Pillar 4 — Meetings & Spoken Interaction: Moving the Conversation Forward

Unlike writing where you can draft and revise before sharing, meetings require you to speak in real time, not necessarily in your native language, with no pause button. This makes meetings challenging even for fluent writers.

To move a meeting forward rather than just survive it, it could be effective to focus on three key skills:

1. Gain time without going silent: Instead of pausing and risking hesitation, use short bridging phrases to keep the focus and maintain a positive tone. Silence can make listeners uncomfortable, but a filler phrase keeps the conversation smooth.
2. Redirect, don’t dominate: Meetings can come off-topic or get side conversations. The goal is to direct the discussion back to the agenda by acknowledging what was said then guiding the audience without shutting anyone down.
3. Confirm out loud, don’t assume: In live conversations misunderstandings can happen. To avoid this, repeat what you heard – such as “So what I’ve understood is…” – to clarify and ensure everyone is on the same page.

While AI tools can summarize meeting content, only you can read the room, sense unspoken feelings and decide when to let discussions run to build agreement. Developing these real-time skills will improve your confidence and effectiveness in spoken interactions.

The phrase bank

Opening a meeting and setting the agenda

• “Thanks everyone for joining – let’s start with a quick rundown of what we need to cover.”
• “We have three items today: [X], [Y], [Z]. Let’s aim to close each before moving on.”
• “Before we dive in, does anyone need to add anything to the agenda?”
• “Let’s keep this to 30 minutes – I’ll flag when we’re at time.”

Buying time to think (without sounding lost)

• “That’s a good question – let me think about that for a second.”
• “Let me come back to that point in a moment.”
• “I want to make sure I answer this properly, so give me a second.”
• “That’s worth unpacking – can I circle back to it after this next point?”

Inviting others to speak / drawing out quieter voices

• “I’d like to hear from [name] on this before we move on.”
• “Does anyone see this differently?”
• “We haven’t heard from everyone yet – any thoughts from your side?”
• “I know this affects your team directly – what’s your take?”

Interrupting politely (when you need to)

• “Sorry to jump in – can I add something here?”
• “Can I stop you for a second before we move past this?”
• “Just to build on that quickly…”
• “I don’t want to lose this thread – can I come in here?”

Redirecting off-topic discussion

• “That’s a good point, worth its own conversation – let’s park it and get back to the agenda.”
• “Let’s come back to that after the call – for now, can we focus on [topic]?”
• “I want to respect everyone’s time, so let’s stay on [agenda item] for now.”
• “Good catch – let’s note that and revisit once we’ve covered today’s items.”

Paraphrasing and confirming understanding

• “So what I’m hearing is [X] – is that right?”
• “Let me make sure I’ve got this: you’re saying [X], correct?”
• “To play that back – the concern is [X], not [Y]?”
• “Just to confirm before we move on, we’re agreed on [X]?”

Disagreeing in real time

• “I see it a bit differently – can I share why?”
• “I’d push back on that slightly – here’s my concern.”
• “That’s one way to look at it; from my side, [alternative view].”
• “I’m not fully convinced yet – what makes you confident in that approach?”

Summarizing and assigning next steps

• “So to wrap up: [X] is agreed, [Y] is still open, and [Z] needs a decision by [date].”
• “Action items: [name] will handle [task] by [date], and [name] will follow up on [task].”
• “Let’s confirm owners before we close – who’s taking [item]?”
• “I’ll send a summary after this so we’re all aligned.”

Closing a meeting

• “Thanks everyone – I’ll follow up in writing with the action items.”
• “Same time next week to check progress on these?”
• “Anything we missed before we close?”
• “Appreciate everyone’s time – talk soon.”

For virtual meetings specifically

• “You’re on mute, just so you know.”
• “We lost you for a second – could you repeat the last part?”
• “I’ll drop the link/document in the chat for reference.”
• “Let’s do a quick round so we don’t talk over each other – [name], go ahead.”

Phrases to avoid in meetings

• “Whatever, it doesn’t matter” – reads as disengagement, even if meant casually.
• “As I already said…” – sounds like a reprimand; repeat the point without the preamble instead.
• Going straight to “No” without acknowledgment – pair pushback with a reason, always.
• Long, uninterrupted monologues – in a live setting, check in every 30–40 seconds so others can weigh in

Real-time structure

Unlike an email, a meeting doesn’t give you a second draft – but it does give you room to manage the flow live:

• Open: Establish a clear agenda so all participants know what “done” looks like.
• Steer Actively: Invite quieter voices to speak, redirect tangents, and manage silence or drift.
• Confirm Alignment: Verify understanding out loud at key decision points, rather than waiting until the end.
• Close: Assign explicit action items with designated owners and deadlines out loud, followed by written confirmation.

The phrases above are only tools for that structure – used without it, even perfect phrasing won’t stop a meeting from running long and ending with no clear next step.

Aliona is one of EMA’s own course trainers, based in Antalya, specialising in Business English. This is Pillar 4 of her weekly “9 Pillars of Business English” series, first shared on her LinkedIn, and continuing here on our blog every week. Catch up on Pillar 3: Negotiation Language, or read more about her on her trainer profile.