Chairing Business Meetings

First Business English know that chairing a meeting is a key leadership skill in the business world. A good chairperson ensures the meeting is productive, organized, and stays on topic. For Business English learners, understanding how to manage a meeting confidently in English involves learning useful phrases, formal expressions, and vocabulary specific to the meeting context. In this First Business English article we provide you with a good overview of chairing a meeting and an example paragraph to help you confidently chair your next meeting that is required in English.

Useful Vocabulary and Phrases

• Chairperson / to chair a meeting – the person who leads the meeting
  “Sarah will chair today’s meeting.”

• Agenda – a list of items to be discussed
  “Let’s move to the next item on the agenda.”

• Minutes – a written record of what was discussed and decided
  “Can someone take the minutes, please?”

• To open the meeting – to begin the meeting formally
  “Let’s open the meeting and get started.”

• To stick to the agenda – to stay focused on the planned topics
  “We need to stick to the agenda to stay on schedule.”

• To give the floor to someone – to let someone speak
  “I’d like to give the floor to our marketing director.”

• To summarize / recap – to briefly repeat the main points
  “Let me summarize what we’ve discussed so far.”

• Action points – tasks that need to be done after the meeting
  “We’ve agreed on the following action points.”

• To wrap up the meeting – to end the meeting
  “We’re out of time, so let’s wrap up the meeting.”

Steps to Chairing a Meeting

1. Start on Time
   Begin with a polite welcome and a brief introduction:
   “Good morning, everyone. Let’s begin. Thank you for being here today.”

2. State the Purpose and Agenda
   Explain what the meeting is about:
   “The purpose of today’s meeting is to review last quarter’s sales performance.”
   “Here’s the agenda we’ll be following.”

3. Manage Participation
   Encourage contributions, but also keep control:
   “Let’s hear from everyone briefly.”
   “I’d like to hear John’s opinion on this.”

4. Keep to the Time Limit
   Watch the clock and move on when needed:
   “I’m afraid we’re short on time—let’s move to the next point.”

5. Summarize and Assign Action Points
   Make sure everyone knows the outcomes:
   “To recap, we’ve agreed that marketing will prepare a new campaign by Friday.”

6. Close the Meeting Politely
   End on a clear and professional note:
   “Thanks for your input today. We’ll meet again next Monday at 10 AM.”

Example Paragraph

Yesterday, I chaired a team meeting to discuss our upcoming product launch. I began by stating the purpose and going over the agenda. I made sure to give the floor to each department head, so everyone had a chance to speak. When the discussion ran long, I reminded the team to stick to the agenda. At the end, I summarized the key decisions and listed the action points, including deadlines. We wrapped up the meeting on time, and everyone left with a clear understanding of the next steps.

Conclusion

Chairing a meeting in a business context requires planning, structure, and good communication. For Business English learners, learning formal phrases like “Let’s move on,” “To recap,” and “Can we stay on topic?” helps lead meetings with confidence and professionalism. With practice, you can become an effective and respected meeting chairperson. To learn more simply book a lesson with us at First Business English.