How to Smoothly Start a Meeting as a Chair | Business English Tips

How to smoothly start a meeting (when you’re in charge)

Hi there! I’m your English coach Christina, welcome to Speak English with Christina, where you’ll learn American culture and business know-how to become confident in English.

Meetings are an important part of a business process. But you need to run them well! You might want some help with your English to get them started smoothly, and feel confident about being in charge, so here are the exact sentences your colleagues are used to hearing at the start of a meeting.

Let’s go!

Start With a Quick Introduction

Where can you pitch your business? Literally in any conversation… if the opportunity arises naturally! I even heard about a friend of the family back in the USA who would take business cards to funerals because, hey… you NEVER know when an opportunity will present itself! At least that’s what he said…

There are lots of subtle opportunities that you may not think about. Like when you’re in line at the grocery store, or talking to other parents at your kid’s school, or having drinks or dinner with new acquaintances. The key is to be able to quickly identify natural, non-pushy pitching opportunities in those small talk conversations.

Now you can announce the subject of the meeting. Add its duration as well!

Example:

Today, we’re going to talk about our new software integration. The meeting should last around an hour.

Finally, you can let the participants introduce themselves.

Example:

Before we begin, let’s go around and introduce ourselves. Bill, would you like to start ?

Setting up a Smooth Meeting

After the introductions, you can take a moment to set up a smooth meeting.

Make sure that someone is taking minutes – that means, writing down what’s being said. For instance, you can ask :

– Emily, could you take the minutes today and send them to everyone after the meeting, please?

Another Tip: You should also make sure to establish the rules clearly.

For example:
Before we begin, remember to say your name before you speak. And let’s avoid cutting anyone off when a person speak, so we can all give our full input.

Finally, you can check on the participants’ preparation. Like:
Has everyone read the minutes of the last meeting? Are there any questions about them?

Start the Actual Meeting

Now it’s time to begin the actual meeting.

It starts by presenting the agenda. A meeting without an agenda is going to feel purposeless, and in the worst case it will waste everyone’s time. So be sure to have clear goals and points to discuss, and don’t stray from that plan.

Example:
We have several things to cover today, and limited time. Let’s start with the first item on today’s agenda.

And now you can begin your presentation!
Example:
OK. As you know, we did some tests on the software, but we had some problems. For instance, we…

And your meeting is off to a great start!
So, to recap:

– Start your meeting by greeting everyone, introducing yourself and the participants.
– Set up clear rules, an end time, and the topic of the meeting.
– Be sure someone is taking notes, and follow the agenda.