会议英语

开会的目的

Why hold a meeting? There are many different reasons.

1. 头脑风暴
   One is to brainstorm. “Brainstorming” is creating a lot of different ideas, so that they can later be analyzed, evaluated, and the best ones can be selected. Brainstorming is often done as a first step in a project, before there is a definite plan.

2. 研究策略和分配任务
   Another reason to hold a meeting is to develop a strategy and allocate tasks.

   • A strategy is a plan for completing a project
   • “allocate tasks” means to assign specific items of work to specific people.

3. 项目合作和进度汇报
   Meetings are also held to collaborate (work together) on projects and give updates – reports of progress and current status. Finally, meetings are held to make decisions.

4. 投票 / 取得共识
   Some meetings use a formal system of voting, in which a decision is made if it receives the majority (more than 50%) of the votes.
   Other meetings use a less formal system of decision-making, aiming for the group to come to a consensus (a general agreement).

通知

We’re going to have another department meeting on Friday.
我们将在星期五再举行一次部门会议。

Let’s hold a meeting to discuss the policy changes.
让我们开会讨论政策变更。

可以使用 have 与 hold 作为动词与 meeting 搭配。
You can also use “schedule,” “arrange” or “organize” to talk about having a meeting in the future.

I will be absent from the meeting tomorrow.
我明天将缺席这场会议。

I will be the chair of the meeting.
我将主持这次会议。

参加会议

Did you go to/attend(formal) the project team meeting?
您是否参加了项目团队会议？

Several people did not attend the development meeting.
有几个人没有参加开发会议。

开场白

Hello, everyone. Thank you for coming today.
你好，各位。谢谢大家今天的到来。

Since everyone is here, let’s get started.
既然大家都到了，那让我们开始吧。

First, I’d like to welcome you all.
首先，我想欢迎大家。

We have a lot to accomplish in this meeting.
我们有一堆事情要在这场会议完成。

We have a lot of objectives to discuss
我们有一堆目标需要讨论。

As you can see from the agenda, we’ll be talking about… [topic]
正如你在议事日程上看到的，我们将讨论。。。

I’ve called this meeting in order to … [goal]
我召开这次会议是为了。。。

Our main goal today is to determine the budget for 2013.
我们今天的主要目标是确定2013年的预算。

最好一开始就介绍这次会议的主题。

介绍新人

• I’d like to take a moment to introduce… [name + description]
  I’d like to take a moment to introduce Carla, from the public relations department.
  我想花一点时间介绍公共关系部门的卡拉。

• Please join me in welcoming [name + description]
  Please join me in welcoming Jim, a consultant who will be helping us with project management.
  请和我一起欢迎吉姆（Jim），他将为我们的项目管理提供帮助。

• Sheila, would you like to introduce yourself?
  希拉，你想自我介绍吗？

询问观点

会议通常开始于展示了一些信息，并询问他人意见。

• What are your thoughts on all of this?
  您对此有何看法？
• How do you feel about that?
  你对这件事有什么感想？
• Do you have anything to say about this?
  您对此有话要说吗？
• What do you think?
  你怎么看？
• What’s your opinion about this?
  您对此有何看法？
• I’d like to get your feedback on…
  我想获得您的反馈……
• What are your thoughts about… ?
  您对……有什么看法？
• What are your views on… ?
  您对……有何看法？

当一个人表达观点后，使用 ‘thanks‘ 表达已经知悉。然后用下面的句子询问其他人的意见。

• What does everyone else think?
  其他人怎么想？
• Are there any other comments?
  还有其他意见吗？

如果你想听特定人的意见，可以用

• Susan, can we get your input?
  苏珊，我们能收到您的意见吗？
• Would you like to add anything, Susan?
  您想添加什么吗，苏珊？

给出自己的观点

Strong

I strongly believe that…
I’m positive that…
I’m convinced that…
I have no doubt whatsoever that…
There’s no question that…
I’m pretty sure that
I firmly believe…
I have reason to believe that…

(strongest)

Normal

I think / believe / feel that…
From my point of view…
In my experience… / I find that…
(use these phrases to base your opinion on your experience)
I’d say that…
If you want my honest opinion, I think that… / To be honest…
I honestly feel that
In my opinion…
As far as I’m concerned…

(use these phrases when you want to express a negative or critical opinion. The word “honest” is a diplomatic way to signal that you are going to say something negative or unpopular)

Weak

It seems to me that…
It’s possible that…
I tend to think that…
My initial reaction is…

(use this phrase to show that this is an opinion you haven’t thought very deeply about)

提出论据

It leads me to believe that…My opinion is based on the fact that…
The reason why I think…

When you consider that…

For instance

For example

To start with

The way I see it…

赞同

Strong agreement:

I completely agree.
I couldn’t agree more.
You’re absolutely right.

Normal agreement:

Exactly!
That’s just how I see it.
I’m with Peter on this.
(you can use this phrase to refer to another colleague’s opinion)

Partial agreement:

Well, it depends.
I agree with you up to a point, but…
(this means that you agree with some of the opinion, but not all of it)
I agree with you in principle, but…
(this means you agree with the opinion in theory, but not in practice)

否定

Normal Disagreement:

In English, saying “I disagree” can be a little too direct, and may be considered impolite. Use one of these phrases instead, to disagree diplomatically:

• I’m afraid I disagree.
• I’m not so sure about that.
• I see it differently.
• Yes, but…
• Not necessarily.

Strong disagreement:

Finally, here are some phrases for disagreeing strongly. The words “I’m sorry” make the phrase more polite.

• I’m sorry, but I completely disagree.
• I’m sorry, but I don’t agree with that at all.

解决分歧:

What do you do if you’re in charge of a meeting and people are arguing? Use one of these phrases to settle the disagreement and continue the meeting:

• We don’t seem to be getting anywhere with this, so maybe we could discuss it further at another time.
  我们在这个问题上似乎没有什么进展，也许我们可以改天再讨论一下。
• Let’s move on. I think we’re going to have to agree to disagree.

询问

What does everyone think about Dan’s proposal?

Has everyone received the agenda?
大家都收到了一个议事日程了吧？

What’s the next item on the agenda?
议程的下一项是什么？

Do you enjoy attending meetings?
你喜欢参加会议吗？

Do you think that attending meetings is ever as waste of time?
你认为参加会议甚至是在浪费时间吗？

Have you ever been the chair of a meeting?
你曾经主持一次会议吗?

How can meetings be run effectively?
会议如何可以有效率地运行?

Have you ever taken minutes in a meeting?
你曾经在会议上记备忘录吗？

Do you think it is difficult to reach unanimous decisions?
你是否认为很难达成一致的决定？

What are the disadvantages?
缺点是什么？

What can be done to prevent accidents?
我们可以做些什么来阻止类似的事故？

汇报工作状态

Then at the end of the day, I allocate a time slot to clear these tasks.
那今天结束之前，我划分一些时间来清除这些任务。

祈使

Could everyone please turn to page 3 of the report?
大家可以翻到报告的第三页吗？

Let’s brainstorm about some solutions.
让我们开动脑筋想一些解决方案。

Brainstorming is often done as a first step in a project, before there is a definite plan.

Please try to be punctual for the meeting.
请准时参加会议。

Please get home in time to cook dinner.
请及时回家做晚饭

I hope the train will be on time
我希望火车能准时

If we hurry up, we’ll be there before the others
如果我们快点,我们会在他人之前赶到那里。

讨论

We have four points to run through in our meeting today.
我们有四点要在今天的会议上讨论。

The most important issue we must deal with is communication.
我们必须处理的最重要的问题是沟通。

You had better deal with that situation as quickly as possible.
你最好尽快解决这种情况。

The first important item we need to address is communication.
我们需要处理的第一件事情是沟通。

I need some clarification about this point
我需要一些关于这一点的说明解释。

I will take the minutes for the meeting.
我将为这个会议记备忘录。

I think we can leave this point aside for now.
我认为我们暂且可以将这一点放在一边。

Let’s come back to this point at the end.
让我们回到这一点的讨论来。

We need to come to a consensus about the best solution
我们需要达成关于最佳解决方案的共识。

The deadline for submitting the report is 1st January.
提交报告的截止日期是1月1号。

We need a new strategy to address this problem.
我们需要一个新的策略来解决这个问题。

打断

At times, you might want to interrupt the discussion to add a point. Here are three polite ways to do that:

May I have a word?
Could I just say one thing?
Excuse me – sorry for interrupting, but…

推进会议进程

如果你正在主持这次会议，可以使用下面的句子推进讨论到下一个在agenda上的项目。

• I think we’ve spent enough time on this topic. Moving on…
• If nobody has anything else to add, let’s move on to the next item.
• Are there any other comments about this item before we continue?
• We’re running short on time, so let’s move on.
• I’d like to skip item 2 and go directly to item 3.
  (This means you want to go from item 1 directly to item 3)

如果你想要把讨论权交给指定一个人，可以用：

• I’d like to hand it over to Brian, who is going to lead the next point.
• Next, Brian is going to tell us about…

如果跑题了，可以用下面句子拉回会议主题 ：

• I’m afraid that’s outside the scope of this meeting.
  我恐怕那超出了这次会议的讨论范围。
• I think we’re getting a bit off topic.
• We’d better save that for another meeting.
• Let’s get back on track, OK?
  让我们回到正轨,好吗?
• Getting back to… [topic]

做决定

There are so many choices, it is difficult to make up my mind about the right one.
有很多的选择,很难做出决定。

I have made a tentative decision and after the meeting I will provide confirmation.
我做了一个初步决定,会后我将提供确认。

事故

I can’t call you because my phone has run out of battery
因为我的手机没电了所以我不无法给你打电话。

描述问题：使用一般现在时或现在进行时

I have a problem with my car (present simple) or
I am having a problem with my car (present continuous)
The light is not working (present continuous)

经常出现的问题，通常使用 keep + 动名词

My laptop/headset keeps breaking.
我的笔记本/耳机总是出故障。

当讨论解决方案，通常使用 need + 动名词 或 被动式

My phone needs fixing
My laptop needs replacing

My phone needs to be fixed
My laptop needs to be replaced

争论

Do you ever get into arguments with people who have different beliefs or opinions as you?
你是否曾经与跟你意见相左的人争论。

Before you quit your job I think you should try to calm down.
在你离开你的工作之前,我认为你应该试着冷静下来。

时间

By the time I get home, they are usually asleep.
我回家的时候,他们通常是睡着了。

Do you have enough time to do all the things you want to do?
你有足够的时间完成你想要做的所有事情吗？

Do you make a schedule for how to spend your time?
你做一个计划如何度过你的时间呢?

Do you ever race against time?
你是否曾与时间赛跑？

总结

They came to a unanimous agreement.
他们达成了一个无异议的协议。

Take your time, there is no need to rush.
慢慢来，不用急。

结束

• It looks like we’ve covered the main items on the agenda.
• That will be all for today.
• If no one has anything else to add, then I think we’ll wrap this up.
  如果没有其他要添加的内容，那么我认为我们将对此进行总结。

你也可以设置下次会议的时间：
Our next meeting will be… / Let’s get together…

• on January 29th.
• on the first Monday of next month.
• two weeks from today.

参考链接

• English Phrases For Meetings