06/17/2024
Online meetings have taken over our work schedules. Participating in these meetings in a second language can be stressful. The responsibility of chairing a multiple-participant meeting can be an even bigger challenge. Our "20 useful phrases to manage online meetings English" language toolbox gives you a framework of expressions to navigate these situations.
Starting the Meeting
1. “Hello everyone. Welcome.”
2. “Can everyone see me/hear me clearly?”
3. “Let’s just wait until everyone has joined the meeting.”
4. “Before we start, please mute your microphones when you’re not speaking.”
Agenda and Objectives
5. “Today’s agenda includes …”
6. “Our main objective/aim today is to…”
7. “Does anyone have any additions to the agenda?”
Managing Participation
8. “Please click on the ‘raise your hand’ button if you would like to speak.”
9. “Let’s hear from [name] on this topic.”
10. “I’ll hand over to [name] to talk about the next item on the agenda.”
Clarifying and Summarizing
11. “Could you please clarify what you meant by…?”
12. “To summarize, we have decided to …”
Keeping the Meeting on Track
13. “Let’s stay focused on the current topic.”
14. “We’ll revisit/come back to that point later if time allows.”
15. “We need to move on to the next agenda item.”
Technical Issues
16. “It looks like we’re experiencing some technical difficulties.”
17. “Can you try turning your video off and on again?”
18. “Please check your internet connection or switch to another device.”
Closing the Meeting
19. “Is there anything else we need to discuss before we *wrap up?”
20. “Thank you for your participation. We’ll meet again on [date/time].”
* wrap up = to close/finish
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