Meetings in English are not uncommon for a businessman. English is the most important business language so it can be a drawback for any company with international relationships doesn’t have employees and senior staff able to speak English fluently.
Why are Business Meetings in English so challenging?
If you’re already part of a company possibly you’ve been witness some business Meetings in English. With enough understanding of the language you’d be able to point out a few things:
- The language spoken in business meetings in English is quite different to the one spoken in casual conversations. The first one is usually more focussed on subjects related to economy. In most business meetings you can hear a lot of difficult words referring to specific economic subjects.
- The English spoken in business meetings is usually formal. As important subjects are treated during the meeting and most people involved in them are co-workers, associates, colleagues, clients or even competitors there’s the need to show respect even in the way people talk to each other.
- Time is gold, and most businessmen know this very well. Therefore, many times these meetings are supposed to be over in a short period of time, so people need to speak faster than usual in order to cover all the content that needs to be discussed.
It can be a true challenge to keep track of everything that is being said in a business meeting in English. However, there are some ways you can overcome all difficulties, understand and participate in one of these meetings. Nevertheless, only practice and time will give you the expertise needed to handle them completely.
Tips to Handle Business Meetings in English
- 1. Study vocabulary related to your business field. It can be helpful to learn words related to your line of business. For example if you sell car parts and you’re going to a meeting with a client or a provider, it’s an excellent idea to memorize words such as “engine”, “brakes”, “valves” and “pistons”, since they may be mentioned a couple of times during conversations.
- 2. Make a list of your main ideas. Just write a couple of the ideas you’ll need to mention on your business meeting in English and look for different ways to say them. Keep them short and precise so they’ll be easier to remember.
- 3. Don’t feel ashamed to carry some backup material with you. Sometimes your notes can be very helpful during a speech. Don’t hesitate to have them by your side. Use them in case you forgot a word, how to say something you want to say or any information relevant for the meeting.
You can look for some videos about business meetings on YouTube and listen to them carefully, repeat them as many times as possible in order to understand the general and specific ideas mentioned by the different participants.
Don’t give up, only time will sharpen your listening and speaking skills so you won’t have to worry about anything when you are having Business Meetings in English.
If you want to work on your English for business, learn new vocabulary, how to use them on a daily basis, you can get some of our business English lessons online. You will be able to focus on your specific needs and objectives with your private teacher online. 30 min are easy to schedule even if you are busy.
