Meetings 1: types of meeting HEY Word combinations with ‘meeting’ arrange set up organize a meeting fix bring forward make a meeting earlier than originally decided put back postpone amecting make a meeting later than originally planned cancel not have a meeting after all run a be in charge of a meeting attend go to a meeting mice not go t0 a meeting aS Types of meeting ‘Meetings come in all shapes and sizes, of couse. Here are sume types: HS How chat (informal discussion) with colleagues at the coffee machine. brainstorming among colleagues: where as many ideas as possible are produced quickly, to be evaluated later. project meeting / team meeting of employees involved in a particular activity, department/departmental meeting. meeting with suppliers, for example to negotiate prices for an order. meeting with a customer, for example to discuss a contract. board meeting: an official, formal meeting of a company’s directors. ‘Annual general meeting / AGM (BrE); annual meeting (AmE): where shareholders discuss the company’s annual report. EGM: extraordinary general meeting: a shareholders’ meeting to discuss an important issue such as a proposed merger. was the meeting? Some colleagues are discussing a meeting they have just come out of. Anil: Juliet: Tthoughe it was very productive. ‘Well, I thought it was a complete waste of time. I didn’t hear anything I didn’t already know. Barbara: [ agree with Anil. I felt we had some very useful discussions, and that we reached an Juliet: Anil: agreement that was good for both sides. We certainly covered a lot of ground. It was incredible the number of things we got through. Bur there were too many digressions. John was rambling and kept wandering off the point, He just uses meetings as a chance to show off, Just like a lot of men: he just wanted to show how powerful he is and what a good talker he is. But to be fai, the chair really kept things moving: she encouraged people to be brief and to stick to the point and we achieved a lor in a short time. Anyway, I learned a lor and I think they listened to what we had to say. 16 Business Vocabulary in Use54.1 54.2 54.3 Replace the underlined expressions with appropriate forms of the verbs in A opposite. In some cases, more than one verb is possible. A meeting of the Tennis Chub Committee was (1) organized for 1 March, but not cveryone could (2) go to it, so it was (3) delayed until March 31. One committee member said that this was too late, so eventually we (4) moved it to March 15. The chairperson (5) was in charge of it very efficiently, and we decided on some new membership rules. Only one committee member (6) did not go to the meeting, Look at B opposite. At which type of meeting would you be most likely to hear each of these things? 1 I'm pleased to announce another good year for shareholders of this company. 2 I know this sounds crazy, but how about giving away 100,000 free samples? 3 Things in the sales department are getting out of control, We should all start making a real effort. 4 So, you think you can provide 10,000 a month at a unit cost of £4.90? & Have you heard? Suzanne is being fired: apparently her sales figures aren’t good enough. 6 That's a deal then, Looking forward to working with you, 'm sure you won't be disappointed. 7 Amazingly, we're ahead of schedule on this project. 8 I recommend to shareholders that you accept Megabook’s offer for our company. 9 As you know, Megabook wants to buy this company. As chief financial officer, what do you think of their offer, Saleem? A management consultant is talking about mectings, using expressions from C opposite, Put what she says into a logical order. 1 point and rambling. And then there are those who want to show 2 moving, If they do this, it’s amazing how much ground you can cover, 3 Of course, everyone wants meetings to be productive and achieve results. But from persuul expesivuce, we huow that w lot of them are a waste of 4 offs to show how important and clever they are. The chair should keep things 5 the point. And we've all seen those annoying people who keep on wandering off the 6 time, and nothing is achieved, In order for discussion to be useful, people should not go off on digressions: they should stick to Over to you What sort of meetings do you go to in your school or organization? Are they useful? ‘Types of meeting Business Vocabulary in Use 7HEY 8cfore the meeting Meetings 2: the role of the chairperson Hilary Rhodes is a miauayeuent consultant who specializes in meeting skills: ‘A good chairperson has to be a good organizer. What they do before the meeting is as important as the meeting itself. They should make sure the agenda (the list of things to be discussed) is complete by asking those involved what should be on it and then circulating (distributing) it to everyone concerned, They should check the venue, making sure the room will be free, without interruptions, until the end of the meeting.” During the meeting ‘The chairperson should be a good timekeeper. They should start the meeting on Lime, without waiting for latecomers. ‘They should appoint a minute-taker to take the minutes, making sure that opinions and action points (where participants agree to do something) are noted. ‘They should make sure each point on the agenda is allocated dhe tue it deserves and should keep to the timetable. When the time allocated to one point is up, the chair should make sure that discussion moves on to the next point, even if the issue has not been completely covered or resolved (decided). The chair should make sure that each participant has the chance to make their point, and should deal tactfully with disagreements, making sure that each side feels their point of view has been noted. They should also try to avoid digressions, where people get off the point. Finally, they should ensure the meeting finishes on time, or early. Follow-up ‘After some meetings, it’s necessary for the minutes to he circnlared, especially if there are action points that particular people are responsible for. ‘At the next meeting, the chair should ask for the minutes to be read out and see if all agree that it is an accurate record of what happened, and see if there are any matters arising (any points from the last meeting that need to be discussed). And they should check what progress has been made on the action points from the previous meeting, Business Vocabulary in Use55.1 Replace the underlined phrases in this article with the correct expressions from A and B opposite. I don’t know how to chair a meeting! I've been asked to chair a meeting about the Christmas office party, but I'm incredibly nervous as I've never chaired one before. Is there a secret for success? You may never have chaired a meeting but as you've probably been to lots you'll have seen it done well and badly. Think about the things that please and annoy you and build on them. (1) Make sure everyone has the agenda well in advance, and check that you know enough about the participants and issues to be discussed. Acrange for the (2) room to be cool rather than warm; people will be less likely w go w sleep. See yourself as a referee whose job it is to ensure fair play through careful watching and listening, You must ensure that the timid have a chance to (3) say what they want; deal (4) in a diplomatic way with the argumentative and to be kind to the (5) person you have asked to take notes. Getting that individual on your side is essential if you want the record to reflect your desired outcomes. Its normal to suggest what should be left out of the minutes and how any difficult bits should be phrased. Make sure you stick w dhe (6) tinue you have allowed for each point and keep things moving by not letting people (7) wander otf the subject. Get decisions made and recorded, even if it’s only to postpone matters until the next meesing, If someone is heing difficnlr, defnse things by offering to continue the discussion personally at a more appropriate time. If the meeting is likely to be more than a couple of hours long, try to include a break at the mid-point; it acts as a marker and stops people getting restless Aim to leave everyone feeling they have had a chance to say what they wanted to say and gain lasting and well-deserved popularity by finishing (8) when you said the meeting would finish. 55.2 Look at A, B and C opposite. Match the verbs (1-7) with the nouns (a~g) that they go with. 1 take a aminute-taker 2 appoint b the minutes 3 circulate ¢ time 4 allocate the agenda 5 move on € to the next point 6 avoid f ontime 7 finish g digressions Over to you “SS What do you think are the most important skills for someone chairing a meeting? Business Vocabulary in Use 19ley Meetings 3: points of view HEY Opening the meeting Carla Eagleton, chief executive of Creative Advertising, is opening 4 ueeting. She could also have said: let's get started. Tet begin, shall we? CLets get down to business.) Shall we make a start? Then she says ‘As you know, I’ve called this meeting to discuss the situation in the design department. The designers have a lot of freedom to work as they wish, but it seems that things are getting out of control...” She could also have said: m ve arranged this meeting to ... WS As you are aware «., m= The purpose of this meeting is to « m The main objective is to ... HEED witing people to speak Carla then uses some of these expressions. Inviting someone to start: ™ Would you like to open the discussion, Greta? @ Greta, would you like to kick off? @ Perhaps you'd like to get the ball rolling, Greta. ‘Asking for one person’s opinion: m= What about you, Keith? lm What do you think about this, Keith? = What are your feclings on this, Keith? What are your views on this, Keith? Asking for everyone's opinion: What's the general feeling on this? See Making your point ‘The other participants use some of these expressions. a Head of human resources: I believe the design department needs a certain amount of freedom, but there are limits. b Head of design: As I see it, I can’t run the design department as if it was the accounts department. © Chief financial officer: In my opinion, they’re going much too fat. I can’t bear to think of the costs involved. 4 Senior designer: Of course, we are sensitive types aud need to be given the freedom to work how we like. Making your point Obviously ... Other ways of making your point include: mm The way Isee it... = Personally, I think m ee clear to me that... i It looks to me as i Note: You use OF course and Obviously to introduce an idea, but also to show that you think other people will be aware of it already. Be careful, as this can sound rude. 120 Business Vocabulary in Use56.1 56.2 56.3 Which of these expressions from A opposite are correct? Correct the mistakes. 1 Tr's ahont time we per started 2 Let’s begin, let we? 3 Shall we make a start? 4 Let’s doa start, 5 Let’s get up to business. 6 Pve call this meeting to ... 7 The purpose of this meeting is to ... 8 The main subject is to 9 As you are beware ... Look at B opposite and make these invitations to speak less aggressive and more natural. 1 John, kick off. 2 Kay, open the discussion. 3 Len, get the ball rolling. 4 Monica, tell us what you think. 5 Nigel, give us your views. 6 Olive, what do you feel? ‘Match the sentence beginnings (1-5) with the correct endings (a-e). ‘Ihe sentences all contain expressions from C opposite, 1 The way a I think that the prizes we win help us to attract and keep the best designers. 2 Personally, b as if the design people think of themselves as living on another planet. 3 It looks to me ¢ [see it. you should be looking at what we produce, not at the time of day we produce it. 4 It’s clear to d opinion, we have to think of the needs of each department, 5 Inmy © ine chat chey set a very bad example w dhe other departments. Over to you ot How freely can people express their feelings in your school or organization? Are people at all levels encouraged to say what they think? Are new employees asked for their opinions? Business Vocabulary in Use 1218 = © 6 122 Meetings 4: agreement and disagreement Discussion without argument? Hilary Rhodes is talking about the importance of keeping calm in mectings: ‘In a meeting, you discuss things. In the discussion, some people may agree with you. Others may disagree. They may have differences of opinion with you, but the important thing is to keep calm and remain courteous. It OK to disagree, but it's not OK to be impolite or rude or to lose your temper. ‘An argument is when people disagree about something, perhaps becoming angry. Your ‘argument is also the set of ideas that you use to prove your point: to show that what you are saying is true.” Note: Agree and disagree are verbs (e.g. | agree with you, She disagrees with him, ete). ‘You cannot say Ham-agree-withyot, Sheis-disagree-with-him, ctc. Agreeing Strong agreement: a You're perfectly right. The costs involved must be incredible. I couldn't agree more, We got our latest recruits after we won the industry award for best advertisement. © Precisely. Creativity comes to some of our people in the middle of the night. d Exactly. We have to look at the company as one unit. € Absolutely. It’s the output, not the input, that counts. Mild agreement: F You may be right there. We're already ten per cent over budget. g That's true, I suppose. There must be some limits un when they work. h I suppose so. They seem to arrive and then go straight out again to eat. Disagreeing Mild disagreement: @ That's not really how I scc it, Everyone shuld be allowed to work in the way that’s best for them. b Idon’t really agree. The prizes are important, but people would come to work for us. anyway. € Ican't really go along with you there. I think we need to see people at their desks actually working. 4 I think you're mistaken. If the designers get to work late, they don’t go out for lunch. ¢ I'm afraid I can’t agree with you there. All you financial people do is worry about costs. Strong disagreement: £ P'm sorry, but that’ out of the question. You can’t expect people to go home at ten and come back at uine in the morning, g I think you're wrong. The design department’s costs are justified because of our high quality work. The costs of the other departments are not justified. h Of course not. The latest figures I've seen show that the project is within budget. i That's absurd. There must be some sort of control on when people work, J. That's ridiculous. Each department has very specific needs. Note: Be careful with That’s absurd and That's ridiculous. These expressions are very strong and can be offensive. Business Vocabulary in Use57.1 Complete the crossword using the correct form of words from A opposite. i p bP ho J iz Across Down 3 The oppocite of ‘agree’. (8) 1 If you are pleasant and unaggressive, you 7 What you have if you do not agree with ae) om someone. (10,2,7) 2 and 8 across If you become angry, you 8 See 2 down. cessesesese YOUE (4.6) 9 Whatever you do, keep ... 4 The opposite of ‘polite’. (8) 11 When people disagree, they § The noun corresponding to ‘angry’. (5) . (8) 6 See 12 across. 12 and 6 down If you want to show you are 7 Jf you talk about something, you right, you try to it. (7) your 10 Another word for 4 down. (4) 57.2 Match each statement (1-8) to an appropriate reaction (ah) from B opposite. 1 And another thing: you should be looking at what we produce, not at the time of day we produce it. 2 Apart from that, if you try to control our working time, we'll lose our creativity. 3 Besides that. the prizes help us to attract and keep the best designers 4 Even so, I agree that some limits should be set, even if my designers are very different from the accounts people. 5 Not only do we have these very high costs, but it also sets a very bad example to the vuler deparunents and they start going over budget too. 6 On the one hand, we have to think of the needs of each department. On the other hand, we have to think of the company as a whole. 7 In addition, our biggest current project looks as though it will be over budget too. 8 What's more, they leave for lunch two hours later. 57.3 Now match the statements (1-8) above with the reactions (a-j) in C opposite. Over to you a NNR SSeS On CORR Re TCU Ce eae a ONT ice oer in erd Business Vocabulary n Use 123Meetings 5: discussion techniques HS Hedging Hedging is when you avoid disagreeing directly. To hedge, you could say: take your point about punctuality, but clocking in and out would not be very populat. Tunderstand what you're saying about the needs of each department, but each department must be treated in an appropriate way. mI see/know what you mean, but we must look at the human factors as well as the numbers. mm Thear where you're coming from on this, but we must remember this is an advertising agency, not a car factory. HEED Checking understanding, interrupting, referring back TTo interrupt someone politely: m Can I come in here? mm Sorry to interrupt you, but ... ww If Lcan just stop you for a moment... To refer back to what was said earlier: mAs we were saying earlier ... m™ lo go back to what I was just saying ... mm To go back to what X was saying earlier To check that you understand what someone has said: m Are you saying that ...? m [fT understand (you) correctly, ... mm Ave you suggesting hat ..? m= II follow you... mm Are you implying that . Se) Agreement, consensus or compromise? Hilary Rhodes is talking about how to deal with agreements and disagreements: ‘Ie may be possible to reach agreement or to reach an agreement about something, or at least come to a consensus: something that most people can agree with. It may be possible to compromise or to find a compromise: an agreement where people accept less than they wanted at first. (See Unit 65) Or perhaps the differences are so great that there will just be disagreement. Something in particular that you disagree about is a disagreement.” ao) Concluding Carla Eagleton sums up and brings the meeting to a close: ‘Right. I'm afraid we're running out of time so we're going to have to stop there. To go over what's been said, there is a disagreement about timekeeping and budgers in the design department. I've listened to both sides of the argument. I think I can sum it up by saying that it’s a problem of creativity versus control. I think you'll just have to agree to disagree. Pll let you know my decision about the solution to this problem by the end of the month. So unless anyone has anything else to add, I think that’s it. Thank you all for coming.” 124 Business Vocabulary in Use58.1 Use complete expressions from A and B opposite to complete the dialogue, based on the prompts in brackets. The first one has been done for you. A: We really will have to increase productivity. B: (edge: Cousiny) bur chere are limits w how much we can ask of each individual employee. A G After all, if you look back at the records for ... Uhear where you're coming from on +his, but there are. wits +0 how mach we can ask of each individual enplouee. After all, if you look back at the records Sor A (interrupt: stop) you have to admit things were different then. That was in the 1980s. Re (hedges understand) but that’s not so long ago. The pressures were the same, : (interrupt: (refer back: go back) there are limits as to what we can ask from the creatives. They tcrrupt) I hate that word ‘creative’. A lot of them haven’t created anything except chaos since they arrived in the company. : (check: imply) that the creative department has people who shouldn’t be there? 58.2 Put the extracts from this newspaper report of a public meeting into the correct order. 1 a compromise or a consensus, There was total disagreement. After four hours of heated discussion, Ms Johns said, ‘It's been a very interesting discussion but we're running out of time and we're going to have to stop there. I'll let you know the committee's decision about the solution to this problem by the end of the month. So unless anyone has anything else to add, I think that’s it. A very useful meeting, ‘Thank you all for coming.’ Over to you SS Ere naconin ‘There were strong differences of opinion | at last night’s mecting to discuss banning cars from the centre of Newtown. The chair, Ms Yolanda Johns of the town council's transport committee, organized the meeting well. A lot of ground saying it would improve the quality of life. It was not possible to come to ‘was covered and both sides of the argument were heard. To sum up the arguments, dere were those who | thought that banning cars would damage shops and businesses in the town. Others disagreed, always possible? In your organization or school, are decisions based on compromise and consensus or are they imposed by the management? Business Vocabulary in Use 125