Although there are cultural differences in how you do a meeting, finishing or ending a business meeting is the same in English as in other languages. Firstly, you briefly summarize what has been confirmed or decided and say who is taking responsibility for different tasks. And then you try to arrange a suitable date, location and time for the next meeting. And of course, you have to thank people for attending.
In this online exercise on meetings, you will learn business English vocabulary and phrases for summarizing, ending meetings and arranging the next meeting. First, read the below dialogue/conversation and then do the quiz/test at the end to learn how to both use the vocabulary and say/pronounce it perfectly.
Click here to see more of our free online exercises on business meeting vocabulary
Read the following end of a meeting in a company that produces cleaning detergents.
From the context, try to guess what the meaning of the words/phrases in bold are. Then do the quiz at the end to check if you are right.
Chair:'Before we finish, I'll briefly go over what we have decided. Firstly, due to concerns about the increasing cost of the new washing powder project, the project will be put on hold until the next meeting.
Simon is going to take care of reviewing the project's budget to see where we can make cuts, the aim is to reduce its overall budget by 15%. Simon will also liaise with both the Finance and the R & D departments to make sure that everything is covered. He will present his findings and recommendations at the next meeting.
Sally is going to speak with the chemical supplier about obtaining a bigger discount or better terms on the price we'll pay for their product. I'm taking over from Ken for resolving the continuing problems that we have had with the IT network, whilst he's in China. I'm going to contact their service manager tomorrow and I'll update you about the situation by Friday at the latest.
Does anybody have anything more to add?
No? OK. Let's talk about when we should have the next meeting. Does anybody have any objections to holding the meeting here, on Thursday the twenty second at 2.30 in the afternoon?'
Attendee One:'I'm afraid that I'm tied up on that afternoon, I have a client visit at 3pm. Could we make it a little earlier?'
Attendee Two:'I'm afraid that I can't make it on Thursday at all. How about on the Wednesday at the same time?'
Chair:'Well, I'm ok with Wednesday. Does anybody have any objections?
No? Perfect. So we'll provisionally have the next meeting on Wednesday the twenty first at 2.30 in the afternoon. I'll confirm it in a couple of days.
Well I think that we've covered everything. I'll send you a copy of the minutes tomorrow morning. I'm sorry that the meeting has run over, but we have had a lot to talk about. Thank you all for coming today and we'll see each other in two weeks time.'
Below is a definition/description of each of the words/phrases in bold from the above text. Now choose the word/phrase from the question's selection box which you believe answers each question. Only use one word/phrase once. Click on the "Check" button at the bottom of the quiz to check your answers.
When the answer is correct, two icons will appear next to the answer. The icon contains extra information on the word/phrase. In the
icon, you can listen to the pronunciation of the word/phrase.
Now that you understand the meaning of the words/phrases and when to use them, practise using them by creating your own sentences with them in English. Also click on the icon next to each correct answer and listen how each is pronounced correctly.
Follow us on