A list of phrases and expressions to deliver productive and asertive meetings in English.

1. Vocabulary and Expressions to enhance your performance
Auxiliadora González
2015

2. English is definitely the universal language in
business: foreign investment and entertaining
and corporate events are driven by
negotiations and paperwork in this language.
As a Central American PR firm representing
the most important companies in the region,
CCK and its affiliated partners
(representatives, providers, allies, etc.)
are expected to conduct positive meetings
and results in English.

3. • Weak vocabulary
• Poor fluency
• Lack of strategy
• Nervousness
• Cultural differences
• Wrong attitude

5. Recognize a
word and learn
its meaning
Can you
explain it or
translate it?
Pronounce it
properly
Have you
check it online
or with a
native or ESL
speaker?
Place the word in
context so you
know when you
can employ it
Can I use it
with my
friends or with
my boss?
Produce an
example and
have someone
check it
Can you put
the word in a
sentence?
Repeat
vocabulary until
it comes
automatically to
your mind
Will you recall
it in the middle
of a
discussion?

7. • Advertising
• Announcements
• Audio Releases
• Charity/Corporate social responsibility
• Conferences
• Coverage
• Documents or Key Messages and Positioning
• Email Flashes
• Employee interactions on a regular basis
• Events/Functions
• Hosted Visits
• Launch
• Media conference
• Newsletters
• Open day
• Press Appointments
• Press Kits
• Press Release
• Press Trips
• Press/Media Tours
• Private Demos
• Product testing
• Public Forums
• Sales promotions
• Seminars
• Speaking Engagements
• Teleconferences
• Walk-ins
• Websites

8. 1
2
3
4
6
5
Title or headline
and subtitle
Lead
Body (includes
quotes)
Boilerplate
Contact
information
Text box
7 Letterhead (logo)

9. 1 Name plate
Cover
2 Headline
3 Lead
4 Jumpline
5 Cutline or Caption
6 Photo Credit
8 By-line
9
Deck
7 Graphic (photo,
image or graph)

11. Starting a Meeting
• Let’s get started!
• We need to discuss …
• Is everyone ready?
• Time to begin.
Presenting Data
• I’d like you to see ...
• Let me show you (…).
• Please observe that …
• Watch this (…)
• Here you have (…)
Explaining Why
• The reason ...
• My aim is …
• What I’d like (you to see) is
• My objective is …

12. Providing detail
• To elaborate …
• Here I have further
information.
• Let me expand (on that).
• Let me tell you a bit more.
• What’s more, …
Requesting Data
• Could you provide (…)?
• Why don’t you (…)?
• Can you illustrate that?
• What evidence (…)?
• How will you back that up?
Emphasizing on a Point
• This is a key issue.
• I’d like to emphasize on …
• This is significant [be sure
to provide a reason].
• It is vital that …
• It’s imperative that …

13. Keeping a meeting
on track
• That’s another subject.
• We can’t discuss that
issue.
• That’s outside the scope.
• Let’s get back on track.
• We’re digressing.
Coming Back to a Topic
• Where were we?
• What were you saying?
• As I was explaining, …
• Return to …
• This leads us back to …
Postponing an Issue
• Let’s leave that for later.
• It’s too late to …
• Shall we leave it for …?
• Let’s postpone that until …

14. Moving forward or
changing the topic
• Shall we proceed to the
next point?
• Let’s move on.
• By the way …
• Can we move onto … ?
• Now it’s time to …
• There’s another issue we
need to deal with.
Explore Options
• Let’s look at …
• Why don’t we consider … ?
• What about … ?
• We have several choices.
• We could either … or …
Proposing Solutions
• Maybe we should …
• How about …
• Why don’t you …
• The best way is to …
• I would …
• I wouldn’t …

15. Asking for Repetition
• Sorry, I didn’t catch that.
• I missed that.
• Pardon me?
• Excuse me. What did you
say?
• Could you please repeat
that?
Checking for
Agreement
• Do we agree?
• Do we all share?
• Are you all with me?
• Is there anyone who has a
different opinion?
• Shall we pass the motion?
Agreeing
• Exactly!
• Correct.
• I agree.
• I have to agree.
• That’s how I feel.

16. Disagreeing Strongly
• I don’t agree.
• You’re not right.
• It’s not what I believe.
• I don’t think so.
• That’s not such a good
idea.
Disagreeing Less
Strongly
• I don’t mean to be rude,
but …
• I wouldn’t do that.
• Correct me if I’m mistaken.
• Don’t get me wrong, but …
• I’m not so keen on …
Disagreeing Partially
• I see your point of view,
but …
• You might be right.
However …
• You have a good point,
though …
• You could say that but …
• Up to a point I agree.
Nevertheless …

17. Asking for Clarification
• What do you mean (by …)?
• Could you (please) clarify?
• Could you (please) explain?
• I didn’t understand.
• I didn’t get that / I can´t
grasp it
• I don´t follow / I’m not
following.
• I’m not sure I get the idea
Opening Space
for questions
• Would you like to ask
something?
• Do you have any doubt?
• Is it clear?
• I’m ready to answer any
question.
• Is there anything you’d like
to (know/ask/get more
information about)?
Interrupting
• Sorry to interrupt.
• Could I make a comment?
• May I come in here?
• Can I add something?

18. Giving Clues When You Change a Subject
• I’d like to move onto …
• From now on, I’ll deal with …
• May we start discussing … ?
• I believe this is the right time
to …
• It has just crossed my mind to …
• From now on I’ll talk about
…
• There’s something else to
discuss.
• To bring up another topic …
• The next point today is …
• Changing focus, I want to …
• Before I forget …
• On quite another matter, …

19. Introducing your ideas
• From my point of view, …
• Let me tell you that …
• Apparently, …
• In my opinion …
• It seems that …
• As a matter of fact …
• In fact …
• I’d like to remind you that …
• It sounds as if …
• According to what I know…
• Essentially
• At first sight, …
• On the face of it …
I’d like to remind you that sales are still weak.
In my opinion, the division head must resign now
At first sight at least, this contract is not very well written.

20. Finishing
• I’d like to conclude by
(progressive verb –ing-) …
• That’s all.
• We’ll have to leave it for
now.
• Shall we call it a day?
Correcting Speakers
• There’s a
misunderstanding.
• This isn’t what I meant.
• I’m sorry about the
confusion.
Summarizing
• To put it briefly.
• In a few words.
• To summarize/In summary.
• It all comes down to …

22. Combining auxiliaries and adverbs will allow you to define probability and be more
precise.
Auxiliary Adverb Example
Will Sure, definitely, certainly,
doubtlessly, inevitably, absolutely
She will definitely fail. No one has done that before.
Should Likely, probably, seemingly He should probably make it. He trained hard enough.
Can
Could
Possible, perhaps, possibly, feasibly,
maybe.
We could win if we train hard enough.
I could perhaps help you on condition you say nothing to Jill.
May
Might
Unlikely (might is less probable). They may win. Our team is in low form today.
They might win. Their team isn't very good but you never know…
Won’t
Can’t
Impossible, never He just won’t do it.
She never changes her mind once she’s made a decision.

23. When explaining graphs or changes, you can use the following verbs:
Situation Verbs
Describing general increase Increase, improve, raise, rise, grow
Describe gradual increase Accumulate, escalate, accrue, build up, develop
Describe sudden increase Boost, shoot up, spring up, surge, multiply
Describe general fall Fall, decline, descend, climb down, decrease, reduce
Describe gradual fall Diminish, weaken, shrink, wane, slip
Describe sudden fall Dive, plunge, plummet, sink, collapse,
Describe fluctuation Fluctuate, be unstable, change, swing, vary
Describe stability Be stable, remain unchained, keep steady, stay constant, continue

25. 1. To go hand in hand (together; along with)
2. To be in the same boat (in the same situation)
3. To multi-task (do many things at once)
4. To be between a rock and a hard place (a dilemma; two possibilities that are not good)
5. To blow away (affect intensely; overwhelm).
6. Ahead of the game (successful)
7. Game plan (the strategy of reaching an objective)
8. A long shot (something that will probably not succeed but
is worth trying)
9. To burn out (to exhaust physically or mentally)
10. To miss the boat (miss an opportunity)
11. To land on your feet (to do well; to succeed)
12. To take the bull by the horns (to confront a problem head on)
52 Most Common Business Idioms from the New York Times to Make Your Business English Spectacular

26. 13. To be on the same page (have the same understanding or knowledge)
14. To see eye to eye (to be in agreement)
15. Think out of the box (to think differently from a new perspective)
16. Water under the bridge (something that has happened and can’t be
changed)
17. A win-win situation (a situation in which everyone participating come
out on top; everyone wins or gets what they
want)
18. To take off (move ahead and do well)
19. To get in the black (become profitable)
20. To be “in the red” (having losses)
21. To kickback (rest and enjoy your time)
22. To stay on your toes (pay attention and be aware)
52 Most Common Business Idioms from the New York Times to Make Your Business English Spectacular

27. 23. To troubleshoot (solve problems)
24. To raise the bar (to raise standards or expectations)
25. To play it by ear (decide to deal with something how it happens
rather than planning)
26. To punch to the gut (give it all you’ve got)
27. To hold your horses (slow down and wait or move slowly)
28. To drop the ball (fail to do your job or to do well)
29. To keep pace (continue on)
30. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too (you can’t have it both ways; you can’t have the
best of both worlds)
31. To stay on top of things (learn and know what’s happening)
52 Most Common Business Idioms from the New York Times to Make Your Business English Spectacular

28. "Two wrongs don't make a right."
"The pen is mightier than the sword."
"When in Rome, do as the Romans."
"The squeaky wheel gets the grease."
"No man is an island."
"Better late than never."
"Birds of a feather flock together."
"Keep your friends close and your enemies
closer."
"A picture is worth a thousand words."
"There's no such thing as a free lunch."
"The early bird catches the worm."
"Never look a gift horse in the mouth."
"God helps those who help themselves."
"You can't always get what you want."
"Cleanliness is next to godliness."
"Actions speak louder than words."
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
"Practice makes perfect."
The 50 most important English proverbs

29. "Too many cooks spoil the broth."
"Easy come, easy go."
"Don't bite the hand that feeds you."
"All good things must come to an end."
"If you can't beat them, join them."
"One man's trash is another man's treasure."
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."
"Necessity is the mother of invention."
"A penny saved is a penny earned."
"You can't judge a book by its cover."
"Good things come to those who wait."
"Don't put all your eggs in one basket."
"Two heads are better than one."
"The grass is always greener on the other side
of the hill."
"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link."
"Honesty is the best policy."
"You can lead a horse to water, but you can't
make him drink."
"Don't count your chickens before they hatch."
The 50 most important English proverbs

31. Google Free English
Lessons and choose
those you like the
most.
Download mobile
apps like Duolingo.
Download song lyrics
and sing them aloud.
Watch series and movies
in their original version
(with or without subtitles.
If possible, set subtitles in
English.)
Change your cell
phone language to
English.
Subscribe to “word a day”
services provided by most
online dictionaries
(Dictionary.com, Merriam-
Webster, Wordreference,
for example.)
Check the
pronunciation of new
words in online
dictionaries.
Attend webinars and
watch TED talks or
YouTube videos in
English.
Download audiobooks
in English and enjoy
them during your free
time (maybe while
jogging).
Record yourself and
compare your sounds
to a native speaker’s.
Read online papers
and listen to online
broadcasting services.
(BBC, CNN and The Huff
Post)

33. Vocabulary and Expressions to enhance your performance
Auxiliadora González
2015