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Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod for today's lesson on how to start a meeting.
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Many jobs require us to spend a lot of time in meetings.
Sometimes we might think there are too many meetings.
In part we might feel this way because a lot of meetings aren't run very well or facilitated effectively.
There's a good chance that you will have to run meetings someday if you don't already.
You have a chance to make sure those meetings are effective by running the meeting well.
Fortunately, running a meeting involves skills that you can learn.
Today, we'll focus on starting a meeting which begins with getting people's attention and acknowledging them.
Next, you might clearly state the purpose or goals of the meeting before reviewing the agenda with everyone.
Then, you may invite someone to begin speaking about the first item on the agenda.
In this lesson we'll hear the start of a meeting about budget cuts at an international shipping company.
The meeting is being led by Martin, the general manager.
We'll also hear Sandra, David, and Sam, employees who are attending the meeting.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
One, what does Martin apologize for as he is acknowledging the meeting attendees?
2.
What does Martin say is the objective of the meeting?
3.
What does Martin invite Sandra to do at the end of the conversation?
All right.
Is everybody here?
Great.
I think we can get started.
Well, good morning, everyone.
I'm sorry I had to call this meeting at such short notice.
Did you all get a copy of the agenda?
Sorry, Martin.
Do you have an extra copy?
Here, you can have a look at mine.
Thanks, Dave.
Okay.
As you know, the main objective of this meeting is to agree on ways to make up the budget shortfall of 154000 we're facing.
I hate to say it, but it's belt tightening time.
Speaking of belt tightening, whatever we do, we can't cut the free gym memberships.
That would be totally demotivating, don't you think?
Let's get to that in a moment, Sam.
Let me first go through the agenda.
As you can see, we have a lot to cover.
From the agenda, there are 10 areas we've identified for potential cuts.
We'll run through them in order.
Any questions before we start?
Nope.
Nope.
We'll break for lunch at 1130, if that's okay with you guys.
That's fine.
Fine by me.
Sure.
Good.
Okay.
Let's move straight to the first point on the agenda, outsourcing cleaning.
Sandra, could you please kick off?
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at how Martin begins the meeting.
As we can hear, the first step is to get everyone's attention.
All right.
Is everybody here?
Great.
I think we can get started.
Some people or workplaces like to start meetings right on time.
Others prefer to wait until everyone is present before beginning.
Either way, you will have to signal to everyone that the meeting is starting.
Martin begins simply by saying all right and stating clearly and directly that they will start the meeting.
What are some other ways to get everyone's attention to begin a meeting?
Let's try some more examples.
Can I have your attention, please?
If we're all ready, I'd like to begin now.
Thanks for settling in.
Let's get started so we can stay on schedule.
Okay, everyone.
Time to get started.
So after getting everyone's attention, what does Martin do next?
Well, good morning, everyone.
I'm sorry I had to call this meeting at such short notice.
Did you all get a copy of the agenda?
After getting people's attention, Martin wants to acknowledge the people attending.
Acknowledging people shows respect for their time and increases their willingness to participate.
Martin acknowledges people with a nice good morning and by apologizing by calling the meeting at short notice.
This means that he didn't tell people far ahead of time about the meeting.
Some people might be annoyed by that.
By acknowledging this fact, Martin can improve their participation in the meeting.
Let's practice some other ways of acknowledging attendees at the beginning of a meeting.
Thanks everyone for attending today.
I know everyone's busy, so I really appreciate you taking the time to join us.
I'd like to start by welcoming the team and any guests joining us today.
Thank you all for making time to be here.
Now, after acknowledging attendees, Martin asks if everyone has a copy of the agenda.
Let's listen to how they respond.
Sorry, Martin.
Do you have an extra copy?
Here, you can have a look at mine.
Thanks, Dave.
Okay.
As you know, the main objective of this meeting is to agree on ways to make up the budget shortfall of 154000 we're facing.
I hate to say it, but it's belt tightening time.
Once it's clear that everyone can see the agenda, Martin states the objective of the meeting.
An objective is a goal.
Every meeting should have one.
If a meeting doesn't have a clear objective, then why should people participate?
As Martin says, their objective in this meeting is to agree on how to deal with a budget shortfall.
This means they don't have enough money for all their expenses and they will have to tighten their belts or cut costs.
Stating the meeting objectives is key to beginning a meeting effectively.
So let's run through some more ways of stating the purpose.
Today, we are here to talk about the project timeline.
The goal of this meeting is to plan next steps on our marketing campaign.
Our main objective today is to review progress on the new product.
I'd like to make sure we leave today with a clear decision on the way forward.
As we can hear, Sam has one very specific opinion about cutting costs, Speaking of belt tightening.
Whatever we do, we can't cut the free gym memberships.
That would be totally demotivating, don't you think?
Let's get to that in a moment, Sam.
Let me first go through the agenda.
As you can see, we have a lot to cover.
From the agenda, there are 10 areas we've identified for potential cuts.
We'll run through them in order.
Any questions before we start?
When you run a meeting, people are relying on you to keep the group focused on the agenda.
That includes asking people to wait for the right time to talk about certain topics, just as Martin does when Sam wants to discuss gym memberships.
Instead of diving into the details, Martin wants to begin by explaining the agenda.
As he says, there's a lot to cover or discuss.
This makes it especially important to focus the discussion.
And if people understand what is covered in the agenda, then it will be more open to letting the facilitator do his job.
How else can we briefly explain an agenda at the beginning of a meeting?
Let's try some more examples.
First, we'll do a quick round of updates.
Then we can discuss the schedule.
We have three things to cover today.
Budget, timeline, and next steps.
I'll give a short update, then we'll hear about each region.
We'll start with a quick report, then go through each department individually.
After reviewing the agenda, Martin asks if anyone has any questions.
Let's get back to the dialogue as the conversation continues from there.
Nope.
Nope.
We'll break for lunch at 1130, if that's okay with you guys.
That's fine.
Fine by me.
Sure.
Good.
Okay.
Let's move straight to the first point on the agenda, outsourcing cleaning.
Sandra, could you please kick off?
The start of a meeting is also the time to discuss any logistical matters.
This may include timing of the meeting or the schedule of the day's activities.
On this topic, Martin lets everyone know they'll break or pause for lunch at 1130.
Now that everyone understands the agenda and how much time they have before a break, Martin begins with the first item.
In fact, he just introduces the first topic before asking Sandra to kick off.
To kick off means to begin something.
This expression comes from football, a sport where each game begins with a kickoff.
It's important to remember that running the meeting doesn't mean you do all the talking.
Other people will have opinions and important information to share, and it may be appropriate to invite specific people to speak about certain topics, as Martin has done.
Let's practice more ways of asking someone to start on an agenda item.
Let's begin with your report, Maria.
Sarah, would you mind starting off with a quick update on your end?
John, can you begin by giving us a rundown on the numbers from last quarter?
Once you're discussing the first agenda item, then the meeting has really begun.
At this point, you've successfully opened the meeting, and now your job is to manage the discussion, and that involves a different set of skills, as we'll see in our next lesson.
Now let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
Imagine you are a manager at an engineering company.
You've called a meeting to discuss new project proposals.
Now you have to open the meeting.
I'll give you some suggestions for what you can say to start the meeting and we'll provide an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Start by asking if you can have everyone's attention to begin the meeting.
Okay.
Can I have everyone's attention so we can begin the meeting?
Now, thank everyone for their time and say you understand they're all busy.
Answer.
Thanks so much for your time today.
I know you're all very busy.
Next, state that the goal today is to discuss the new project proposals.
Answer.
Our goal today is to discuss new project proposals.
Now say that after a report from engineering, you'll discuss one proposal from each region.
After a report from Engineering, we'll discuss one proposal for each region.
Finally, ask Sue to begin with some updates from the Engineering team.
So, Sue, could you begin with an update from the Engineering team?
That's all for this lesson on how to start a meeting.
We've learned how to get people's attention and acknowledge their participation.
We've also covered how to state the meeting objective, explain the agenda and invite someone to begin with the first topic.
For more practice.
Premium members can access the online resources and PDF transcripts for this and other lessons on the BEP website.
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Thanks for listening and see you again soon.
