30 Key English Phrases to Use in a Meeting
Whether you are running a meeting or attending one, knowing the right English phrases helps you take part with confidence. This guide gives you 30 ready-to-use expressions for every stage of a meeting, opening, handing over, keeping to time, summarising and closing, plus a few tips to prepare so nothing catches you off guard, in person or on Zoom.
Prepare before your meeting
Good preparation lowers the pressure and raises your confidence. A little groundwork beforehand makes the meeting itself far easier:
- It is perfectly fine to ask people to speak slower or to explain themselves.
- Learn the key phrases used in your business sector, ideally in your lessons.
- Listen to English radio or podcasts beforehand to get used to different accents.
- Practise raising a point and asking questions before the meeting.
- Ask your teacher to help you with business idioms and phrasal verbs.
- Prepare a few questions in advance that you want to ask.
- For online meetings, rehearse your key points with English classes via Zoom.
Opening a meeting
Once everyone has arrived or connected, the chairperson welcomes everyone and thanks them for coming.
- Well, since everyone is here, we should get started.
- Hello, everyone. Thank you for coming today.
- I think we’ll begin now. First, I’d like to welcome you all.
- I really appreciate you all attending today.
- We have a lot to cover today, so we really should begin.
Asking someone to speak
Often you will introduce a colleague to talk about a specific item on the agenda.
- Now, John will tell us more about …
- I would like to hand it over to Sarah, who can share more on this topic.
- Paolo is now going to take over.
- I’d like to hand you over to Jack, who will talk you through …
- Now I’d like to introduce Betty, who is going to talk about …
Staying focused and on time
Meetings often run longer than planned, so keep an eye on the clock and make sure you cover everything on the agenda.
- I think we’ve spent enough time on this topic.
- We’re running short on time, so let’s move on.
- We’re running behind schedule, so we’ll have to skip the next item.
- We’ve spent too long on this issue, so we’ll leave it for now.
- We’ll have to come back to this at a later time.
- Let’s stick to the task at hand, shall we?
- I think we’re steering off topic a bit with this.
- Let’s save this for another meeting.
- We’ve lost sight of the point here.
Summarising a meeting
A short recap makes sure everyone leaves on the same page. Use one of these to wrap up the discussion.
- Here are some of the main points we discussed today.
- To sum up, we’ve talked about …
- I’d like to briefly cover the topics we mentioned today.
- Before we finish, let’s go over everything we talked about today.
- Let’s quickly summarise the main points of today’s meeting.
Closing a meeting
Before everyone leaves, it is good to thank them and set the next meeting date.
- I guess that will be all for today.
- Well, look at that, we’ve finished ahead of schedule for once.
- If no one has anything else to add, I think we’ll wrap this up.
- Again, thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to be here today.
- Thank you for your participation in today’s meeting.
- We’ll meet again on the first of next month via Zoom.
Attending a meeting in English can feel stressful, but the key is preparation. If you are worried about people speaking too fast, using idioms, or having an unfamiliar accent, practising in advance makes a real difference.
Speak up in your next meeting with confidence
Our Professional & Business English course gives you one-to-one lessons with experienced native teachers, where you rehearse real meeting situations and the exact phrases you need.
Frequently asked questions
How can I feel more confident speaking English in meetings?
How do I politely open a meeting in English?
What can I say to keep a meeting on time?
How do I close a meeting professionally?
How can I prepare for a meeting in English on Zoom?
Keep these phrases handy, prepare a little before each meeting, and you will find it far easier to follow what is happening and to make your own points clearly.
