Business English for meetings
- Free
- No card
- 10 phrases
Say these, not just read them
“Shall we get started?”
A soft, standard way to open — signals the meeting is beginning without sounding like an announcement.
“Just to bring everyone up to speed…”
The natural lead-in to a status update, especially when a few people joined late.
“Could you say that again? I want to make sure I've got it.”
Better than a vague "what?" — it's specific about wanting accuracy, not admitting confusion.
“I see it a little differently, and here's why.”
Disagrees on the substance without the confrontation a flat "I disagree" can carry in a group.
“Can I build on that?”
Adds to someone's point without implying they missed something — a collaborative frame, not a correction.
“Let's park that and come back to it.”
Defers a tangent politely — "park" is the exact business idiom, not "forget it" or "skip it."
“So, to summarize where we've landed…”
The signal that closes discussion and opens the decisions/next-steps part of the meeting.
“Who owns this by when?”
The single most useful sentence for making sure a meeting produces action, not just conversation.
“Sorry to jump in, but…”
The standard, non-rude way to interrupt in a business meeting — softer than cutting in silently.
“Let's take this offline.”
Moves a detailed side-conversation out of the group meeting without dismissing it.
More to try
Politely disagree with a colleague's suggestion in a meeting, and offer an alternative.
Read this meeting opener aloud, at your normal pace.
“Thanks everyone for joining. Before we dive in, let's quickly go around and share updates. I'll start, then hand it over to the rest of the team. If anything's unclear, just jump in and ask.”
The delivery metrics worth watching
Pace, pauses, and stress
In a meeting, pace and filler words matter more than perfect grammar — a steady, unhurried turn with few "um"s reads as confident even with a simple sentence, while a fast, filler-heavy one undercuts a great point. Read more about how sayit measures pace and clarity on speak-english-clearly.Straight answers
What's the single most useful meeting phrase to practise first?
"Just to bring everyone up to speed…" — it opens almost any update, works whether you're presenting good or bad news, and buys you a second to organize your thought before the detail.
How do I interrupt politely in English without sounding rude?
Lead with a short softener — "Sorry to jump in," or "Can I add something here?" — then say your point directly. The softener carries the politeness; you don't need to hedge the point itself.
Does sayit's extension work during a live meeting?
Yes, in Google Meet, Zoom, and Teams: it can sit through the call and hand you a recap afterward — pace, filler count, talk time, and the specific phrases worth drilling. See the browser extension page for exactly what it does.
Say it the way you would in a real meetings
Free, no card. Pace, filler words, pauses, and the exact sounds to fix — the same depth a paying member sees.