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Professional English
Business English for Meetings: Phrases That Make You Sound Confident
Publié le 5 août 2026
Meetings move fast, and hesitating to find the right phrase makes you sound less confident than you actually are. These are the exact phrases native speakers use at each stage of a meeting.
Opening the meeting
- "Thanks everyone for joining — let's get started."
- "Today we're going to cover [topic 1], [topic 2], and [topic 3]."
- "Before we dive in, does anyone have anything to add to the agenda?"
Giving your opinion
- "From my perspective, ..."
- "I think the main risk here is ..."
- "My take on this would be ..."
Disagreeing politely
Disagreeing directly ("I disagree") isn't wrong, but softer framing keeps the discussion collaborative rather than confrontational — this matters more in English business culture than it does in French.
- "I see it a bit differently — here's why."
- "That's a fair point, but I'd push back on one thing."
- "I'm not sure I fully agree — can we look at it from another angle?"
Culture note
"With all due respect" often sounds more confrontational in English than its French equivalent suggests — it's frequently used right before a strong disagreement. Use it sparingly.
Interrupting politely
- "Sorry to jump in — can I add something here?"
- "Can I just come in on that point quickly?"
- "Before we move on, I want to flag one thing."
Asking for clarification
- "Sorry, could you clarify what you mean by [term]?"
- "Just to make sure I understood — you're saying that ...?"
- "Could you walk me through that last point again?"
Closing the meeting
- "To summarize, we've agreed on [action items]."
- "[Name] will follow up on [task] by [date]."
- "Thanks everyone — I'll send a recap by email."
For ready-made scenarios covering situations like this one, Banking English Pro has a phrase bank built for real work contexts.