Business English for Meetings

unit 1

Could we meet next week?Unit 1

meeting

2. brainstorming1. progress 6.

shareholder5. board3. kick-off

4. team

E

F

B

D

C

Aa. People who work in the same department have this

type of meeting regularly.b.This is a meeting of a company’s most senior

managers.c. If you need new ideas, you have this type of meeting.d.This is a meeting for a company’s investors.e. At this type of meeting, you talk about what has been

accomplished on a project.f. This type of meeting is held at the beginning of a

project.

Which sentence can be used?

1. To arrange a meeting?2. To discuss the length of a meeting?3. To arrange the time of a meeting?4. To say that a suggested time for a

meeting is not convenient?5. To confirm the time of a meeting?

Sentence scramblesLook at the words and put them in the correct order to make a sentence.

wouldYes,

thatbe

fine

like to

you when

meet would

40 Seconds

atThursday

how11:30

aboutmorning

40 Seconds

would for

benext Tuesdayyou

how40 Seconds

toforward

youI look

thenmeeting

40 Seconds

Asking for a meeting

• Could we schedule a time to meet next week?

• I’d like to schedule a meeting as soon as possible.

• Can we meet and go over this together?• Perhaps we could meet and go over the

details in person?

Suggesting a meeting time

• How about Monday at nine?• How about sometime after lunch?• Could we meet next week?• Can I suggest 7:30 on Thursday evening?• Would half past five suit you?

Saying that you aren’t able to attend

• Sorry, I can’t make it then.• I’m afraid I have another appointment

then.• I’m a bit tied up then. How about another

time?

Saying that you can attend

• Sounds good.• Yes, that works for me.• Yes, that would be fine.• Certainly, I look forward to meeting

with you.

Confirming the day and time

• See you on Monday at seven.• So, I look forward to seeing you on

Tuesday at four.

Informal

• It was nice to speak to you today.• Thanks for agreeing to meet with me

later on.• Just to confirm the date and time of

our meeting:• Give me a call if you have any

questions before the meeting.• -From Dr. Grayson

Formal / informal

• It was a pleasure to speak with you today.

• I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for agreeing to meet with me.

• It was nice to speak to you today.

• Thanks for agreeing to meet with me.

Formal / informal

• I would like to confirm the date and time of our meeting:

• Should you have any questions in advance of our meeting, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me.

• Just to confirm the date and time of our meeting:

• Give me a call if you have any questions before the meeting.

Formal / informal

• I very much look forward to meeting you.

• Yours sincerely

• Looking forward to seeing you then.

• Regards

Email Etiquette-Top 10

• Professionalism counts!• Title in the subject line• ‘Need to know’ rule• Keep it to brief• Content should be clean• Use spell check• Be careful not to ‘Reply to All’• Avoid courtesy messages• Don’t clog the system• Talking to people is still okay!

Four Seasons Email Use Guidelines

Addressing• Ensure your hotel name is on the email letterhead• When an email is addressed to several people – assume

the message is written to the people in the “To:” field.• “CC” field is only for people’s information• “BCC” is not to be used unless absolutely necessary as

it does not build trust.

Replying

• Determine if an email requires a response before replying to it

• Make sure to include the original message on a reply or forward if you have added recipients

• When using ‘Reply with History’ or ‘Forward’ remove attachments and logos which are no longer needed

Attachments

• Type text messages directly into an email• Text attachments should be limited to contracts

or other specialized documents• This will ensure that the recipient can read your

message easily• They may not have the program or ability to read

your attachment

E-mail Guidelines

Use the following plain text format to list your contact information:

Example:

Warm regards

Nikita ThakurReservations ManagerFour Seasons Hotel Mumbai114 Dr E Moses Road, Worli, Mumbai 400018 IndiaDirect Line: +91 22 6662 7343Direct Fax: +91 22 6662 7344Email: mailto:

nikita.thakur@fourseasons.comweb: http://www.fourseasons.com

E-mail Guidelines• Whenever you send an e-mail message, please:

“Sign” the message with your name, although there is no need to repeat your contact information each time you send a message to the same person.

• Include the word “mailto:” in your e-mail address to create a hyperlink that allows other people to connect to your address without retyping it.

• Phone number format appropriate to our country: + 91 (22) 6662 7343

Six Rules of Email• Concise – don’t use unnecessary words

• Correct – accurate, no mistakes

• Complete – all necessary information

• Clear – easy to understand

• Coherent – ensure others can understand what you mean

• Careful – tone, context, vocabulary

To: anna.evans@dbd.comFrom: mark.peters@dbd.comSubject: Arrangements for meeting with sales teamHi Anna,I’ve just arrange a meeting with Ian Sweeney in sales for Monday at 2 p.m. Can you take care of the preparation, please?Could you _______ a meeting room and ________ Ian and me the room number? Also, can you _________ the agenda to Ian and the consultants? And we’ll need AV, can you _______ a projector and speakers for us? Don’t forget to ______ some coffee and biscuits.Finally, can you _______ the meeting, please? The discussion is important so I’ll need you to ______ the minutes.Thanks for your help.Best wishes Mark

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