Starting
Okay, let’s get down to business
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Starting
Right, can we start please?
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Setting Objectives
The purpose of this meeting is…
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Setting Objectives
The aims of this meeting are…
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Asking for Reactions
How do you feel about … ?
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Asking for Reactions
What do you think?
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Dealing with Interruptions
Could you let him finish, please?
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Dealing with Interruptions
Could you just hang on a moment, please?
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Keeping to the Point
I’m not sure that’s relevant.
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Keeping to the Point
Perhaps we could get back to the point.
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Speeding Up
I think we should move on now.
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Speeding Up
Can we come back to that?
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Slowing Down
Hold on, we need to look at this in more detail.
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Slowing Down
I think we should discuss this a bit more.
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Summarising
OK, let’s go over what we’ve agreed.
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Summarising
Right, to sum up then …
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P=Petro, E=Eduardo, M=Mitsuko, W=William
P: Good morning, everyone, I take it you’ve received the agenda and the minutes of our last meeting. Does anyone have any comments?
E/M/W: No/Ok
P: Right. (1)_________________________ to discuss our smoking policy. As you know, people are complaining that our staff have been smoking just outside the door of the building and leaving cigarette ends everywhere on the pavement. That’s not acceptable. Eduardo, you’re a smoker, (2)_________________________ we should do about it?
E: Well, I think we should be able to smoke outside the restaurant, on the balcony. It’s big enough for plenty of people to sit there, it’s in the open air, and we smokers would be happy. We wouldn’t bother to go outside the building.
P: Mmm, interesting. (3)_________________________, Mitsuko? Do you agree with Eduardo?
M: Not at all. Our policy has always been “no smoking on company premises”. I think we should keep it that way. Non-smoking staff often go out on the balcony to relax, they don’t want to breathe in a lot of filthy smoke. No, it’s not at all--
W: Come on, Mitsuko, I’m not a smoker, but I do think you should be a little more open-minded, more tolerant …
P: I’m sorry, William. What you say is very interesting, I’m sure, but (4)_________________________? You’ll get your turn to give your opinion.
W: Sorry for interrupting you, Mitsuko. Please, go on.
M: I just wanted to say, I don’t think we should provide places in the building for people to smoke. It’s setting a bad example, especially to younger staff.
P: William, what do you want to say?
W: I just think we have to try to understand smokers. They’re addicted to smoking, they find it very hard to give up, so we should provide them with somewhere to enjoy their habit. Or, if we can’t do that, give them a longer break during the morning, say at 11 o’clock, so they can go to the park near here and have a cigarette.
M: I think that’s a good idea, Petra. It would show smokers that we want to help them, you know, that we’re a tolerant, open-minded company.
P: Not a bad idea. It’s definitely worth considering, too. But (5)_________________________. Can we come back to the smoking issue at our next meeting? I want to get the opinion of staff about our smoking policy. So they’ll be getting a questionaire about it from our HR department sometime in the next few days…
OK everyone, thanks for your comments. (6)_________________________, on the smoking policy, we’ll consider whether we want to give smokers a longer break in the morning. And we’ll discuss the matter again at next week’s meeting. OK, any other business? … Right, thanks everyone for your contributions. Have a good lunch.
Answers:
P=Petro, E=Eduardo, M=Mitsuko, W=William
P: Good morning, everyone, I take it you’ve received the agenda and the minutes of our last meeting. Does anyone have any comments?
E/M/W: No/Ok
P: Right. (1)The purpose of this meeting is to discuss our smoking policy. As you know, people are complaining that our staff have been smoking just outside the door of the building and leaving cigarette ends everywhere on the pavement. That’s not acceptable. Eduardo, you’re a smoker, (2)what do you think we should do about it?
E: Well, I think we should be able to smoke outside the restaurant, on the balcony. It’s big enough for plenty of people to sit there, it’s in the open air, and we smokers would be happy. We wouldn’t bother to go outside the building.
P: Mmm, interesting. (3)How do you feel about that, Mitsuko? Do you agree with Eduardo?
M: Not at all. Our policy has always been “no smoking on company premises”. I think we should keep it that way. Non-smoking staff often go out on the balcony to relax, they don’t want to breathe in a lot of filthy smoke. No, it’s not at all--
W: Come on, Mitsuko, I’m not a smoker, but I do think you should be a little more open-minded, more tolerant …
P: I’m sorry, William. What you say is very interesting, I’m sure, but (4)could you let Mitsuko finish please? You’ll get your turn to give your opinion.
W: Sorry for interrupting you, Mitsuko. Please, go on.
M: I just wanted to say, I don’t think we should provide places in the building for people to smoke. It’s setting a bad example, especially to younger staff.
P: William, what do you want to say?
W: I just think we have to try to understand smokers. They’re addicted to smoking, they find it very hard to give up, so we should provide them with somewhere to enjoy their habit. Or, if we can’t do that, give them a longer break during the morning, say at 11 o’clock, so they can go to the park near here and have a cigarette.
M: I think that’s a good idea, Petra. It would show smokers that we want to help them, you know, that we’re a tolerant, open-minded company.
P: Not a bad idea. It’s definitely worth considering, too. But (5)I think we should move on now. Can we come back to the smoking issue at our next meeting? I want to get the opinion of staff about our smoking policy. So they’ll be getting a questionaire about it from our HR department sometime in the next few days…
OK everyone, thanks for your comments. (6)To sum up, then, on the smoking policy, we’ll consider whether we want to give smokers a longer break in the morning. And we’ll discuss the matter again at next week’s meeting. OK, any other business? … Right, thanks everyone for your contributions. Have a good lunch.
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