By kitlum Last updated: March 15, 2024

200+ Business Meeting Phrases To Effectively Run Your Meeting

Face-to-face interactions are important in the world of business.

Meetings are the very reason international business travel is so popular these days. Business people are traveling the world more and more to meet their global partners in person.

So we’ve put together 20 phrases you can use to make a great impression and communicate effectively in your next international business meeting.

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Beginning the Meeting

When starting a meeting, you’ll want to start by giving the meeting participants all the information they need to take in and enjoy the meeting. This includes things like introducing yourself and others, and setting the meeting’s agenda and objectives.

Opening the meeting

Before anything else, start on a friendly footing with a warm and friendly greeting. Try one of the following:

Introducing yourself

Since you’re the one running this meeting, be sure to introduce yourself. Beyond your name, give a little more biographical information, such as your position and why you’re the one presenting this meeting.

Introducing others

Sometimes you’d like the meeting participants to know about some other key people in attendance. They may be part of the project team, or you may ask them to take over later in the meeting. If this is the case, use one of these phrases:

Presenting the agenda

An important part of any meeting is informing the participants what will take place during the meeting. To give this information, consider presenting your agenda with one of these phrases:

Setting objectives

Keeping a meeting on track is important for effective organization. To state your meeting’s objectives, use these types of phrases:

During the Meeting

When the meeting is taking place, you may need to discuss updates since the last meeting or tell the participants how the project is moving forward. You may also need to keep the discussion on topic, or hand over the meeting to someone else. Here’s a list of phrases to accomplish those goals:

Discussing updates

When you have something new to report about a project or task, consider using one of these useful phrases to give out that new information:

Moving forward

When one project or task is moving along well, or you’re moving onto another project, use one of these phrases to signal and you’re moving the meeting forward:

Keeping the discussion on track

If a meeting or discussion seems like it may be getting off track, you can use one of these phrases to keep the participants focused on the topic at hand:

Handing over the meeting to someone else

Sometimes, one of your colleagues knows more about a project than you do. That’s when you want to hand over the meeting to someone else. Use these phrases to do that smoothly:

Speaking Up During Meetings

There are times when you need to speak up during meetings in order to have your point heard. This can include sharing your personal perspective or opinion, agreeing with others during a meeting or politely disagreeing with others. You may also need to suggest something, politely interrupt, ask a question, ask for clarification, ask for others’ opinions or ask to hear more detail. Here are some extremely useful phrases for accomplishing those meeting goals:

Sharing your perspective or opinion

When you have a great idea or perspective, you should share it with the group. Consider using of these phrases to do that:

Agreeing during the meeting

When you agree with someone during a meeting, be sure to tell them. You can use one of these phrases to do that:

Disagreeing during the meeting

Sometimes, you just don’t agree with someone at a meeting. To politely disagree, consider the following phrases:

Suggesting something in a meeting

When you have a new idea or suggestion to bring up in a meeting, you can use one of these useful phrases to smoothly give that information:

Interrupting the meeting

Sometimes you have information to add that just can’t wait. When this happens, you will have to politely interrupt the meeting. You can use these phrases to do that:

Asking questions

Asking questions is one of the most effective ways to learn more about a project or task. Here are some excellent question phrases for getting more information:

Asking for clarification

Sometimes you like the idea, but you need more clarification or details before you can really decide if it’s the best approach. When this situation arises, use these helpful phrases:

Asking to hear something again

Sometimes you don’t hear or don’t fully understand something someone has said. When this comes up, use these helpful phrases:

Asking for others’ opinions

When you want to hear what your colleagues think about a particular point or idea, ask for their opinions. Here are some useful phrases to do just that:

Asking for more information

More information is often needed in business meetings and discussions. To solicit (ask for) more information, use these phrases:

Finishing the Meeting

Once the main part of the meeting has ended, you’ll need to wrap it up in a satisfying way. Some great methods to use for this include summarizing the meeting and, of course, thanking the meeting’s attendees for being there. Here are some very helpful phrases for finishing up your next meeting:

Summarizing the meeting

It’s always a good idea to remind your busy meeting participants what you covered in the meeting. Give the main points with some other personal commentary if you think it would help. Use these helpful phrases to summarize the meeting:

Closing the meeting

Like a good story, a meeting has a beginning, a middle and an end. These phrases will help you end your meeting with grace:

Thanking attendees

Never forget to thank the busy people who took time out of their day to attend your meeting. Here are some helpful phrases to do that:

With that, you’re now ready to lead and participate effectively in any business meeting. These phrases and expressions are a great starting point for you. I hope you will put them to good use in your next meeting.

By listening and paying attention to the language used at meetings that you attend, you will even be able to add to this list. Good luck!