【商務英語課件】Unit-3-Business-Conference

Unit3BusinessConferenceTeachingObjectives：

Organizeandconductmeetings；

Askforandgiveopinionsorsuggestions；

Agreeanddisagree；

Writemeetingagendasandtakeminutes.3.1Lead-in1.Workinpairsorsmallgroupstolistasmanytypesofmeetingsasyoucan.Discusswhomayattendthemeetingsyouhavelistedandtheirpurposes.Forexample:staffmeetingsboardmeetingscommitteemeetings

conferences2.Workinpairstodiscussaboutthekeyfactorsofaneffectivemeetingbyusingthefollowingchecklisttohelpyou.BusinessMeetingPlanningtheMeeting

Identifythepurposeofthemeeting.

Prepareanagenda.

Decidewhoshouldattendthemeeting.

Determinethelogisticsofthemeeting—timing,location,room,seatingarrangementandequipmentneeded.

Assignsomeonethetaskoftakingnotesduringthemeeting.ConductingtheMeeting

Encouragepunctualitybybeginningandendingthemeetingontime.Begineachmeetingbystatingthepurposeandreviewingtheagenda.

Establishgroundrulesthatpermittheorderlytransactionofbusiness.

Controlthediscussiontoensurethatitisrelevant,thatafewmembersdonotmonopolizethediscussion,andthatallmembershaveanopportunitytobeheard.

Attheendofthemeeting,summarizewhatwasdecided,identifythenextsteps,andexplaineachmember’sresponsibilities.FollowingUptheMeeting

Followupwithamemooremailsummarizingthemajorpointsofthemeetings.Forformalmeetings,prepareanddistributeminutes.

Encouragepunctualitybybeginningandendingthemeetingontime.3.Discussthefollowingquestionsinpairsorsmallgroups.1)Whydowehavetohavemeetings?2)Whichfactorsabovedoyouthinkarethemostimportant?Why?3)Canyouaddmoretipsasadviceforholdingeffectivemeetings?4)Isitnecessarytokeeptrackoftheprocessofmeetings?Whyorwhynot?5)Discusswhetheryoulikemeetings.Whyorwhynot?

3.2Speaking1.ConversationOneAmanagementmeetingiscalledtodiscusstheproblemof“cultureshock”causedbythetakeoverofaSpanishcompanybyanAmericancompany.SrGonzález,thepresidentofDuoS.A.Spainischairingthemeeting.González:So,perhapswecouldcallourmeetingtoorder.Beforewebegin,IshouldliketosaythatIhopethemeetingwillbeconstructiveandhaveapositiveoutcome.Thepurposeistoresolveafewproblemswhichhavebeencausedbytherecentmergerofourtwocompanies.PerhapsIcouldstartbyaskingMr.Banksforafewwords?Banks:Sure.IshareSirGonzález'shopesforaconstructivemeeting.IalsohopethatsomewayswillbefoundforworkingalittlemorecloselytogetherthanwehaveuptonowandthereforegettingbetterresultsbothforusatDelcoandforyouatDuo.Maggie:Agreed.González:Right.Maywemoveontotheagendathen,please?Banks:Right.González:Teresa,couldyoupleasestartforus?Teresa:Well,onthequestionoffinancialcontrol,itseemstousinSpainthatDuohaslostallitspowerinfinancialmattersandwenowhavetogetpermissionfromDelcoforthesmallestexpenditure.Maggie:Ican’tagree,MissNavarro.Thisisnotanaccuratepicture.Thepositionisthatwehavetwodifferenttypesoffinancialmanagement—theAmericanfinancialmanagementandtheSpanishfinancialmanagement.Ourobjectiveshouldbetotakethebestofboth.Banks:IagreewithMissSeabrookentirely.CouldIsuggesttheformationofaworkingpartyforacloserexaminationofthetwosystems?González:Thisseemsasensibleandconstructivesuggestion.Whoagreeswithformingaworkingparty?Teresa:Mmm.Maggie:Yes.Goodidea.González:Allright.Let’sdothis.We’llnotethisinaminuteandmovetothenextitemontheagenda—Productionplanning.Whowouldliketostartwithacommentonthis?Teresa:There’snooneherefromProduction.González:Right.DoesanyoneobjectifweleavethisfornowandmoveontoPersonnel?All:Fine.González:So,whowouldliketostart?Teresa:I’dliketoputDuo’spointofviewtothemeeting.OurHumanResourceManagerisunabletobepresenttoday,butheaskedmetoexplainhowsomanySpanishemployeesareworriedandupsetabouttherapidchanges...2.ConversationTwoTheheadsofdepartmentsofACBTradingarediscussingaproposaltointroduceflexibleworkinghours.Mr.Brownchairsthemeeting.Brown:OK,it’steno’clock,everybody,soIthinkwe’llmakeastart.Now,thefirstitemontheagendaisadiscussionofmanagement’sproposalsonflexitime.Now,you'vealldiscussedtheproposalswithinyourdepartments,haven’tyou?All:Yes.Wehave.Brown:Good.MissGarcia,wouldyouliketostart,then?Garcia:OK,well,mostofmypeopleareperfectlyhappywiththepresentnon-flexiblesystem.Theythinkachangewouldbedangerous.Carla:I’msorry,I’mnotquitewithyou.Dangerous?Garcia:Well,theyfeelmoreflexiblehourswouldmakeitdifficulttocoverforeachother.Weallhavequiteclearlydefinedresponsibilities.Somepeoplewouldbenefitmorethanothers.Rossini:Itseemstomethatyourpeoplecanjustagreetogethertogoonworkingfromninetofive,theydon’thavetoworklater.Garcia:Yes,buttheproblemisthatifoneortwopeopleoptforthenewsystem,theotherswillhavetocoverforthemwhenthey’renotthere.Brown:Ah,Mr.Bergman,whatareyourviewsonthis?Bergman:Well,thethingisthat...er...Carla:Look,I’mreallysorrytointerrupt.I’djustliketosaythatanydepartmentcanvotetooptout.Theycanjustvoteonitandthemajoritywins.Tina:CouldImakeasuggestion?Wouldn’titbebesttohearwhateachmemberhastosayabouttheproposalsfromthepointofviewofhisorherdepartment?Brown:Yes,allright.Goahead,please?Tina:Well,themainproblemisthedecisionaboutbasiccoretimes.Rossini:I’msorry,Ididn’tcatchwhatyousaid.Tina:I’mtalkingaboutcoretimes—that’sthebasichoursthatwouldnotbeflexible.It’sbeensuggestedthatthesebetentothree,butthisseemsmuchtoorestricted,don’tyouagree,Carla?Carla:Absolutely.Infact,I’dsaythatthereshouldbeflexibledays.Garcia:Sorry,I’mnotquitewithyou.Carla:Well,staffshouldbeallowedtobuildupacreditofhourstoentitlethemtotakewholedaysoff,notjustfewerhoursonotherdays.Brown:Mr.Rossini?Rossini:Yes,comingbacktotheflexibledayidea,thisjustwouldn’twork.Peoplephoningorvisitingthecompanywouldgetterriblyconfused.Tina:No,no,that’snottrue,Mr.Rossini.Imean,whenpeopletakeholidayorwhenpeoplearesick,coverarrangementsaremade.Well,withflexibledays,exactlythesamekindofarrangementswouldbemade.Brown:Well,anyotherpoints?All:No.Brown:Haveyougotallthisdown,Mr.Johnson?Johnson:Yes.Brown:ThenIthinkwe’llmoveontothenextitemontheagenda...Tina:CouldImakeasuggestion?Wouldn’titbebesttohearwhateachmemberhastosayabouttheproposalsfromthepointofviewofhisorherdepartment?Brown:Yes,allright.Goahead,please?Tina:Well,themainproblemisthedecisionaboutbasiccoretimes.Rossini:I’msorry,Ididn’tcatchwhatyousaid.Tina:I’mtalkingaboutcoretimes—that’sthebasichoursthatwouldnotbeflexible.It’sbeensuggestedthatthesebetentothree,butthisseemsmuchtoorestricted,don’tyouagree,Carla?Carla:Absolutely.Infact,I’dsaythatthereshouldbeflexibledays.Garcia:Sorry,I’mnotquitewithyou.Carla:Well,staffshouldbeallowedtobuildupacreditofhourstoentitlethemtotakewholedaysoff,notjustfewerhoursonotherdays.Steve:Haveaseat,Tony.DidyoueverthinkaboutpromotingourproductsinChina’smarketsincewetalkedaboutitlastweek?Johnson:Yes,ofcourse.Ithinkweshouldhaveaplaceinthisbigmarket,evenifonlyasmallnumberofChineseuseexercisesmachines.Withtheworld’slargestpopulation,it’sagreatnumber.Steve:That’sright.Iwanttomakesurewewon’tputourmoneyatrisk.Whatkindofpeopledoyouthinkwoulduseourproducts?Johnson:Peopleinthecity.Therearemoreandmorepeopleworkinginoffices.Theyarestressedoutatwork,andtheydon’thavetimetodooutdoorexercises.Retiredpeople,manyofthemhavethehabitofdoingexercise,canstayinanduseourmachines,whentheweatherisn’tnice.3.ConversationThree

Mr.SteveishavingabriefmeetingwithTonyJohnsonaboutthesellingofexercisesmachinesinChina.Steve:Goodthinking.Whatmodelsdoyouthinktheyprefer?Johnson:YouknowmostChineseincitiesliveinapartments.Theydon’thavemuchroomforabigmonster.SoIthinkspace-economicmodelswillbepopular.Steve:OK,Iseewhatyoumean.Willyoudosomeresearchondemographics,modelsandpriceranges?Thenwecandecidetoexportortoinvest.Johnson:Sure.I’llfindasurveyinstituteinHongKongtodothemarketresearchforus.Steve:That’sgood.3.3ReadingPre-readingquestionsforpairwork.1)Whatmakesyoumostfrustratedaboutmeetings?2)Whendoyouthinkameetingisnecessary?Wasthelastmeetingyouattendednecessary?Whyorwhynot?3)Aremeetingsalwayssuccessful?Ifnot,whathindersusfromreachingourobjectiveinameeting?4)Howcanwesolveaproblemthroughameeting?5)Isitnecessarytokeeptrackoftheprocessofmeetings?Whyorwhynot?GotMeetingMadness?

Meetingstakeupahugechunkoftheworld’sworkweek.Studiesshowthatsomeexecutivesspendupto25hoursaweekinmeetings.Managersoftenspend15to20hours.Thataddsuptoahugeamountoftimeandmoney.Withthatbigofinvestment,itmakesgoodsensetorunthebestmeetingspossible.Herearesixthingsyoucandotorunagreatmeeting.1.Keeptrackofexactlywhatyouwanttohavethemeetingfor.Ifit’snotcleartoyou,itwon’tbecleartoyouremployees.Lotsofpeopleuseawrittenagendaasawayoforganizingameeting.Whileagendasaregreat,theydon’tnecessarilytelleveryonewhytheyareinthemeeting.Sodon’trelyonawrittenagendatotellyouandthepeopleinthemeetingwhatthemeetingisfor.Youneedtoknowdeepdownwhythemeetingisuseful.Thenyouneedtocommunicatethattothepeopleinthemeeting.Useawrittenagendaandthengobeyondit.

2.Keeptrackofannouncementsandproblemsolving.Sometimesmeetingsareheldtoannouncenews.Thereis,however,ahugepotentialpitfallinusingmeetingstomakeannouncements.Thatpitfallistheotherbigreasonmeetingsareheld:problemsolving.Thesolutionistoclearlyknowwhenyouaremakinganannouncementandthat’sit,nodiscussion,andwhenyouareopeningupadiscussion.Don’ttrytomixthem.Putyourannouncementsinwritingfirst.Youmaydiscoverthatyouwouldrathersendamemooranemailannouncingthenews.Thatwillkeepyououtofthegroupproblemsolvingassumption.Writingitdownwillalsoletyoureflectontheannouncement.

3.Knowthebasiccomponentsofproblemsolving.Mostmeetingsareheldforgroupproblemsolving.Theagendaitemisbroughtup,thenthereisdiscussion,andthenanactionstepisdecidedupon.Gettingfromdiscussiontoactionstepcanturnintoahugeproblemitself.That’sbecausethereisalotmoretoproblemsolvingthanjust“discussion”.Therearefivecomponentstoproblemsolving.a)ProblemSolvingOrientation.Therearepeopleinthemeetingthathavenointerestinsolvingtheproblemathand.Ofcoursethisisahugeproblemandthemeetingshouldnotproceeduntileveryonehasaproblem-solvingattitude.b)Definingtheproblem.Inorderforaproblemtobesolvedinameeting,everyoneneedstohaveasimilarunderstandingofwhattheproblemis.Thesimplestwaytodothisisforyoutoaskwho,what,when,where,how,andwhyquestionsabouttheproblem.Haseveryonegivenhisorheranswer?Dothisuntilyouaresurethateveryonehasagoodpictureoftheproblem.Ifyoudothisstepwell,therestofproblemsolvingismuch,mucheasier.c)GeneratingSolutions(Brainstorming).Theterm“brainstorming”referstoaspecificexerciseingeneratingpossiblesolutions.Nodiscussionoftheprosorconstakesplaceduringbrainstorming.Allsolutionsthataresaidgetrecorded.Brainstormingisthatsimple.d)Choosingasolution.Nowthegroupdiscussestheprosandcons.Theydecideonasolution.e)DoingandReviewing.Thisistheactionstep.Thesolutiongetstriedandmonitored.Usuallyareportisgiveninalatermeetingabouthowthesolutionworked.

4.Knowthatpeoplearepeople.Theylovetobepaidattentiontoandtopayattentiontoothersifthey’reinteresting.Peoplewilltell“warstories”andpersonalthingstoentertaineachother,whichispartofhumannature.Youneeditinmeetingstokeepthingsinteresting.Justkeepitfromgettingoutofhand.5.Keeptrackoftheprocessofthemeeting.Thisishowyoucanreallyshineasameetingfacilitator.It’syourjobtoquicklynoticeinwhatdirectionthemeetinghasgone.Thatwayyoucanchoosewheretosteerthemeetingnext.Thiscanbefairlysimpleifyouknowthefirstfourpointssowell,theyautomaticallypopinyourthoughtsduringthemeeting.Untilyoumakethemautomaticit’sagoodideatohaveatrackingsheetforconductingmeetings.Herearethefourelementsofatrackingsheet:a)Announcements.Notjustyourannouncements,butannouncementmadeatanytimebymeetingmembers.Theseoftengetmixedupwithmeetings.Noticewhentheyhappen.b)ProblemSolvingComponents.a,b,c,d,andefromabove.c)Bondingstuff(Thisgoesontosomeextentinallmeetings.Joketelling,tellingpersonalstories,andgripingaboutthingsareallpartofit.Monitorthesethingstomakesuretheyhappen,butdon’tdominatethemeeting).6.Keeptrackofhowyourunmeetings.Runningameetingismuchlikeaperformance.Thatmeansyouwanttoreviewhowtheperformancewent.Youcandothisaloneorwithothers.Lookatthefivepointsdescribedabove,thenaskyourselfhowyoudidoneachone.Don’tbehardonyourself,justpayattentiontoareaswhereyoumightimprove.Sincemeetingsareapartofyourlife,youwillhaveplentyofchancestoimprove.Answerthefollowingquestions:1)Whyisawrittenagendausedforameeting?2)Whatkindofmeetingscanbeavoidedandhow?3)Whatarethefivecomponentsofproblemsolving?4)Howcan“peoplefactors”affecttheoutcomeofameeting?Howcanwekeepthemincontrol?5)Howcanwekeeptrackoftheprocessofthemeeting?6)Whataretheadvantagesofkeepingtrackofhowthemeetingsareheld?3.4WritingMeetingAgendasandMinutes

Ofthoseelementsinvolvedinasuccessfulmeeting,anagendacomesfirst.Anagendahelpsthechairpersontostructurethemeetingandthesecretaryorminute-takertokeeptrackofwhatisbeingdiscussed.Itneedstoincludethemostimportantitemsandbesentoutinadvance.Thisallowstheparticipantstopreparefortheissuesdiscussedatthemeeting.Agendasmayvaryinformfromorganizationtoorganizationandfrompersontoperson.However,theyshouldusuallyfollowastructureandliststandarditems:

welcomeanyspecialvisitors

apologiesforabsence

specialevent(toallowguestspeakerstoaddressthemeetingandthenleaveifnecessary)

confirmationofminutesofthepreviousmeeting

businessarisingoutofminutes(chairpersonreviewsactionlistfrompreviousmeeting)

correspondencesentandreceived(tobesummarizedbythechairperson—onlyarticlesimportanttothegroupshouldberead)

reports(anywhichincludesarecommendationcanbedealtwithordiscussedingeneralbusiness)

adjournedbusiness(anyitemscarriedoverfromapreviousmeeting—tobedealtwithbeforenewbusiness)

generalbusiness(meetingshouldapprovepriorityoforderofitemsofgeneralbusiness,especiallyifmembershavecontributedagendaitems)

anyotherbusiness

closeofmeeting(detailsofnextmeetingandofficialcloseofmeeting)Minutesofameetingaretheagreedrecordofdiscussionanddecisionmade.That’swhytheyalwayshavetobeacceptedatthenextmeeting.Thepurposeofminutesistorecordpermanentlytheproceedingsofameeting,aswellastoprovideabasisforaction.Itisusuallythesecretary’sjobtotakenotesinthemeetingandthenwritethemupasaminutes.Butthistaskisn’treservedforsecretariesonly.Anypersonwhoattendsameetingmaybeaskedtodothis.Herearesomepointerstohelpyoumasterthisskill.BeforeaMeeting

Chooseyourtool:Decidehowyouwilltakenotes,i.e.penandpaper,laptopcomputer,ortaperecorder.

Makesureyourtoolofchoiceisinworkingorderandhaveabackupjustincase.

Usethemeetingagendatoformulateanoutline.

DuringaMeeting

Passaroundanattendancesheet.

Getalistofcommitteemembersandmakesureyouknowwhoiswho.

Notethetimethemeetingbegins.

Don’ttrytowritedowneverysinglecomment—justthemainideas.

Writedownmotions,whomadethem,andtheresultsofvotes,ifany;noneedtowritedownwhosecondedamotion.

Makenoteofanymotionstobevotedonatfuturemeetings.

Notetheendingtimeofthemeeting.

AfteraMeeting

Whileeverythingisstillfreshinyourmind,typeuptheminutesassoonaspossibleafterthemeeting.

Includethenameoforganization,nameofcommittee,typeofmeeting(daily,weekly,monthly,annual,orspecial),andpurposeofmeeting.

Includethetimethemeetingbeganandended.

Proofreadtheminutesbeforesubmittingthem.

SampleAgendaAGENDABoltonEnterprisesMarketingCommitteeMeetingtobeheldintheCommitteeRoomatHeadOfficeWednesday,8December202010:00am—12:30pmChairperson:SueSilverton1.Apologies:MikeSmith2.ConfirmationofAgenda(5mins)3.ConfirmationofMinutesof25October2020(5mins)4.BusinessArisingfromMinutesof25October2020(l0mins)4.1PlanforlaunchofSDline(Sue)5.1Marketingbudgetfor2021(30mins)(Mary)5.2Recognitionofachievementsinsales(15mins)(Richard)5.3Marketsurveydata(15mins)(John)6.Reports(30mins)6.1Sales(Edward)6.2Newproductdevelopment(Harry)6.3Marketresearch(Zhou)6.4Promotion(Richard)7.AnyOtherBusiness(15mins)8.ForwardAgenda(10mins)9.NextMeetingSampleSetofMinutesMINUTESBOLTONENTERPRISESSAFTYCOMMITTEE6DECEMBER2020PresentK.White,D.Thomas,P.Johnson,D.Adams,M.WangApologiesS.Kelty,Y.London

1.Theminutesofthemeetingheldon13October.Minutesofthepreviousmeetingwereaccepted.MovedD.Thomas,secondedP.JohnsonThemotionrelatingtoitem3,R.C.D.installationhadbeenomitted—thiswillbecorrectedintheofficialrecord.2.Businessarising.a)R.C.DinstallationM.Wangwillcontactthesupplierandarrangeforacompliancecertificatetobeissuedby15December.b)Emergencyprocedures—dispatchstoreD.Thomaswilldraftanewsetofproceduresandcirculatethemtocommitteemembersforcommentby8December.P.Johnsonreportedthathasbeencompleted,inspectedandapproved;however,acertificateofcompliancestillneedstobeissued.Thelegalimplicationsofnothavingcertificatewereaddresses.Itwasagreedthiswasamatterofhighpriority.3.Emergencycontroltea.Itwasagreedthataformalallocationoffundsforemergency-controlteamtrainingwillbemadeinthe202lbudget.MovedD.Adams,secondedMWang.D.Adamswillpresentadetailedtrainingplanandrecommendedbudgetallocationtothenextmeeting.Thecommitteenotedthereportontrainingforemergency-controlteammembers.Itwasagreedthatabudgetallocationwouldbemadeforthisactivityinthe2021budget.4.Nextmeeting.ThenextmeetingwillbeheldonWednesday,18January2021intheconferenceroom.WritingPractice

DraftanagendaandtheminutesbasedontheinformationofConversationOneorTwoinSpeakingTask.Youmayusetheminutesproformashownbelowfortakingminutes.Afteryouhavefinished,workinpairsorgroupstodiscussyourwork.PleasecheckyourminuteswithChecklistprovidedbelow.MinutesProFormaTopic/TitlePurposeofthemeetingDate/time/locationPresentApologiesDiscussionitemsanddecisions/action(who/what/when)Keypointsofdiscussion

ChecklistMinuteTakerCompletethischecklistafterameetingtoidentifyanygaps.IHAVE:positionedmyselfsothatIcanhearallparticipantswrittenclearlyandsuccinctlyusedtactindescribingpersonalopinionsreferredtoagendawhenkeepingminutesnotedname,place,timeanddateofmeetingrecordedattendancerecordedapologiesrecordedconfirmationofminutestakennotesonkeypointsofdiscussionaccuratelyrecordedmotionscheckedwiththechairpersonforexactwordinglistednamesofmoverandseconderofmotionsrecordedalldecisionspreparedanactionlistdistributedtheminutes

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3.5Roleplay1)YouarecallingtheABCCompanyabouttheadforsalespersons.Youwanttoapplyfortheposition.Inquireasmuchinformationasyouneed.2)YouwillbegoingoverseasnextweekonabusinesstripandyouwanttomeetwithMr.Nelson,yourcustomerinLondon,todiscussaboutyoursalesplannextyear.Callhimuptomakeanappointment.3)YouaregoingtotheUnitedStatesforashorttrainingcourse.Youreceiveaphonecallfromabusinessfriendwhomyouknowquitewell.YourfriendinvitesyoutovisithisorhercompanyduringyourstayintheUnitedStates.Youaretalkingonthephoneaboutthearrangement.4)YouarephoningMr.Brown,ManagerofExportDepartmentaboutsomethingurgent,butheisnotintheoffice,soyouleaveamessagewithhissecretary.3.6LanguageFocus1.Startingameeting.1)Iwouldliketocallthemeetingtoorder.2)Well,ladiesandgentlemen,Ithinkweshouldbegin.3)Ithinkwe’llmakeastart.4)Let’smakeastart,shallwe?5)Let’sbegin/getgoing,shallwe?6)Perhapswe’dbettergetstarted/getdowntobusiness.7)Rightthen,Ithinkit’sabouttimewegotstarted/going.8)Right,maywemoveontotheagendathen,please?9)Rightthen,Ithinkweshouldbegin.10)Nowthat/Sinceeveryoneishere,let’scallthemeetingtoorder.11)Ithinkwe’llbeginnow.FirstI’dliketowelcomeyouall.12)Thankyouforcomingatsuchshortnotice.13)Let’sreviewtheminutesforthelastmeeting.14)Firstofall,I’dliketointroduceMr.Gerald,PurchasingManagerfromourLondonoffice.15)Ourmainaimtodayistodecidethemarketplanforthelaterpartoftheyear.16)Icalledthismeetinginordertotalkaboutthecurrentsituationofthemarket.2.Statingobjectives.1)Thepurpose/aimofourmeetingtodayistodiscuss…2)Thepurposeofthismeetingis,first,to…andsecondlyto...3)Weareheretodaytoconsiderfirst…secondly…thirdly...4)Themainobjectiveofourmeetingis…5)I’vecalledthismeetingfirstto…secondlyto….3.Keepingthemeetingmoving.1)Wouldyouliketobegin/toopenthediscussion…?2)Now,let’scometothenextitemontheagenda.3)Thenextquestionfordiscussionis…4)Shallwecontinuethen?5)Let’smoveon.4.Askingforsuggestions.1)I’dliketohearyoursuggestionsfirst.2)Whatareyourviews?3)Whatdoyouthinkaboutthat?4)Whatdoyouthinkofthisproposal?/What’syouropinionaboutthisproposal?5)Isthereanyonewhowouldliketotakethefloor?6)Doyouhavemycommentsonthis?/Haveyougotanythingtosayaboutthis?7)Wouldyouliketovoiceyouropinion?8)Hasanyoneelsegotanythingtoadd?9)Hasanyonegotanyobjectionstothisarrangement?10)Franklyspeaking,I’mnothappywiththedecision.11)I’dsuggestwestartwiththematerialoftheclothes.12)AlthoughIadmirehisopinion,Idon’tthinkhehastouchedthekeypoint.5.Introducingideas.1)Wouldn’titbepossibleto...2)CouldImakeoneadditionalrecommendation?3)I’dliketomakeonemorepoint.4)There’sjustonemorepoint.

6.Makinganoppositesuggestions.1)Iseeyourpoint,but...2)That’strue,but...3)Ontheotherhand...4)Ithinkit’sabsurdtosuggestthatwecutdownonproduction.7.Interruptingsomeone.1)Excuseme,butIthinkit’srelevantheretoaddthat...2)Forgiveme,butwouldn’titbebetterto...first.3)Perhapswecouldreturntoyourpointlateron...4)Sorrytointerrupt,butI’djustliketosaythat...5)CouldImakeasuggestion?6)I’mafraidwearegettingsidetracked...7)Look,IsuggestwedealwiththisunderA.O.B(anyotherbusiness)...8.Agreeing.1)Iagreewithyou.2)Iagreeentirelywithyourview.3)Ithinkwe’reofthesamemind.4)Icouldn’tagreemore.)Iagreetoyourproposal.6)Iacceptthatflexitimehasalotofadvantages.7)I’dbeinfavourofthat.8)I’mwithyouthere.9)I’dgoalongwithyouthere.10)Ishareyouropiniononthispoint.9.Disagreeing.1)I’msorryIcan’tagreewithyou.2)Istronglyopposethatplan.3)Therearealwaystwosidestoeverything.4)Ihaveoppositeviewsonthis.5)Iwouldn’tgoalongwithyouthere.6)Youmayberight,butIviewitalittledifferently.7)Idon’tmeantodisagreewithyou,butIthink...8)Youhaveapoint,butdon’t