{"id":148793,"date":"2021-06-08T06:57:53","date_gmt":"2021-06-08T10:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/business-english-meetings\/"},"modified":"2025-01-30T04:26:07","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T09:26:07","slug":"business-english-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/english\/business-english-meetings\/","title":{"rendered":"30 Top Phrases to Excel in Business English Meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"

$1 billion per minute – that was how fast Masayoshi Son, one of Japan\u2019s wealthiest businessmen, managed to raise money in a meeting in Saudi Arabia.<\/span><\/p>\n

Masayoshi Son spent 45 minutes talking to former Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. By the end of the meeting, bin Salman had committed $45 billion to Son\u2019s venture fund for investing in startups.<\/span><\/p>\n

Because Son had mastered English, he could express himself confidently – and pitch to Bin Salman in a way that other people wouldn\u2019t have been able to pull off.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like Son, maybe you\u2019re dealing with clients from other countries. Or maybe you\u2019re part of an international team. In both cases, English is likely to be the language that you\u2019ll be turning to the most during business meetings. Your proficiency in English can have a huge influence on the outcome of these meetings – such as whether you can successfully close deals or gain common ground with a client.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this blog post, we\u2019ll fill you in on the <\/span>essentials of business English meetings –<\/span><\/b>\u00a0from top vocabulary phrases to cultural tips that\u2019ll help you get along with others professionally.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Types of Business English Meetings<\/b><\/h3>\n

There\u2019s a huge variety of business English meetings that you might find yourself in. You might be doing a quick update session with your team, checking in with freelancers, or coordinating a project with a client. On the less formal side, you could also be in a<\/span> team-building meeting<\/span><\/a> where you\u2019re indulging in games and happy hour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

To keep it simple, you can think of business English meetings based on these categories:<\/span><\/p>\n

One-on-One vs. Group<\/b><\/h4>\n

The number of participants<\/span> in your meeting matters. Most business English meetings involve a group, so unless you\u2019ll be managing the meeting or presenting in the spotlight, you\u2019ll usually have to speak less. Still, you\u2019ll have to be observant of social cues from the other participants.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With one-on-one meetings, you\u2019ll have more of a chance to connect with the other person. Since one-on-one meetings can be less intimidating, people can be more open and willing to share what they think.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Internal vs External<\/b><\/h4>\n

During internal meetings, you\u2019re talking to people from within your group or company, while external meetings are held with clients, partners, and agencies – anyone outside your company.<\/span><\/p>\n

Internal meetings tend to be more relaxed. Participants already know each other, and you have a common goal to work towards.<\/span> External meetings<\/span><\/a> -especially with clients – tend to be more formal and even high-stakes. Negotiation and disagreements are also likely, so people are more careful with their words and behavior.<\/span><\/p>\n

In-Person vs. Remote\u00a0<\/b><\/h4>\n

Meetings are traditionally in-person, but<\/span> remote meetings<\/span><\/a> are already becoming the norm – especially since participants might not even be in the same country. Although you\u2019ll have to be prepared either way, there are huge differences between these types of meetings.<\/span><\/p>\n

In-person meetings have more of a personal touch because you\u2019re face-to-face with the other person. You\u2019ll probably engage in more small talk. On the other hand, remote meetings are convenient, but socializing is harder and technical issues can pop up more often.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Since remote meetings have their own set of rules (and English vocabulary) compared to in-person meetings, they can take some getting used to. <\/span><\/p>\n

English Vocabulary for Business Meetings\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Whatever business meeting you\u2019ll be joining, they do have some commonalities. The leader of the meeting discusses the agenda at the start, participants interact with each other throughout the meeting, and then there\u2019s a wrap-up at the end – with maybe a next meeting being scheduled.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a summary, we\u2019ve rounded up the <\/span>top English vocabulary for business meetings<\/b> below, complete with example sentences:<\/span><\/p>\n

Starting a Meeting<\/b><\/h4>\n

You don\u2019t jump into the main points of the meeting right away – it takes at least a couple of minutes for participants to settle in, especially when they\u2019re not all arriving at the same time. During this time, people might make small talk with each other to break the ice. Once there\u2019s a suitable number of participants present, the leader of the meeting greets everyone and then signals the start of the meeting with these phrases.<\/span><\/p>\n

Examples:\u00a0<\/strong><\/i><\/p>\n