Vocabulary
What does someone mean if they say "I concur"?
I agree.
"Tanaka, please distribute the minutes to everyone, and Chuck, please touch base with the development team and prepare a status update for the next meeting."
End of a meeting; assigning responsibilities.
You are the company president. Disagree strongly but politely with somebody's proposal.
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid I totally disagree with your proposal."
Politely interrupt a speaker whose PowerPoint slides are not showing on the screen.
"Excuse me, your slides don't seem to be on the screen yet."
iron out
(verb)
US /ˈaɪərn aʊt/
UK /ˈaɪən aʊt/
What does it mean to "commence a project"?
To start working on the project.
You are chairing a 4-hour long meeting from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. It is now noon. How would you tell everyone at the meeting that it's lunchtime and that food and drinks are outside in the lobby? All attendees need to be back by 12:30 PM.
"Let's adjourn for a short lunch break. Refreshments are available in the lobby for your to enjoy. We will resume the meeting in 30 minutes, so please be sure to return to your seat by then."
You are writing an email to Carlos González (male, 28 years old) who works at another company. You don't know if he is married or not. How should you begin your email?
"Dear Mr. González,"
You are the meeting chair. Sandra has interrupted Jackson's presentation to ask a question. Interrupt Sandra's question and politely request that she hold her questions until Jackson is finished.
"Excuse me, Sandra, please hold your question until Jackson has finished his presentation. Thank you."
outlay
(noun)
US /ˈaʊtˌleɪ/
UK /ˈaʊtleɪ/
What should you do if someone asks you to "rephrase your question"?
Repeat the question, but use different (usually simpler) words and descriptions.
"Unfortunately, Jeff from finance is not able to join us today. Marianne will be taking minutes today; Marianne, please be sure to take good notes for Jeff!"
Opening; announcing meeting absences and roles.
You couldn't understand someone's suggestion. Politely ask them to say it again.
"I'm not sure I completely understood your suggestion. Could you explain it again to me in simpler terms?"
Politely interrupt a meeting to remind the chairperson that another group has reserved this conference room at 4:00 PM, and it is already 3:45 PM now.
"Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt, but the next meeting in this room is scheduled to begin in 15 minutes. If you can, please try to wrap things up as soon as possible. Thank you!"
superficially
(adverb)
US /ˈsupərˌfɪʃəli/
UK /supəˈfɪʃəli/
If someone says you are "boiling the ocean," what do they mean?
You are trying to do too many things or solve too many problems at the same time.
"Thank you for your presentation; it contained a lot of very interesting and useful information. Could you please elaborate on the budget a bit more? Namely, I'd like to hear your opinion on how best to keep operating costs low."
Q&A; discussion
You are chairing a very formal meeting. Announce that the meeting has finished using formal language.
"Thank you for participating in today's discussion. We will now adjourn this meeting.
You are the meeting chair. Two speakers have been arguing for a long time and nothing is getting done. Politely interrupt them to get things back on track.
"Excuse me, we're getting off track here. Let's try to stay focused on today's agenda for now. We can hold a separate meeting to continue your discussion later, okay?"
participation
(noun)
US /pɑrtɪsɪˈpeɪʃɪn/
UK /pɑtɪsɪˈpeɪʃən/
Your boss told you that she things you have "great potential for growth." What does she mean?
She thinks you can learn new skills, take on more responsibility, and get promoted to better positions in the future.
You are in a meeting with 20 people and want to vote on which of three ideas to discuss further. Ask for a vote using professional language.
"I'd like to put these three ideas to a vote to see which we should discuss further. Can I get a show of hands for those who wish to discuss the first idea? The second? And the third?"
You are a regular employee attending a meeting with the company president. The president had made a proposal that you strongly disagree with. Use proper diplomatic language to voice your concern over this proposal.
"Excuse me, I believe there may be an issue with the proposal you are suggesting. May I take a moment to elaborate?"
Somebody has interrupted you with a question that you do not want to answer yet. Politely defer the question until you have heard opinions from everyone in the room.
I'd like to hear the opinions of everyone else in the room before answering that question. Let's take turns sharing our ideas and then we'll come back to your question.
unproductive
(adjective)
US /ˈənprəˌdəktɪv/
UK /ənprəˈdəktɪv/