These signals are intended to
help non-native speakers lead relatively INFORMAL business discussions. They are not the
signals which one needs to chair a formal business meeting. The main reason for this is
that Americans generally don’t have very formal meetings, except perhaps at the
highest level of some very large corporations. So, if you ever have to lead a discussion
in America, let these signals assist you.
1
STARTING THE MEETING
If people are
talking when it is time to start, you need to signal the beginning. Almost anything the
leader says at the appointed time is good enough (meetings start on time in America), but
if you want a true signal, here are a few.
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Well, I
think we're all here now.
Okay, I think we can begin now.
Okay, can we get started?
All right, let's get started, okay?
Shall we start?
Okay, everybody.
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2 BACKGROUND TO THE DISCUSSION
These signals are
to help you remind the participants of the background to the discussion.
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Just to remind you,
the …
To put you in the picture, the ...
To bring you up to date, the ...
As you know, the
...
As you probably know, the ...
You may have heard that the ...
If you haven't already heard, the ...
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3 PURPOSE OF THE DISCUSSION
These signals are
to help you remind the participants of the purpose of the discussion.
|
We have four items on
today’s agenda.
First, we
must decide what …
Second, we have to decide how
…
Third, we
want to decide who …
And finally, we
really should decide when
…
Today we’re going to discuss ...
*
Today we’re going to talk about ...
*
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* Notice that the word
"talk" is followed by the word "about", but the word
"discuss" is not.
"talk about" = "discuss". (NOT:
"discuss about")
4 OPENING THE DISCUSSION
After introducing a topic,
it is the leader’s job (duty) to initiate the discussion. This does not mean he or she should be the first to express his or her
thoughts and opinions. A good discussion leader remains neutral, at least until everyone
else has had an opportunity to be heard.
If there is someone in the
group who has knowledge about or experience with the topic, it could be wise to direct the
discussion to him first. For example:
|
George,
would you like to tell us what you know about …?
George, would you
like to share your experiences with us on this matter?
George, tell us about …
George, what do you know about this?
|
In most
American companies, people are eager to speak up in discussions. Remember, we tend to
think that people who have nothing to say are either not very bright or are not prepared.
We don’t wait to hear what the experts have to say. We do listen to experts, but we
still want to share our own thoughts. So as a discussion leader, you can always open the
discussion with a general invitation and see what happens.
|
Who
would like to open the discussion?
So, who wants to
start?
What do you all think about this?
What’s the general view on this?
So, what should we do?
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General
invitations to speak are also seen as fair or democratic. But in the unlikely event that
nobody says anything, then you can address someone directly.
|
Mary,
what about you?
Mary, what do you
think?
Mary, what’s your opinion?
|
You
may notice that these are basically the same as Asking For An Opinion (# 6 ) in
Business Meetings & Discussions.
5
WORDS OF APPROVAL
In American
discussions, silence is usually interpreted as a sign of disinterest, disagreement or
disapproval. Therefore, it is normal for the leader to make very short comments after
someone has spoken. It doesn’t happen every time, but it happens a lot, because
Americans thrive on feedback. We want to know how we are doing. The feedback doesn’t
have to be formal or long. Usually it is a short sentence or phrase given spontaneously on
the spot. If someone has obviously given some thought to what he said — and if the
contribution was valuable in some way — then it is much appreciated if you show your
satisfaction with words of approval. Here are some ways you can do that.
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Good.
Very good.
All right.
Okay.
Mm-hmm.*
Thank you.
Thank you for your comment.
Thank you for your opinion.
Thank you for your input.
Thanks for your input.
That’s a very good point.
It’s good you thought of that.
I’m glad you reminded us.
That’s something to keep in mind.
We should take that into consideration.
That’s a good idea.
I can see this is important to you.
I can see you’ve given some thought to this.
Very interesting.
Well
said.
|
* People often use sounds of approval as well as words of approval.
Many of these sentences
can be spoken ironically. True words of approval require a sincere tone of voice and eye
contact. For some people, this is very new and feels insincere or manipulative. Such
thoughts will go away with time and practice.
6 KEEPING THE DISCUSSION GOING
There are situations where
the leader needs to encourage someone else to say something. There are other situations
where the leader should give the group an opportunity for one last comment before going on
to the next item on the agenda. These signals are good for such situations.
|
Would anyone like to respond?
What do the rest of you think?
Any reaction to that?
Any comments on that?
Any questions about that?
What about you, Elliot?
What do you think about that, Charley?
How do you feel *
about that, Janet?
Would anyone like to add anything?
Does anyone have a final comment on this
matter?
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*
Asking
someone how she "feels" about a topic does not limit her response to feelings
and intuition (although these may be welcome). In normal speech, the expressions "how
do you feel about ..." and "what do you think about ..." are virtually the same.
Some of these sentences can be
spoken ironically. True words of approval require a sincere tone of voice and eye contact.
For some people, this is very new and feels insincere or manipulative. Such thoughts will
go away with time and practice.
7 MOVING TO THE NEXT POINT
ON THE AGENDA
Signals like these are
used to change the discussion topic.
|
Okay, our next topic is
…
Let's go on to the next point.
Let's move on to our next item, which is …
This brings us to the next point on our agenda, which is …
|
8 STAYING ON TRACK
It is the duty of the
discussion leader to keep the discussion moving in the right direction. When someone takes
it in the wrong direction, the leader must say something. Below are some possibilities.
|
I think we're getting away from the main point.
It sounds like we’re
getting off track.
We’re getting off the subject.
Can we stick to the main topic?
Let's get back to the topic.
|
Notice that a good discussion
leader will use words like we and let’s in such phrases. The leader
tries to avoid making someone feel stupid by suggesting he or she cannot stay on the main
topic.
9 CONTROLLING THE TIME
Time is very important to
Americans and it is measured very carefully. Meetings generally start and finish on time.
Agendas may have precise times written down for the various activities. People may be
given strict time limits for giving information or presenting arguments. It is the
discussion leader’s duty not only to enforce the time limits but also to give fair
warning before time runs out. This is true for each part of the meeting, as well as for
the end of the meeting.
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We don’t have much time left.
Time is running out.
We’re running out of time.
We are running short on time.
We only have three minutes left.
We’re almost out of time.
We have to watch our time. It’s almost two-thirty.
Can you go a little faster? We don’t have much time left.
Can you make it short? We only have three minutes left.
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10 SIGNALING THE END OF THE
MEETING
When time for the meeting
has finally run out, the discussion leader makes the announcement that the meeting is
over. Whether all of the business was actually finished or not is a different matter.
|
Well, I think we've covered everything.
I think that takes care of everything.
It looks like that’s everything for today.
I’m afraid our time is up. We’ll have to finish this next time.
It looks like our time is over. We’ll have to continue this next time.
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11 SUMMARIZING
If the discussion leader
gives a summary at the end of the meeting, he or she can use phrases like the ones below.
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To summarize, we decided that …
Just to remind you, we decided that …
To re-cap the main points, we decided to …
Barry is going to check on the …
Sally is going to find out about …
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12 THANKING EVERYONE
Thanking everyone is
something that can take less than five seconds, but if you don’t do it, everyone
leaves with an incomplete or negative feeling. The signals are very simple. No big speech
is required.
|
Thank you all for your participation.
Thank you all for your
contributions.
Thank you all for your input.
Thank you all for your time.
Thank you all for coming.
Thanks, everybody.
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