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[Mastering Meeting Logistics: Scheduling, Rescheduling, and Canceling in English]-[430. Scheduling meetings: Essential phrases and how to say them]

The InFluency Podcast · B1 · 2024-09-17

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📋 Summary

Mastering Meeting Logistics in English

Effective communication regarding meeting logistics is a cornerstone of professional fluency. In this podcast, Hadar provides a comprehensive guide to scheduling, rescheduling, confirming, and canceling meetings, with a critical focus on pronunciation, connected speech, and rhythmic patterns.

The Importance of Pronunciation and Connected Speech

Fluency is not merely about vocabulary; it is about how phrases are delivered. Hadar emphasizes that learners should treat these lessons as training for "rhythm, intonation, and stress." By mastering short phrases, learners can improve their ability to understand native speakers and express themselves with greater confidence.

Scheduling Meetings

When setting up a meeting, the goal is clarity and professional tone. Key phrases include:

  • Formal: "Can we schedule a meeting for [day] at [time]?" or "What's your availability on [day]?"
  • Less Formal: "Are you free to meet on [day] at [time]?" or "What's a good time for us to meet?"

Pronunciation Tip: Hadar notes that in American English, the word "schedule" features a "d-j" sound and a dark "L" at the end. Additionally, learners should be mindful of the "flap T" in words like "meeting" and "availability," which often sounds more like a soft "D."

Rescheduling and Confirming

Rescheduling requires a polite transition, often beginning with an apology. Phrases such as "I'm so sorry, I'm going to need to reschedule our meeting" or "Would it be possible to reschedule?" are highly effective.

To confirm an existing appointment, learners can use:

  • Formal: "I just wanted to confirm that we're scheduled for..."
  • Informal: "Are we still on for Friday?" (Note: "Still on" is a common idiomatic expression for being "still scheduled.")

Canceling Meetings

Canceling requires clear, direct communication to ensure the other party is informed. Using phrases like "I'm going to have to cancel our meeting" or "Unfortunately, I need to cancel our meeting scheduled for..." remains professional. If the new time is uncertain, Hadar suggests using the phrase: "I'm going to get back to you about when we can meet."

The Power of Repetition

The core takeaway of the session is that these phrases must become "automatic." Hadar stresses that learners should not just memorize the vocabulary but should practice aloud, focusing on the "subconscious" learning of rhythm and intonation. Utilizing audio resources to mimic the speaker’s pacing is the most effective way to integrate these patterns into everyday speech.

By focusing on these specific linguistic tools, speakers can navigate the nuances of professional scheduling, ensuring they come across as clear, confident, and fluent English communicators.

🎯Key Sentences

1
Are we still on?
2
Are we still on for Friday?
3
Are you ready?
4
Let's do it!
5
Let's break it down.
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📝Key Phrases

1
Are we still on?
2
Something came up.
3
What's your availability?
4
What's a good time for us to meet?
5
I'm going to need to reschedule.
Expand All

📖 Transcript

I just wanted to confirm we're scheduled for the 15th of August.
And a more informal way to confirm is, are we still on for Friday?
Are we still on? Are we still on?
Are we still on? Still on means scheduled.
The meeting is still scheduled.
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