting an action plan
the participants points of view other speakers
the key issues troublemakers
Introducing
Participants
Pharmaceutical Company Meetings
PRESENTATION
 PRESENTATION

In what ways is the etiquette for leading and participating in a teleconference different from that of a face-to-face
meeting? When might a teleconference not be ideal for a meeting?

Complete the gaps in the advice below for leading a successful teleconference using
the phrases in the box. Then match the sentence halves. What other tips would you add?

the agenda basic rules an eye on get feedback

go over what was discussed keep track of take a roll call

1 Always ............ at the beginning a) and the objectives of the meeting.

2 Then outline ............
3 Quickly go over the ............ and guidelines
4 Remember to keep ............ the clock
5 Don't forget to ............ who
6 Then pause periodically to ............
7 Before ending the teleconference, briefly ............ and
b) to make sure the telecon doesn't overrun.
c) and take questions from the other participants.
d) is contributing to the discussion and who is not.
e) clarify any action the participants need to take.
f) for the call, such as speaking time limits.
g) so that everyone knows who is involved and listening.
CONVERSATION
If everyone is in different countries, you can mention the location.
Joining us today from New York is Diana, who ……
Keep in mind different phrases for talking about peoples’ roles.
1 to be in charge of …ing
2 to be responsible for …ing
3 to deal with ……ing
4 to make sure that….
5 his/her job involves ….ing
 Complete the sentences with the correct job responsibility phrase.

involve to be in charge to deal to make sure to be responsible

1 Michel Veron works for Research and Development. His job _________ developing new
products and new ideas.
2 Sanja Djokovic is our Quality Control Inspector. She ________ for monitoring our
products and trying to improve their quality.
3 Ellen Hughes works for Personnel. She _______ with staff problems, as well as with
recruitment and training.
4 Zach Varfalvi is our Security Officer. He _______ that our staff and property are
protected against crime.
5 Sergio Matelli is our new Maintenance Engineer. He checks all our equipment
regularly and _______ of all repairs.

Look at the exercise again, and write down the words which follow these items.
1 to be in charge of …ing
2 to be responsible for …ing
3 to deal with ……ing
4 to make sure that….
Starting the
Meeting
Pharmaceutical Company Meetings
 PRESENTATION

In what ways is the etiquette for leading and participating in a teleconference different from that of a face-to-face
meeting? When might a teleconference not be ideal for a meeting?

Complete the gaps in the advice below for leading a successful teleconference using
the phrases in the box. Then match the sentence halves. What other tips would you add?

the agenda basic rules an eye on get feedback

go over what was discussed keep track of take a roll call

1 Always ............ at the beginning a) and the objectives of the meeting.

2 Then outline ............
3 Quickly go over the ............ and guidelines
4 Remember to keep ............ the clock
5 Don't forget to ............ who
6 Then pause periodically to ............
7 Before ending the teleconference, briefly ............ and
b) to make sure the telecon doesn't overrun.
c) and take questions from the other participants.
d) is contributing to the discussion and who is not.
e) clarify any action the participants need to take.
f) for the call, such as speaking time limits.
g) so that everyone knows who is involved and listening.
Meeting
Meeting
Meeting
Meeting
 Starting the meeting

STARTING
Thank you all for coming (today).
I’m very happy to see you all here today.
OK, let's get down to business.
Right, can we start, please?
GIVING CONTEXT
As you may have heard,… therefore…..
You are probably aware that ….. For this
reason …..
As you probably know, …. That is why ……

SETTING OBJECTIVES
TRANSITIONING
I’ve called today’s meeting to …
First, let have a look at ….
The purpose of this meeting is ...
Moving right along, let’s discuss…
The aims of this meeting are ...
Let’s move on to the next item on the
agenda.
SETTING THE AGENDA
Have you all seen the agenda?
As you can see from the agenda,
we’ll be going over…
PRESENTATION
 Sharing your ideas

ASKING FOR REACTIONS MAKING SUGGESTIONS

How do you feel about ...? I think we should …..
What do you think? How about …?
Do you have any thoughts about Why don't we ……?
this?
Maybe / Perhaps we could ….
Would you like to weigh in?

GIVING OPINIONS AGREEING DISAGREEING

I think /I don't think that's a good That's true. I see / know what you mean, but I think
idea….because I (totally) agree. there's a problem.
In my opinion, we need to …. Absolutely./Exactly. I'm not so sure. …
I (strongly) believe … I think so, too. Maybe, but that's not enough.

I strongly recommend…ing…
1 We ought to consider…ing … 2 By …ing…., we could As a result…
3
Why don’t we …? would be able to…. Consequently,
How about …ing… might…
 Sharing your ideas

ASKING FOR REACTIONS MAKING SUGGESTIONS

How do you feel about ...? I think we should …..
What do you think? How about …?
Do you have any thoughts about Why don't we ……?
this?
Maybe / Perhaps we could ….
Would you like to weigh in?

GIVING OPINIONS AGREEING DISAGREEING

I think /I don't think that's a good That's true. I see / know what you mean, but I think
idea….because I (totally) agree. there's a problem.
In my opinion, we need to …. Absolutely./Exactly. I'm not so sure. …
I (strongly) believe … I think so, too. Maybe, but that's not enough.

I strongly recommend…ing…
1 We ought to consider…ing … 2 By …ing…., we could As a result…
3
Why don’t we …? would be able to…. Consequently,
How about …ing… might…
Meeting
Managing the discussion

DEALING WITH INTERRUPTIONS SPEEDING UP

Could you let him finish, please? I think we should move on now.
Could you just hang on a moment, Can we come back to that?
please?
You’ll get your chance in a moment. SLOWING DOWN
Hold on, we need to look at this in more
KEEPING TO THE POINT detail.
We seem to be getting side-tracked. I think we should discuss this a bit
Perhaps we could get back to the point. more.
This may not be the right time to discuss that.
SUMMARISING
OK, let's go over what we've agreed.
Right, to sum up then ...
Meeting
STARTING
Thank you all for coming (today).
I’m very happy to see you all
here today.
OK, let's get down to business.
Right, can we start, please?
SETTING OBJECTIVES
I’ve called today’s meeting to …
The purpose of this meeting
is ...
The aims of this meeting are ...
SETTING THE AGENDA
Have you all seen the
agenda?
As you can see from the
agenda, we’ll be going
over…
GIVING CONTEXT KEEPING TO THE POINT
As you may have heard,… We seem to be getting side-tracked.
therefore….. Perhaps we could get back to the
You are probably aware that ….. point.
For this reason ….. This may not be the right time to
As you probably know, …. discuss that.
That is why ……
SPEEDING UP
TRANSITIONING I think we should move on now.
First, let have a look at …. Can we come back to that?
Moving right along, let’s
discuss…
SLOWING DOWN
Let’s move on to the next item on
Hold on, we need to look at this
the agenda.
in more detail.
I think we should discuss
DEALING WITH this a bit more.
INTERRUPTIONS
Could you let him finish, please? SUMMARISING
Could you just hang on a OK, let's go over what we've
moment, please? agreed.
You’ll get your chance in a Right, to sum up then ...
moment.
 Meeting
MAKING SUGGESTIONS DISAGREEING
STARTING I think we should ….. I see / know what you mean, but I think
Thank you all for coming (today). there's a problem.
How about …?
I’m very happy to see you all here I'm not so sure. …
Why don't we ……?
today. Maybe, but that's not enough.
Maybe / Perhaps we could ….
OK, let's get down to business.
Right, can we start, please? SUMMARISING/CLOSING
GIVING OPINIONS
I think /I don't think that's a OK, let's go over what we've agreed.
GIVING CONTEXT good idea….because I think that’s about as far as we can
As you may have heard,… therefore….. In my opinion, we need to go at this stage.
You are probably aware that ….. For …. Right, to sum up then ...
this reason ….. I strongly believe …
As you probably know, ….
That is why …… AGREEING
That's true.
ASKING FOR REACTIONS I (totally) agree.
How do you feel about ...? Absolutely./Exactly.
What do you think? I think so, too.
Do you have any thoughts about this?
Would you like to weigh in?
 Meeting
Asking for opinions
Does anybody have any
strong feelings about ...?
How do you all feel
about….?
Giving opinions
Well, unfortunately, I think
we'll probably have to ...
I fear we will need to…
Interrupting
Sorry to interrupt, but …
Can I just say/add
something quickly?
I’d like to comment on that if I
may.
Making suggestions Adding a condition
What about if we ...? I agree, providing we can ...
Why don’t we try ..ing We can do that, as long as ...
instead of …ing?
Agreeing Emphasising
I think I'd agree with you I keep going on about this, but
there ... ...
That sounds like a great I think it is worth
idea! mentioning again, …
Disagreeing Summarising
Well hold on ... So, we've agreed that ...
I’m not so sure about We are in agreement that …
….ing…
PRESENTATION
 PRESENTATION Diplomatic Disagreement
Examples
Disagreement
strategies a. I think I'm going to go with Janine's idea, but tell me more about your
idea first.
I Show support before b. That's not quite how I see it but how about looking at this a different
you disagree way?
2 Disagree but ask for c. I'm not so sure, but maybe I'm missing something here. Run me
more detail through it again.
d. I'm not against your whole idea, just the part about pricing.
3 Check you've e. While I agree with a lot of what you say, I think the problem may not be
understood correctly as bad as you think.
4 Be specific about your f. I don't quite agree with you there. However, you've given me another
idea.
disagreement g. I'm not so sure I'm going to agree with this. I'd like to hear more about
5 Disagree but offer an it, though.
alternative h. Before I answer that let me just check I understand what you're
saying.
i. I can understand exactly how you feel, but at the moment I’m afraid it’s

just not an option.

j. It's not so much your actual plan I have a problem with, as how you
intend to implement it.
 Meeting
MAKING SUGGESTIONS DISAGREEING
STARTING I think we should ….. I see / know what you mean, but I think
Thank you all for coming (today). there's a problem.
How about …?
I’m very happy to see you all here I'm not so sure. …
Why don't we ……?
today. Maybe, but that's not enough.
Maybe / Perhaps we could ….
OK, let's get down to business.
Right, can we start, please? SUMMARISING/CLOSING
GIVING OPINIONS
I think /I don't think that's a OK, let's go over what we've agreed.
GIVING CONTEXT good idea….because I think that’s about as far as we can go
As you may have heard,… therefore….. In my opinion, we need to at this stage.
You are probably aware that ….. For …. Right, to sum up then ...
this reason ….. I strongly believe … Our next steps will be ….
As you probably know, ….
That is why …… AGREEING
That's true.
ASKING FOR REACTIONS I (totally) agree.
How do you feel about ...? Absolutely./Exactly.
What do you think? I think so, too.
Do you have any thoughts about this?
Would you like to weigh in?
STARTING MAKING SUGGESTIONS DISAGREEING
Thank you all for coming I think we should ….. I see / know what you mean, but I
SUMMARISING/CLOSING think there's a problem.
(today). How about …?
I’mIvery
think that’s
happy to seeabout
you all as far Why
as we can go at this
don't we ……?
stage.
I'm not so sure, because …
hereI’m afraid we’ll have to stop Maybe it there.we could
today. Maybe, but that's not enough.
/ Perhaps
OK, let's get down to business.
OK, let's go over what we've …. agreed.
SUMMARISING/CLOSING
Right, can we start, please? GIVING OPINIONS
Right, to sum up then ...I think /I don't think that's a OK, let's go over what we've agreed.
TRANSITIONING
Our next steps will be ….good idea….because I think that’s about as far as we
Moving right along… In my opinion, we need to can go at this stage.
Let’s move on to the next item …. Right, to sum up then ...
on the agenda. I strongly believe … Our next steps will be ….
ASSIGNING FOLLOW-UP TASKS
I’d like
ASKING FORyou to ….
REACTIONS AGREEING
How….do Could you...?take careThat's
you feel about true.
of that?
I (totally) agree.
….,
What do can I leave that one with
you think? you?
Absolutely./Exactly.
Do you have any thoughts
…., can you get back toI think
about this?
me on that?
so, too.
Would you like to weigh in?
Closing the
Meeting
Pharmaceutical Company Meetings
We need ….
Tom, can I leave that one with you?
Natasha, can you get back to me on that?
Chris, could you take care of that?