Note: This article is about group meetings in a company.
One-on-one meetings, sales meetings and personal presentations will be discussed in another blog. See also the pages in BeautifulAmericanEnglish.com for Sales & Presentations; Speaking to an Audience; and Interview Preparation.
Your Business English in a Company Meeting
At BeautifulAmericanEnglish, we teach you how to show your talents and your “best self” in meetings of all kinds.
At its most simple, “business English” is no different from the English you use every day. The same rules apply, especially if English is not your native language.
In business meetings, however, there are some important things to remember. We teach The Art of the Business Meeting at BeautifulAmericanEnglish.
In business meetings, just like anywhere else, remember: The best English is almost always the most SIMPLE English. You will never go wrong with simple, short sentences. Simple, short sentences make things easier for you – and they make things easier for your listeners. Plus, simple, short sentences sound very elegant. Why? Because the key to elegance is simplicity.
Remember also: Simple English is the best way to make sure your ideas are understood correctly – not misunderstood!
Of course, every profession has its own terms and language. The world of banking uses different words and ideas than the worlds of engineering or architecture or sales. You probably know all these special terms already. But are you pronouncing them correctly? At BeautifulAmericanEnglish, we make sure your pronunciation is clear and correct. We also show you how to explain technical terms to colleagues in other departments who might not know them. Here again, the key to your effectiveness is simplicity.
Why Meetings Are Difficult for English Learners
Many non-native English speakers find meetings very stressful – but here’s a secret: EVERYBODY finds meetings stressful!
When you speak in a meeting, your goal is not “perfect” English. (There is no such thing as “perfect” English, anyway!) At BeautifulAmericanEnglish, we teach you the real goal: To make your English clear, accurate, easy to understand, and pleasant to listen to.
Company meetings can be like a performance. However, a performance in the theater has a written script, many rehearsals, and a director to help you be the most convincing and effective. A business meeting, on the other hand, does not have this kind of help. There is no script (though there is usually a written agenda beforehand) and you do not know what is going to happen. At their worst, meetings can be a mixture of a wrestling match and a performance: They are about competition, not cooperation. Or they can be about simply “looking good” (which is also about competition, not cooperation).
This “performance” can be even more difficult if you are not confident about your English. But remember: Ultimately, it is your ideas and your attitude that matter most, not your perfect grammar. An accent is important ONLY if it makes you difficult to understand.
That is why we concentrate on clear pronunciation at BeautifulAmericanEnglish. We make sure you are prepared!
Some Common Business English Mistakes in Meetings
The most common problem for English-learners in business meetings is being nervous! The best way to avoid being nervous is to be prepared. Read the agenda before the meeting, and think about the issues. Think about the policy or problem that is the subject of the meeting. Think of possible solutions and ways you and your department can help. Have facts to back up those proposals. If English is not your most comfortable language, you must be even more prepared. At BeautifulAmericanEnglish, we make sure you are ready for any situation!
Another common mistake is to resist change! Change is always difficult. People almost never like it, even if it is change for the better. However, if the management of your company wants to move in a certain direction, the best thing you can do is to try to be helpful. If there is a new policy, don’t try to block it. See what you and your department can contribute and do to help. If you need to mention a problem, try to have a possible solution ready as well.
If the purpose of the meeting is to discuss and decide on a new policy, not just announce it, that is a different situation. There, your objections can be more useful. But if a decision has already been made on a higher level, your job is to help that decision succeed, not find ways to make it fail. You would be surprised how many people make that wrong choice.
At BeautifulAmericanEnglish, we help you find a strategy that will make you a great team player. All our lessons and client lists are completely confidential.
8 Ways to Improve Your Business English for Meetings
- The best thing to remember is to keep your English simple. We mentioned this above, but it is worth repeating. Keeping it simple will be easier for you, it will be easier for your listeners, and it will create less stress.
- If you need to make a major presentation in a meeting, this requires special coaching. See our BeautifulAmericanEnglish pages for Sales & Presentations; Speaking to an Audience; and Interview Preparation.
- To get comfortable, make some casual greetings to colleagues before the meeting starts. Say hello and “Are you on your way to the meeting?” when you see them in the hallways. Introduce yourself. Ask them casual questions like, “How was your weekend?” “Is your department getting ready for XYZ [something that is coming up]?” This will establish friendly contact with other meeting participants and will help you be a part of the group. When the meeting starts, if will not be like jumping into cold water. These casual conversations warm things up for you and everyone else.
- There is an important balance between talking too much and talking too little. If you just sit there silently at a meeting, you will be invisible or a “mystery person” to your colleagues. No one trusts or likes a mystery person. Don’t feel you need to comment on every point that is mentioned. Then you are speaking too much. Ask yourself this: Does what I want to say move the meeting forward, or does it hold it back? In any case, it is important that you say something in the meeting if it is appropriate to do so.
- Make personal notes for yourself on who the other meeting participants are, with their names and departments. Write anything you need so you will remember who is who, including what they look like and what they said. These people might be useful to you in the future! After the meeting, feel free to message a couple of them to compliment them on some of the things they said. Here’s an important secret: People in other departments can be very valuable! They are often very useful resources: If a problem comes up in your team, it is great to be able to say: “I know someone in the XYZ Department. Let me see if I can get that information or their cooperation on this.” Remember, also, that in a company you never know who will be in which department in the future, or who will be whose boss. Any friendly contacts you can make can only be useful. Actually, you might be the one who wants to move to another department some day. Having friends there will help you. Get to know as many people as you can get to know within your organization.
- Always try to help your colleagues look good. That will make you look even better! If you have a comment to make, try to start by saying, “Peggy just made a great point, and it makes me think that XYZ …” This will establish you as a friendly presence and a team player. You will be someone who is trying to advance the meeting, not hold it back. You will be someone people can trust. If you hold the light directly on yourself, it can be glaring. Being a source of light for others makes you shine even brighter.
- A good way to participate is to try to summarize what you have heard. This clarifies everything for everyone, including yourself.
- Always, always, always say both your first and last names! If you have a foreign name, say it extra slowly and clearly. Saying only your first name is a big mistake! It is unprofessional and it makes you anonymous. A meeting is an opportunity for people to get to know you and see your talents. They cannot do that if all they know is “John” or “Mary.”
Useful Business English Phrases for Meetings
Here are some good simple phrases you should know:
- “To piggy-back on what Fred just said…” This is a way to compliment someone else’s idea and take it further along.
- “I’m excited by…” This shows your approval and enthusiasm for someone’s idea or the company’s plans.
- If you have a reason to object to an idea, here is a nice way to do it: “When we put this plan into effect, how can we avoid XYZ?” This shows you are cooperating and it shows you want to find a solution to a possible problem, not just stand in the way.
- If your department has a stake in a policy, a good way to say it is: “An immediate issue we are facing in the XYZ Department is.…” Don’t forget to say which department you are from and what its function is.
- Even if you have not spoken often during the meeting, a good way to participate is to summarize at the end: Start by saying: “I want to make sure I understand this new plan. We are going to start with A, then check B before going on to C, and we will gather our findings in three months. Am I correct?” This will be helpful to everyone and it will show your ability to translate a possibly long and complicated meeting into concrete steps everyone can follow. This is a valuable service.
Conclusion
How Business English Coaching Can Help
Every one of the points mentioned in this article are things that we teach here at BeautifulAmericanEnglish.com. No one is born knowing these things!
Our decades of experience in large companies, including The New York Times, are your best resource.
In our personally designed one-on-one lessons online, we practice role-play in meeting situations and we coach you in how to show your best and most effective self. If you wish, we can discuss with you (completely confidentially, of course!) the issues you are facing in your company and your department. We role-play and practice ways of saying things that will help you the most.
Meetings are public events within a company’s private world: We will make sure that you shine!