[0:00]welcome back to Leo English Podcast. Hello friends, we're glad you're practicing English with us today. I'm Leo. Welcome back. Let's improve our English together. And I'm Tina. We're here to help you speak English naturally and confidently through real conversations. Today we have a super useful topic. We're talking about online meetings in English. We'll teach you 100 essential phrases you need to sound professional and confident. This is so important because many people now work from home or study online. If you need to join meetings in English, this lesson will help you a lot. You'll learn how to introduce yourself, ask questions, share opinions and handle technical problems. Yes, and we'll use natural conversation so you can practice listening too. If you find this lesson helpful, please give us a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel. All right, Leo, are you ready to talk about online meetings? Absolutely. Let's get started. So, Leo, how are you today? I'm actually a bit tired, Tina. I had three online meetings this morning before we started recording this video. Three meetings. Wow, that's a lot. What were they about? Well, one was with our video editor, one was a planning meeting for next week's videos, and one was with a sponsor. Back to back meetings, no break. Oh, no, I understand that feeling. Did you remember to turn your camera on for all of them? Funny you ask that. In the first meeting, I forgot to unmute myself for like two minutes. Everyone was waiting for me to answer a question and I was talking but no one could hear me. haha that's so common. I did that last week too. I was saying, yes, I agree for a long time and then someone typed in the chat. Leo, you're on mute. Wait, that happened to you? You're usually so organized. Everyone makes mistakes in online meetings. That's actually why today's topic is perfect. What did you do this weekend, by the way? I actually practiced using some professional English phrases because I knew we'd record this video. I watched a few business meetings online to prepare. What about you? I made a list of common problems people have in online meetings, things like connection issues, not knowing when to speak or how to politely disagree. That's perfect. Speaking of online meetings, I think our viewers really need this lesson because online meetings are so different from face to face meetings. Exactly, you can't see body language clearly, sometimes the audio cuts out, and you need specific phrases to sound polite and professional. Should we jump into the main conversation now? Yes, let's do it. Okay, Leo, let's imagine we're teaching someone who has their first online meeting in English tomorrow. Where should they start? Well, I think before the meeting even starts, you need to know some technical phrases, like what if you can't connect? Good point. So first technical phrases, when you join a meeting, you might need to say, can you hear me or is my audio working? Yes, and also, can you see my screen if you're sharing your screen? I use that one all the time. Another important one is I'm having connection issues. This is useful when your internet is slow. What does connection issues mean exactly? It means problems with your internet connection, the meeting might freeze or you might lose audio, you can also say my internet is unstable. Oh, I see. What about when you can't see someone else's screen? You can say I can't see your screen or your screen isn't showing up for me. Okay, so those are technical phrases before and during the meeting. But what about when the meeting actually starts, how do you greet people professionally? Great question. When you join, you should greet everyone. You can say good morning everyone or hello everyone. What if you're late? I'm sometimes late to meetings. I know you are. If you're late, you should apologize. Say sorry I'm late or apologies for joining late, then you can give a brief reason like I was in another meeting or I had a connection problem. That's helpful. I usually just say sorry, but maybe I should say more. Yes, being specific is more polite. After greeting, you often need to introduce yourself, especially if there are new people in the meeting, right? Right. How do you introduce yourself in a professional way? You can say for those who don't know me, I'm Tina from the marketing team. Or let me introduce myself. I'm Leo and I handle video production, so you say your name and your role. What if you don't have a specific role? You can say I'm a student in the English program or I'm joining from the Tokyo office. Just give some context about who you are. Makes sense. Now once the meeting really starts, someone needs to begin the discussion. What phrases do you use? Usually the meeting leader starts. They might say let's get started or shall we begin? Oh, that's simple. What else? They often explain the purpose like today we're here to discuss the new project or the purpose of this meeting is to review our progress. I like that phrase. The purpose of this meeting is, it sounds professional. Yes, and then they often set the agenda. They say first we'll talk about X, then we'll move on to Y. Finally we'll discuss Z. So they tell everyone the plan, that helps people know what to expect. Exactly. Now, Leo, during the meeting, you need to participate. You can't just sit quietly. How do you jump into the conversation? That's hard for me sometimes because I don't wanna interrupt people. I understand. There are polite ways to do it. You can say, can I add something here or if I may I'd like to say something. What does if I may mean? It means if you allow me or if it's okay. Oh, that's very polite. What if someone is already talking? Then you wait for a pause and say, sorry to interrupt but or can I jump in quickly? Jump in means to start talking, right? Yes, exactly. It means to join the conversation suddenly. Another good phrase is building on what Sarah said. This shows you're listening and adding to someone's idea. I like that. It's polite because you're connecting to what they said, right? Right. Now, when you want to share your opinion, what do you say? Um, I think. Yes, that works, but there are more professional ways you can say, in my opinion, or from my perspective, or the way I see it. Those sound more formal. When do you use those? In business meetings or academic discussions, they sound more thoughtful and professional than just I think. Got it. What if you agree with someone? There are many ways you can say, I completely agree with you or that's a great point. Or exactly, I think so too. And if you disagree, that seems difficult. Yes, you have to be careful. You can't just say you're wrong. That's rude. Yeah, I learned that the hard way once. Everyone makes mistakes in online meetings. That's actually why today's topic is perfect. What did you do this weekend, by the way? I actually practiced using some professional English phrases because I knew we'd record this video. I watched a few business meetings online to prepare. What about you? I made a list of common problems people have in online meetings, things like connection issues, not knowing when to speak or how to politely disagree. That's perfect. Speaking of online meetings, I think our viewers really need this lesson because online meetings are so different from face to face meetings. Exactly, you can't see body language clearly, sometimes the audio cuts out, and you need specific phrases to sound polite and professional. Should we jump into the main conversation now? Yes, let's do it. Okay, Leo, let's imagine we're teaching someone who has their first online meeting in English tomorrow. Where should they start? Well, I think before the meeting even starts, you need to know some technical phrases, like what if you can't connect? Good point. So first technical phrases, when you join a meeting, you might need to say, can you hear me or is my audio working? Yes, and also, can you see my screen if you're sharing your screen? I use that one all the time. Another important one is I'm having connection issues. This is useful when your internet is slow. What does connection issues mean exactly? It means problems with your internet connection, the meeting might freeze or you might lose audio, you can also say my internet is unstable. Oh, I see. What about when you can't see someone else's screen? You can say I can't see your screen or your screen isn't showing up for me. Okay, so those are technical phrases before and during the meeting. But what about when the meeting actually starts, how do you greet people professionally? Great question. When you join, you should greet everyone. You can say good morning everyone or hello everyone. What if you're late? I'm sometimes late to meetings. I know you are. If you're late, you should apologize. Say sorry I'm late or apologies for joining late, then you can give a brief reason like I was in another meeting or I had a connection problem. That's helpful. I usually just say sorry, but maybe I should say more. Yes, being specific is more polite. After greeting, you often need to introduce yourself, especially if there are new people in the meeting, right? Right. How do you introduce yourself in a professional way? You can say for those who don't know me, I'm Tina from the marketing team. Or let me introduce myself. I'm Leo and I handle video production, so you say your name and your role. What if you don't have a specific role? You can say I'm a student in the English program or I'm joining from the Tokyo office. Just give some context about who you are. Makes sense. Now once the meeting really starts, someone needs to begin the discussion. What phrases do you use? Usually the meeting leader starts. They might say let's get started or shall we begin? Oh, that's simple. What else? They often explain the purpose like today we're here to discuss the new project or the purpose of this meeting is to review our progress. I like that phrase. The purpose of this meeting is, it sounds professional. Yes, and then they often set the agenda. They say first we'll talk about X, then we'll move on to Y. Finally we'll discuss Z. So they tell everyone the plan, that helps people know what to expect. Exactly. Now, Leo, during the meeting, you need to participate. You can't just sit quietly. How do you jump into the conversation? That's hard for me sometimes because I don't want to interrupt people. I understand. There are polite ways to do it. You can say, can I add something here or if I may I'd like to say something. What does if I may mean? It means if you allow me or if it's okay.
[11:10]Oh, that's very polite. What if someone is already talking? Then you wait for a pause and say, sorry to interrupt but or can I jump in quickly? Jump in means to start talking, right? Yes, exactly. It means to join the conversation suddenly. Another good phrase is building on what Sarah said. This shows you're listening and adding to someone's idea. I like that. It's polite because you're connecting to what they said, right? Right. Now, when you want to share your opinion, what do you say? Um, I think. Yes, that works, but there are more professional ways you can say, in my opinion, or from my perspective, or the way I see it. Those sound more formal. When do you use those? In business meetings or academic discussions, they sound more thoughtful and professional than just I think. Got it. What if you agree with someone? There are many ways you can say, I completely agree with you or that's a great point. Or exactly, I think so too. And if you disagree, that seems difficult. Yes, you have to be careful. You can't just say you're wrong. That's rude, huh. Yeah, I learned that the hard way once. Instead you say, I see your point, but or that's interesting, however, or I have a slightly different view. Oh, so you start by acknowledging their idea first. Exactly. You show respect for their opinion before you disagree. You can also say I understand what you're saying, but have you considered? That's very diplomatic. What does diplomatic mean? It means tactful and polite, especially when dealing with sensitive topics. You handle things carefully without offending people. Okay, I'll try to be more diplomatic in my meetings now. What about asking questions during a meeting? Good topic. You should ask questions if you don't understand something. You can say, could you clarify that or what do you mean by? I always worry that asking questions makes me look stupid. No, it's the opposite. Asking questions shows you're paying attention. You can also say, just to make sure I understand, are you saying that? Oh, that's good. You repeat their idea to check. Yes, it's called confirming understanding. Another phrase is, so if I understand correctly, you're suggesting that? Those are helpful. What if you need more details? You say, could you elaborate on that or can you give us more information about? Elaborate means to explain more, right? Exactly, to give more details and expand on an idea. Okay, now, Tina, what about when you need to share your screen or present something? Ah, yes, presentations. First, you ask, may I share my screen? Or I'd like to share my screen now. And then you check if people can see it, right? Right. You say, can everyone see my screen or is this visible to everyone? What phrases do you use when presenting? You start with, as you can see here or this slide shows or if you look at this chart. Those help guide people's attention. Yes, you also use transition phrases like moving on to the next point. Or now let's look at or let me show you another example. What if someone has a question while you're presenting? You can handle it two ways. You can answer immediately or you can say, that's a good question. Can I address that at the end? Or let me finish this section first and then I'll answer that. So you're controlling the timing politely. Exactly. When you finish presenting, you say that's all for me. Or does anyone have any questions or I'm happy to answer any questions now? Okay, so those are presentation phrases. What about when you need someone to do something? How do you make requests? Good question. You should be polite. Say, could you please send me that file or would you mind sharing that document? Would you mind is polite, right? Very polite. It means is it okay with you or would it bother you? Another way is I was wondering if you could. This is very soft and polite. Like I was wondering if you could check those numbers for me. Perfect. You can also say when you have a chance, could you. This shows you're not pressuring them to do it immediately. That's considerate. What about offering to help someone? You say, can I help you with that or would you like me to or I'd be happy to. Those are nice. What if you need time to think about something? You can say, let me think about that and get back to you. Or I need to check on that and I'll follow up. Follow up means to contact someone later with information, right? Yes, exactly. It means to return to the topic later with an update or answer. Now, Tina, meetings usually have problems. What if you can't hear someone? You politely say, sorry, I didn't catch that. Could you repeat it or could you speak up a bit? I'm having trouble hearing you. Catch means to hear and understand, right? Yes, in this context. I didn't catch that means I didn't hear that or I didn't understand that. What if someone's audio is breaking up? You say your audio is cutting out or you're breaking up or I'm only catching every few words. And if you're the one with bad audio, You apologize and say, sorry, I think my audio isn't clear. Let me turn off my camera to improve the connection or let me reconnect. Give me one moment. Good idea. What about when you need to leave the meeting early? You should tell everyone in advance if possible. Say, I'll need to leave at 3:00 for another meeting at the beginning. And when it's time to go? You say, I'm sorry, but I have to leave now or I need to drop off for another commitment. Drop off means to leave the meeting. Yes, it's a casual way to say leave the online meeting. Okay. Now, as the meeting is ending, what phrases do we use? The leader usually wraps up. They say let's wrap up or we're running out of time, so let's summarize. What does wrap up mean? It means to finish or conclude, like wrapping a gift, you're closing everything up. Oh, I like that visual. So how do you summarize? You say to summarize, we discussed or let's recap the main points or just to review what we decided. So you go over everything again quickly. Yes, then you talk about action items. These are tasks people need to do after the meeting. How do you assign action items? You say, Sarah, could you send that report by Friday. Or Leo, you're going to follow up with the client, right? Or just to confirm, John will handle the presentation. So you're making it clear who does what. Exactly. And you often mention deadlines. We need this by next Tuesday or please complete this before the next meeting. What if you're not sure about your task? You should clarify. Say, just to confirm you want me to or so I'm responsible for X, correct? That's smart. Better to check than to do the wrong thing. Absolutely. Then at the very end, you schedule the next meeting. Someone says let's schedule our next meeting. How does next Wednesday look? Or I'll send out a calendar invite for next week. And how do you say goodbye? You thank everyone. Say thank you all for your time or thanks everyone. This was productive or great discussion today, everyone. Productive means useful and successful, right? Yes, it means you accomplished something, the meeting had good results. And then you just say bye. Yes, you can say have a great day or talk to you all soon or just goodbye everyone. Leo, we talked about so many situations. What if someone asks for your opinion directly like, Leo, what do you think? Then you need to respond clearly. You can start with, well, I think or in my view. If you need a moment, you can say that's a good question. Let me think for a second. What if you don't know the answer? Be honest. Say, I'm not sure about that or I don't have that information right now, but I can find out and let you know. That's better than making something up, definitely. Definitely. You can also say that's outside my area of expertise if it's not your responsibility. Expertise means your special knowledge, your skill. Exactly, the area where you're an expert. What about when you wanna suggest something? You can say, how about we or what if we or I suggest that we or maybe we could? Those all sound like proposals. Yes, there are ways to propose ideas. You can also say, have you considered to suggest an alternative? Okay, one more thing, Tina. What if the meeting is going off topic, people are talking about random things? If you're the leader, you can gently redirect. Say that's interesting, but let's get back to the main topic. Or we're running short on time, so let's focus on. Or let's save that discussion for another time. What if you're not the leader? You can still help. Say, just to keep us on track, should we return to? This is polite and helpful. These phrases are so useful. I wish I knew all of these before my first online meeting in English. Well, now our viewers will be prepared. We covered technical issues, introductions, sharing opinions, asking questions, presenting, handling problems and ending meetings. That's a complete meeting from start to finish. You know, Leo, while we were talking, we used many useful words and phrases. Let's break down some of the most important vocabulary. Good idea. Some of these words might be new for our viewers. First word connection issues. This means problems with your internet connection. During an online meeting, if your video freezes or your audio cuts out, you have connection issues, right? Right. For example, sorry, everyone, I'm having connection issues. Can you hear me now? Another example, my connection issues are making it hard to follow the conversation. I have connection issues at least once a week. My internet isn't very strong. You should get better internet, Leo. Okay, next word, mute. This is a verb and an adjective. To mute yourself means to turn off your microphone, so no one can hear you. Oh, this is so important. I always forget to unmute myself. Unmute is the opposite. It means to turn your microphone back on. For example, Leo, you're on mute, please unmute yourself. Or I need to mute myself because my dog is barking in the background. Exactly. What's your biggest mistake with muting? I sometimes eat snacks during meetings and forget I'm unmuted. Everyone can hear me crunching chips. haha that's embarrassing. Next word, interrupt. This means to stop someone while they're speaking and start speaking yourself. It's generally not polite to interrupt, right? Right, but sometimes it's necessary. That's why we say sorry to interrupt, but to be polite. For example, sorry to interrupt but I have an important question. Or I don't mean to interrupt, but we only have five minutes left. Good examples. The noun is interruption. You can say sorry for the interruption. I try not to interrupt people, but sometimes I get excited about an idea. That's okay if you apologize first. Next word, elaborate. This means to explain something in more detail, to give more information. So if I say we should change the design and someone says, can you elaborate? They wanna know why and how. Perfect. For example, could you elaborate on your proposal? I'd like to understand the details. Or let me elaborate on that point. What I mean is Yes, it's a very useful word for meetings. Related words are explanation and detail. When do you use elaborate most? When someone's idea is interesting but unclear, I wanna know more. Makes sense. What's the next word? Clarify. This means to make something clear or easier to understand. If something is confusing, you ask someone to clarify. Like could you clarify what you mean by that or let me clarify my earlier statement? Exactly. For example, just to clarify, we're meeting next Tuesday, not Wednesday, correct? Or I need to clarify something before we move on. The noun is clarification. You can say I need some clarification on this point. I ask for clarification a lot because I want to make sure I understand everything correctly. That's good. It's better to ask than to be confused. Next word, wrap up. This is a phrasal verb that means to finish or conclude something. We use this at the end of meetings. Let's wrap up means let's finish, right? Right. For example, we need to wrap up this meeting in five minutes. Or to wrap up, let me summarize our decisions. Can you use it outside of meetings? Yes, I need to wrap up this project by Friday. Or let's wrap up this conversation and continue tomorrow. It's more casual than conclude, right? Yes, exactly. Conclude is more formal. Wrap up is business casual. Okay, what's next? Next, follow up. This means to return to a topic later with more information or to check on progress. Like, I'll follow up with you next week about that report. Or did you follow up with the client? Perfect. For example, I don't have that information now, but I'll follow up via email this afternoon. Or thanks for the follow up message. That clarifies everything. Yes, follow up can also be a noun or adjective. I sent a follow up email or let's schedule a follow up meeting. I need to be better at following up. I sometimes forget. Set reminders on your phone. Okay, next word, action item. This is a noun phrase. It means a specific task that someone needs to complete after a meeting. So if someone says, Leo, your action item is to send the report by Friday. That's my specific task. Exactly. For example, let's review the action items before we end the meeting. Or I have three action items from today's discussion. These are important because they tell you what work you need to do, right? Right. They usually have a person responsible and a deadline. What if you can't complete your action item on time? You should communicate early. Say I'm afraid I won't meet the deadline. Can we extend it to next Wednesday? Okay, what's the next word? Agenda. This is a noun. It means the plan or list of topics for a meeting. Like today's agenda includes three topics, budget, timeline and team assignments. Exactly. For example, I'll send out the agenda before the meeting. Or let's stick to the agenda so we don't run overtime. What if there's no agenda? Then the meeting might be disorganized. Good meetings usually have a clear agenda. I always check the agenda before a meeting so I can prepare. That's smart. Next word, productive. This adjective means useful and effective, producing good results. Like, that was a very productive meeting. We made many decisions, right? Right. For example, I had a productive morning. I finished three tasks. Or how can we make our meetings more productive? The opposite is unproductive, right? Yes, an unproductive meeting wastes time without achieving goals. What makes a meeting productive for you? When we have a clear agenda, everyone participates and we end with clear action items. Good answer. Last word, expertise. This noun means special knowledge or skill in a particular area. Like Tina has expertise in English teaching or we need someone with technical expertise. Exactly. For example, that's outside of my area of expertise, but I can connect you with someone who knows. Or we value your expertise on this topic. You can also use the adjective expert. She's an expert in marketing, right? Right. And the related word is experience. I have five years of experience in project management. What's your area of expertise, Tina? I think my expertise is making English grammar understandable and fun. What about you? My expertise is probably video editing and trying not to fall asleep in long meetings. haha. Okay. Let's summarize the vocabulary we learned. We learned connection issues, mute and unmute, interrupt, elaborate, clarify, wrap up, follow up, action item, agenda, productive and expertise. Those are all essential words for online meetings. Okay, Leo, that was a lot of talking about online meetings. Yes, we covered so much. My brain is full of English phrases now. hahaha, mine too. But let's think about what we learned because I want our viewers to remember the most important parts. Good idea. Let's organize it. First, we learned technical phrases for when you join a meeting, things like can you hear me, is my audio working, can you see my screen, and I'm having connection issues. These help you solve technical problems at the beginning, right? Right, because technical problems happen all the time in online meetings. Then we talked about greetings and introductions. You say good morning everyone or hello everyone. If you're late, you say, sorry, I'm late or apologies for joining late, and you introduce yourself with I'm Tina from the marketing team. Or for those who don't know me, I'm Leo. Those are important for making a good first impression. After that, we discussed how to start a meeting. The leader says let's get started or shall we begin. They explain the purpose with today we're here to discuss or they set the agenda with first we'll talk about X, then we'll move on to Y. That gives structure to the meeting. Exactly. Then we learned how to participate actively. You can jump in politely with, can I add something here, if I may, I'd like to say something or sorry to interrupt, but and to share opinions. You say, in my opinion, from my perspective or the way I see it. Right. For agreeing you say, I completely agree, that's a great point, or exactly. For disagreeing, you use softer phrases like, I see your point, but or that's interesting, however, or I have a slightly different view. Those disagreement phrases are so important because you need to be diplomatic. Yes. Next, we covered questions. You say could you clarify that, what do you mean by, could you elaborate on that or just to make sure I understand, are you saying that? Questions show you're paying attention. Definitely. Then we talked about presenting. You ask may I share my screen and check with, can everyone see my screen. While presenting you use phrases like, as you can see here, this slide shows, moving on to the next point. And at the end, you say that's all for me or does anyone have any questions? Those guide people through your presentation, right? Right. We also learned how to make polite requests with, could you please, would you mind, or I was wondering if you could. And to offer help you say, can I help you with that or I'd be happy to. What about handling problems? Yes, if you can't hear someone, you say sorry, I didn't catch that. Could you repeat it? If audio is bad, you say your audio is cutting out or you're breaking up. If you need to leave early, you say I'm sorry, but I have to leave now. And at the end of the meeting, the leader wraps up with let's wrap up or let's summarize. They review with to summarize, we discussed. They assign action items like, Sarah, could you send that report by Friday. And they schedule the next meeting with let's schedule our next meeting. How does next Wednesday look? Finally, everyone says thank you and goodbye. Thank you all for your time. Great discussion today. Have a great day. Exactly. So you see, online meetings have a clear structure. Technical setup, greetings, starting, participating, presenting, handling problems and wrapping up. With these phrases, you can handle any part of a meeting confidently. When you organize it like that, it seems simple. It is simple, once you know the phrases, you just need to practice. Now we wanna hear from you. This is our favorite part. Yes, we love reading your comments. Our question of the day is, what is your biggest challenge with online meetings in English and what phrase from this lesson will you use in your next meeting? For me, my biggest challenge is remembering to unmute myself. I always forget and I think the phrase I'll use more is just to clarify because I want to make sure I understand everything correctly. That's a good one. My biggest challenge is dealing with people who interrupt a lot. I need to be more assertive, so I'll use if I may, I'd like to finish my point to politely ask them to let me speak. See, we have different answers and that's okay. Everyone has different challenges. So viewers, we want to know about you. What's difficult for you? Is it speaking up, understanding fast speakers, technical problems, knowing when to talk? And which phrase will help you? Maybe sorry to interrupt, but or could you elaborate on that or I'll follow up with you later or something else? Please tell us in the comments. Write my biggest challenge is. And I'll use the phrase, for example, my biggest challenge is asking questions without feeling shy, and I'll use the phrase, could you clarify that? Or my biggest challenge is bad internet, and I'll use the phrase, sorry, I'm having connection issues. We really want to read your comments. It helps us make better videos for you and it helps you practice writing in English. Plus when you write about something, you remember it better, so please comment below. Okay, everyone, we hope you learned a lot today about online meetings in English. If this lesson was helpful, please give this video a big thumbs up. It really encourages us to make more content. And if you haven't subscribed yet, click the subscribe button and the little bell notification. That way, you won't forget to join us for our next lesson. Keep practicing these phrases. Remember, confidence comes from practice. Even if you make mistakes, that's okay. Mistakes help you learn. And don't forget to use these phrases in real life. The next time you have an online meeting, try using two or three phrases from this lesson. You'll be surprised how much more confident you feel. All right. Have a wonderful day, evening and night. Keep learning, keep practicing, and we'll see you in the next video. Goodbye, everyone. Bye.
