Top Ten Tips - How to Prepare for a Meeting in English

You may have studied the expressions for that important meeting in English, but do you feel prepared? This article will help.

If you would like step-by-step instructions on how to improve your English by yourself, download our free guide HERE.

Top Ten Tips - How To Prepare For a Meeting In English

I decided to write this blog post when I came to the end of creating our course on Meetings in English - What to Say and When to Say it (free inside our membership HERE).

This course is filled with really useful information like:

Leading a meeting
Explaining, describing, giving opinions
Giving, accepting & rejecting suggestions
Making agreements & negotiating
Online meetings

among other important topics.

However, I realised that it was also really important for students to KNOW HOW TO PREPARE THEMSELVES for meetings in English so that they could communicate effectively, reduce their anxiety, and appear confident and competent. So I added that to the course too.

I also thought professional English learners would like some tips on how to prepare for meetings in English.

Watch the video below, or read the article, whichever you prefer.

So here goes - my top ten tips for preparing to have a meeting in English.

Prepare in advance!

The first thing to note is that you will probably know in advance that you will have a meeting in English, in this case, you will have time to prepare.

Without trying to cause you unnecessary anxiety, I recommend that you treat this situation as if it were an exam you had to study for or a presentation you had to prepare for. You wouldn´t go into either of those situations without having prepared, and it should be the same for attending a meeting in English. In fact, if I have an unusual situation to deal with in Spanish, I look for the vocabulary and practice it before going into the situation, even after being in Spain for 11 years and being comfortable with the language (for example, a new medical problem, or a service I want to acquire).

There are many factors that will determine what level of preparation is needed - for instance, your level of English speaking and understanding, your familiarity with the topic, if you are accustomed to having meetings in English or if it is your first time, and your role in the meeting (are you a senior figure or are you with people who are a higher category in work?).

It will also depend on how much is at stake - in other words, if the meeting is relatively unimportant in terms of consequences - i.e. it is internal, it is a regular meeting - or if it is very important and needs to be very successful, for example, to win a contract with a new client or achieve an important agreement. So you need to first look at how important it is that the meeting is successful.

Perhaps the most important factor to determine the level of preparation needed is how much YOU will participate in the meeting. For example, you will have to prepare much more carefully if you are leading the meeting than if you are only there as an attendee and don´t have a speaking role.

2. Prepare in advance!

No, this is not repeated by mistake. It is so important that it deserves mentioning twice. It is never too early to prepare for meetings in English, because, as I am sure, learning a new language is a long process and cannot be studied for in one night (I take back the comparison with an exam - at least you can study for an exam in a relatively short period of time!).

If you know that it is a possibility that you will work, and therefore have meetings, in English, start NOW. Listen as much as possible to English to improve your comprehension, and study the topics that you will need. For example, if you need to have meetings in English, study expressions and structures for meetings in English.

The following steps are for people who have been preparing and people who haven´t.

If you haven´t prepared in advance because:

a. You always meant to but never found the time, or

b. You didn´t expect to have meetings in English,

follow the next steps closely:

3. Prepare a cheatsheet/page, cards, or post-its

of the necessary expressions you will need to use in the meeting.

4. Repeat these expressions out loud

until they become natural, easy to say, and automatic.

5. Review meeting expressions in general

in a less intensive way, so that you will be able to understand what people are saying - the ideal way to do this is to listen to the expressions, therefore practicing the expressions and practicing your listening skills.

6. Listen to English

before the meeting if possible (again business or meeting-related topics are best).

7. Speak a little English

if possible just before the meeting, to ´warm up´(even to yourself). In fact, we always offer to have students speak to us before an English meeting or exam to ´change the chip ´in their brain to English and avoid that initial first few minutes of getting accustomed to speaking in English.

8. Practice, practice, practice

If it is a big meeting or an important one, or if it is your first meeting in English, practice practice practice, say the expressions you need out loud, Especially expressions to ask for clarification.

If you need help with this, join our classes HERE.

9. Try not to become anxious in the meeting.

This is easy to say but being nervous will not help you. The first is always the worst, the second time is easier, and each one after that, easier, therefore the best way to avoid being nervous is to practice as much as possible beforehand. This will help you feel more confident going into the meeting.

10. What are the consequences if you get it wrong?

The last tip is probably the most important, and it is actually a personal motto - Is someone going to die if you get this wrong, if things don´t go well, or even if you mess up the meeting? If the answer is no, well then - who cares! Everything will be alright, even if (you think) the meeting is a disaster.

If the answer is yes, well - start studying NOW!!!!!!!

In conclusion, as you may have gathered from my tips above, the best thing you can do if you have a meeting in English is to be prepared.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” … prepare before doing the task.

And in case you need to have meetings in English, our course in meetings contains strategies, how-tos, and essential expressions and structures for meetings in English. It is most suitable for someone who has an intermediate level of English. You can study this FREE as part of our online membership program:
https://inglesconkillian.com/courses/fast-track-to-fluency