- Fixed phrases for opening, managing, and closing meetings give you confidence and sound professional immediately.
- Polite interruption and diplomatic disagreement are essential skills — directness without softening language sounds rude in British and American business culture.
- Action items, decisions, and next steps must be confirmed clearly before every meeting ends.
- Small talk before formal meetings is expected and builds the relationship capital that makes working relationships productive.
Build your professional vocabulary: Complete the Sentence →
Whether you are presenting to a client, joining a conference call with international colleagues, or chairing a team meeting, business English for meetings requires a specific set of phrases and a careful approach to communication. The language used in professional meetings is more formulaic than casual conversation — and that is an advantage for learners, because fixed phrases can be learned, practised, and deployed with immediate effect.
This guide covers every stage of a professional English meeting, from the small talk beforehand to the action-point summary at the end.
Before the Meeting: Agenda and Small Talk
Professional meetings in English-speaking workplaces typically begin with an agenda — a list of items to be discussed. Agendas are usually circulated before the meeting. Common agenda terminology:
- Item 1, Item 2... — numbered discussion points
- AOB — Any Other Business (final open item for topics not on the agenda)
- Action points — tasks assigned during the meeting
- Minutes — the official written record of the meeting
- Chair / Chairperson — the person leading the meeting
Before the formal meeting begins, small talk is expected in British and American business culture. It builds rapport and signals that you are approachable and engaged:
Small Talk Openers
- "How was your journey / commute?"
- "Did you have a good weekend?"
- "It's been a busy week, hasn't it?"
- "Are you keeping busy?"
- "Thanks for making the time to join us today."
Opening the Meeting
The person chairing the meeting opens it formally. Even a short, well-chosen opening sets a professional tone and signals that the meeting has a clear purpose and structure.
Opening Phrases
- "Right, shall we get started?" Informal — common in internal team meetings
- "Good morning everyone, and thanks for joining us." Standard opening — acknowledges participants
- "I'd like to call the meeting to order." Formal — used in official or executive meetings
- "The purpose of today's meeting is to discuss..." States the meeting's objective clearly
- "We have three items on the agenda today. Shall we begin with Item 1?" Signals structure and invites the group to proceed
- "Just to let you know, we're aiming to finish by [time]." Sets time expectations — useful for efficiency
Managing the Discussion
The chair's role is to keep the meeting on track, ensure all voices are heard, and move smoothly between agenda items. These phrases are essential for managing flow:
Moving the Meeting Forward
- "Can we move on to the next item?"
- "I think we've covered that point — shall we move on?"
- "We're running a bit short on time, so let's move to Item 3."
- "Could we park that discussion and come back to it later?" "Park" means to set aside temporarily — common British business idiom
- "I'd like to bring us back to the main topic."
- "Let's take that offline." Suggests discussing a specific issue privately after the meeting
Practise these meeting phrases with our complete-the-sentence exercises, which include business English contexts. For broader professional vocabulary, explore our word categories exercise.
Contributing: Giving Opinions and Making Suggestions
In professional English, opinions and suggestions are typically softened with hedging language. Direct assertions ("We should do X") can sound aggressive. Framing your contributions as proposals invites discussion.
Giving Your Opinion
- "In my view, the best approach would be..."
- "From my perspective, ..."
- "As I see it, the key issue here is..."
- "I think it's worth considering..."
- "My feeling is that..."
Making Suggestions
- "What if we were to...?"
- "Have we considered...?"
- "One option might be to..."
- "I'd like to propose that we..."
- "Could we think about...?"
- "Why don't we try...?"
Interrupting Politely
In British and most international English business culture, interrupting without signalling your intention is considered rude. These phrases allow you to add your point without creating friction:
Polite Interruption Phrases
- "Sorry to interrupt, but I think..."
- "If I could just jump in here..."
- "Can I add something to that?"
- "Before we move on, I'd like to raise..."
- "Excuse me, could I make a quick point?"
- "Sorry — just to pick up on what you said about..."
Intonation Matters
When using these interruption phrases, use rising intonation — it signals that you are asking for permission to speak, not demanding it. Falling intonation on the same phrase can sound confrontational. This is especially important in multicultural teams where politeness signals vary.
Agreeing and Disagreeing Diplomatically
Expressing disagreement in English business culture almost always requires softening language. Blunt disagreement ("That's wrong", "I disagree") without qualification can damage working relationships. The standard approach: acknowledge first, then redirect.
Agreeing
- "That's a good point." / "Absolutely."
- "I completely agree with you on that."
- "That aligns with my thinking as well."
- "You make a valid point about..."
- "I think that's the right approach."
Disagreeing Politely
- "I see your point, but I wonder if..." Acknowledges before redirecting
- "I'm not sure I entirely agree — could we consider...?"
- "That's an interesting view. However, from my perspective..."
- "With respect, I think we need to consider..." "With respect" is a polite but firm disagreement marker in British English
- "I take your point, but the data suggests..."
- "I'd push back slightly on that — my concern is..."
Asking for Clarification and Checking Understanding
Professional meetings move fast. Asking for clarification when something is unclear is not a sign of weakness — it is professional due diligence. In international meetings especially, requesting clarification prevents costly misunderstandings.
Clarification Phrases
- "Sorry, could you clarify what you mean by...?"
- "I'm not sure I follow — could you elaborate on that?"
- "Just to make sure I've understood correctly..."
- "When you say X, do you mean Y?"
- "Could you give us an example of that?"
- "Could you say that again? I didn't quite catch it."
For grammar structures used in professional contexts — including reported speech for meeting summaries and modal verbs for suggestions — visit our grammar hub and English modal verbs guide.
Closing the Meeting Effectively
A well-closed meeting leaves every participant clear on what was decided, who is responsible for what, and when the next meeting is. Vague closings lead to confusion and inaction.
Closing Phrases
- "I think we've covered everything on the agenda."
- "Let's wrap up there."
- "To summarise the main points..."
- "So, the action points are: [X] will handle [task] by [date], [Y] will..."
- "Are there any final questions before we close?"
- "Thank you all for your contributions today."
- "The minutes will be circulated by [date]."
- "The next meeting will be on [date] at [time]."
Phrases for Virtual Meetings and Conference Calls
Most international business meetings now take place online. Virtual meetings require additional communication strategies because visual cues are limited and technical issues are common.
- "Can everyone hear me clearly?"
- "You're breaking up — could you repeat that?"
- "I think [Name] has been cut off — shall we wait for them to rejoin?"
- "Could everyone please mute when you're not speaking?"
- "I'll share my screen now — can you see that?"
- "Let's use the chat for questions so we don't interrupt the speaker."
- "For those who joined late, we've just been discussing..."
Build the underlying vocabulary and grammar for professional communication with our business-focused quiz exercises and the broader exercise library.
- Professional meetings use predictable, formulaic language — learning the fixed phrases gives you immediate confidence.
- Softening language is essential for disagreement, suggestions, and interruptions in British and American business culture.
- Always confirm action points and next steps before closing — this prevents ambiguity and ensures accountability.
- Small talk before formal meetings is a professional skill, not wasted time — it builds the relationship capital that makes working relationships productive.
- Virtual meetings require extra clarity: confirm audio and video, manage turn-taking explicitly, and summarise more frequently.
Put Your Business English into Practice
Sharpen the grammar and vocabulary that underpin professional English communication with LexFizz's free exercises.
Start Practising Now →Frequently Asked Questions
Common openers include: "Right, shall we get started?", "Good morning everyone, thanks for joining us today.", "Let's begin — the purpose of today's meeting is..." In more formal contexts: "I'd like to call the meeting to order. We have three items on the agenda today."
Polite interruption phrases: "Sorry to interrupt, but...", "If I could just jump in here...", "Can I add something to that?", "Before we move on, I'd like to raise...", "Excuse me, could I make a quick point?" Always use rising intonation to signal you are asking permission.
Polite disagreement phrases: "I see your point, but I wonder if...", "I'm not sure I entirely agree — could we consider...?", "That's an interesting view. However, from my perspective...", "With respect, I think we need to consider...". Always acknowledge the other person's view before presenting your alternative.
AOB stands for "Any Other Business" — the final item on most British business meeting agendas that allows participants to raise topics not covered earlier. It is common in UK and Commonwealth business culture. Equivalent terms in American English include "open floor" or "miscellaneous items".
Clarification phrases: "Sorry, could you clarify what you mean by...?", "I'm not sure I follow — could you elaborate on that?", "Just to make sure I've understood correctly...", "When you say X, do you mean Y?", "Could you give us an example of that?"
"Taking the minutes" means recording the key points, decisions made, and action items from a meeting in a formal written document called the minutes. This is usually done by a designated secretary or administrator. Minutes are distributed after the meeting for reference and follow-up.
Closing phrases include: "I think we've covered everything on the agenda.", "Let's wrap up there.", "To summarise the main points...", "So, the action points are...", "Thank you all for your contributions today. The next meeting will be..." Always confirm action items and next steps before closing.
A chairperson (or chair) leads a formal meeting — they control the agenda, manage contributions, and make procedural decisions. A facilitator guides the discussion process and helps the group reach consensus, but has less formal authority. Facilitators are more common in workshops and collaborative sessions.
Suggestions: "What if we were to...?", "Have we considered...?", "One option might be to...", "I'd like to propose that we...", "Could we think about...?". Framing suggestions as questions or possibilities softens them and invites discussion rather than immediate acceptance or rejection.
Small talk refers to brief, informal conversation before the formal meeting begins — about the weather, travel, weekends, or current events. It is important in British and American business culture because it builds rapport. Common openers: "How was your journey?", "Did you have a good weekend?", "Have you been keeping busy?"