Meeting Vocabulary
Meeting agenda
A meeting agenda is a list of the items that are discussed during a meeting.
To have a well organized meeting you should prioritize the agenda items.
Here is a print-out of the agenda for the meeting.
Have you all recieved a copy of the meeting agenda?
Meeting minutes
Meeting minutes are a set of notes that record decisions made during a meeting.
After a meeting, you can distribute the meeting minutes to remind people of what was discussed.
Here are the minutes from our meeting on Friday.
Please find the minutes of today`s meeting in the attached file.
Action plan
An action plan list the steps to take out a decision has been made in the meeting.
Without a clear action plan, people may not know what to do next.
They revised the action plan to fit the changing needs of the company.
All attendees are required to follow up on the action plan.
Consensus(共识)
A consensus is an opinion that all members of group agree with.
If attendees of a meeting don`t share a common goal, they probably want to reach a consensus.
We manage to reach a consensus on the budget plan.
We are enable to reach a consensus about the marketing strategy.
Ballot ( [ˈbælət]投票表决)
A ballot is a system of secret voting.
If there is an area of disagreement during a meeting, people can put it to the ballot.
They failed achieve an consensus, so they put the decision to the ballot.
At the end of the meeting ,they held a ballot to decide the issue.
All attendees cast their ballot in secret.
Chairing a Meeting 1
Here are some tips on how to run an effective meeting.
State the objective
At the beginning of a meeting, you should state the objective clearly.
It helps everybody understand the purpose of the meeting.
Without a clear objective, attendees of the meeting may lose focus easily.
Here are some way to introduce a meeting objective.
We are here today to discuss our new marketing strategies.
Our aim is to figure out new promotion strategies.
Review notes of the last meeting
You can use your notes from your last meeting to guide your current one.
You can review previous takeaways before presenting a new idea.
I`d like to quickly go through what we decided yesterday`s meeting.
Let`s go over the budget plan from the last meeting.
Allocate responsibilities
It`s important to keep track of what`s discussed in the meeting.
So make sure to allocate roles to attendees.
For example, you can politely ask someone to take notes by thing which your mind taking the meeting minutes.
You could also inform attendees that someone is responsible for a cetain task.
Anna has kindly to be the time keeper for us.
Introduce your first agenda item
Before you start your meeting, make sure everyone has the meeting agenda.
Then you can present agenda items.
You should begin with the most important item on the agenda.
To introduce it, you can say
Let`s start with our new marketing strategies.
The first item on the agenda is how make our online advertising more effective.
Close an agenda item
After discussing in agenda item, let`s attendees know that the discussion should move forward onto the next item.
You can do it with a closing statement.
For example , you can say
Let`s move onto the next item.
It looks like we`ve covered the main points of this item.
If no one has anything else to add, we can continue on to the next item.
Chairing a Meeting 2
To invite people to discussion
To run an effective meeting you need to encourage attendees to participate.
To invite others to express opinions you could ask questions like...
Would you like to share your thoughts on this topic?
Can we get your input on this issue?
What are your thoughts about this issue?
To hand over
Different attendees may take turns leading a meeting.
When handing over to others to present ideas you can say ....
I'd like to hand over to Anna who is going to lead the next point.
Alright, now Anna will have the floor.
Manage time
To have a productive meeting, it's important to manage time effectively.
If someone talks too long, you can interrupt them politely.
We can discuss that at the end if you feel it important.
I think we have to spend enough time on this topic. Let's move on to the next item.
Let's move on. We need to make sure we have enough time for the rest of the items.
Keep the meeting focused
As a chair person, it's your job to keep the meeting focused.
Time will be wasted if people bring up unrelated issue.
If the discussion begins to lose focus, remind everyone of the meeting's objective.
You can say...
Let's not get too far off-topic here...
We're supposed to be discussing our sales champaign.
That's a good point but we need focus on our agenda items.
Perhaps we can add that topic to the agenda of the next meeting.
To summarize
At the end of the meeting, you should summarize the main points.
This can help attendees understand the outcomes of the meeting.
You can begin your summary with "to sum up" or "in brief".
Or you can say...
Before we close today's meeting, let me summarize the main points.
Let me quickly go over today's main points.
Expessing yourself
To better participate in a meeting, you need to let your voice be heard.
Here are some common expressions used to when attending a meeting.
To make suggestions
Making suggestions is a good way to contribute to meetings.
Normally suggestions with I suggest and we should are stronger than those with how about and perhaps.
Here are some examples.
I suggest we improve the user interface of our website.
We shouldn"t rush into this new campaign.
How about improving the user interface of our website?
Perhaps we need to consider a cheaper solution as our budget is tight.
To agree
Besides making your own suggestions, you also need to react to others"suggestions.
You can agree with people by saying.
That"s just what I was thinking.
I couldn't agree more with Anna.
I have to side with Anna on this issue.
To disagree
Attendees may have different opinions about a particular issue.
Saying I disagree directly in a meeting can be considered impolite.
Instead, you can politely disagree with someone by saying.
To be honest, I"m not sure about that.
I beg to differ. I don"t think this is the priority right now.
I see your point, but I don"t think advertising on tv is a good idea.
To be honest, I"m not sure about that.
To ask for clarification
If you don't understand what people are saying, ask them to clarify the point.
Asking questions early on can help you avoid making mistakes later.
I don't quite follow you. Could you please clarify this for me?
I'm afraid I don"t quite understand what you are getting at.
Could you give me some further clarification please?
dialogue preparing for a meeting
Hey,Dylan.
Have you booked a room yet for tomorrow"s meeting?
I spoke to the executive[ɪɡˈzekjətɪv] conference room for tomorrow at two.
And I have just finished the meeting agenda.
Great, let"s go over it now.
Sure. So first we"ll discuss organizing research for the new project.
Then we'll talk about the progress of our current projects.
After that, we"re going to talk about the new deadlines for the current projects.
Well, the items are well chosen, but I'd switch the order of them.
First have progress, then deadlines and then research.
The agenda includes what will be discussed at the meeting.
OK. But research is a big topic.
I thought that by discussing it first. We can focus all our energy on it.
Yes, the research is a big topic, but it isn't the main objective.
We should start with the most important item.
I want to see how our current projects are going.
If there are any problems, they will need to be discussed first.
I"ve just finished the meeting agenda.
We will talk about the progress of our current projects.
He wanted to discuss research first because it"s a big topic.
We should start with the most important item.
Right I get it.
The process is more efficient that way.
I"ll make the changes right away.
Thanks.
But speaking of research. I"d still like to talk about how we should start a new project.
So tell everyone to think of some ideas to brainstorm.
Sure, I will tell them to prepare.
What does she want everyone to do before the meeting?
Before the meeting, she wants everyone to think of some ideas to brainstorm during the meeting.
By the way, who have you invited to the meeting?
I've invited our whole team.
It might be good to invite kelly the head of design.
Her designers have been working with us on this project for the past month.
I need to check in on their progress.
She wants to discuss how to start a new project.
He has invited the whole team to the meeting.
Her designers have been working with us on this project for the past month.
Sure thing.
I'll send her an invitation right now.
Hold on.
Don"t just send her an invitation.
Confirm her schedule first.
If she can"t make it. See whether she can send someone.
OK. I"ll go find her now.
Great thanks.
What should he do before sending kelly an invitation?
Before sending kelly an invitation, he should confirm her schedule.
What should he do if kelly can"t attend the meeting?
