Useful business english phrases
The following phrases are used to participate in a meeting. These phrases are useful for expressing your ideas and giving input to a meeting.
Getting the Chairperson's Attention
Giving Opinions
Asking for Opinions
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Are you positive that...
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Do you (really) think that...
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(name of participant) can we get your input?
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How do you feel about...?
Commenting
Agreeing
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I totally agree with you.
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Exactly!
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That's (exactly) the way I feel.
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I have to agree with (name of participant).
Disagreeing
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Unfortunately, I see it differently.
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Up to a point I agree with you, but...
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I'm afraid I can't agree
Advising and Suggesting
Clarifying
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Have I made that clear?
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Do you see what I'm getting at?
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Let me put this another way...
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I'd just like to repeat that...
Requesting Information
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Please, could you...
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I'd like you to...
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Would you mind...
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I wonder if you could...
Asking for Repetition
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I'm afraid I didn't understand that. Could you repeat what you just said?
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I didn't catch that. Could you repeat that, please?
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I missed that. Could you say it again, please?
Asking for Clarification
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I don't quite follow you. What exactly do you mean?
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I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you are getting at.
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Could you explain to me how that is going to work?
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I don't see what you mean. Could we have some more details, please?
Asking for Verification
Asking for Contributions
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We haven't heard from you yet, (name of participant).
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What do you think about this proposal?
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Would you like to add anything, (name of participant)?
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Has anyone else got anything to contribute?
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Are there any more comments?
Correcting Information
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Sorry, I think you misunderstood what I said.
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Sorry, that's not quite right.
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I'm afraid you don't understand what I'm saying.
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That's not quite what I had in mind.
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That's not what I meant.
Keeping the Meeting On Target (time, relevance, decisions)
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We're running short of time.
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Well, that seems to be all the time we have today.
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Please be brief.
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I'm afraid we've run out of time.
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I'm afraid that's outside the scope of this meeting.
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Let's get back on track, why don't we?
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That's not really why we're here today.
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Why don't we return to the main focus of today's meeting?
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We'll have to leave that to another time.
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We're beginning to lose sight of the main point.
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Keep to the point, please.
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I think we'd better leave that for another meeting.
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Are we ready to make a decision?
