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Knowing how to start a meeting professionally in English is essential for setting a clear and effective framework. Here are some best practices for introducing the agenda, announcing the objectives, and capturing attention from the very beginning.
4 key steps
1. Greet and welcome participants
Good morning everyone, thank you for joining us.
Hello, everyone, thank you for being here.
I'm glad to see you all here.
I am glad to see you here.
Let us commence, as we are all here.
Let's get started since everyone is here.
Objective: to create a positive and professional atmosphere.
2. Contextualise the meeting
As you know, this meeting is part of our monthly follow-up.
As you know, this meeting is part of our monthly follow-up.
We are meeting today to align on the project status.
We are meeting today to review the progress of the project.
This session aims to clarify outstanding issues and agree on next steps.
This session aims to clarify outstanding issues and agree on next steps.
Set clear boundaries from the outset.
📝 Vocabulary:
follow-up → follow-up, reminder
open points → issues still to be decided
to align with → agree, align with
3. Announce the objective and agenda
Today, our main goal is to…
Today, our main objective is to...
Here is what we will cover
Here are the points we will cover.
We have three topics on the table.
We have three topics to cover.
🗒️ No formal agenda? Summarise the main points verbally:
We'll start with a quick update, then move on to risks, and finish with planning.
We will start with a quick update, then we will discuss risks, and we will finish with planning.
📝 Vocabulary
agenda in English ≠ diary in French (≠ personal calendar), but = agenda.
cover = to cover in the sense of “to address a subject”, no physical connotation.
4. Manage timing and roles
We'll keep this short, around 30 minutes.
We'll keep it short, about 30 minutes.
Feel free to jump in if you have any comments.
Please feel free to speak up if you have any comments.
[Name], could you please take notes?
[First name], could you take notes, please?
Provide an estimated duration and participation framework.
📝 Vocabulary
Could you please = polite way of asking
Feel free to = commonly used expression to encourage open participation
Tips
Structure your speech with First / Then / Finally.
Use « we » rather than « I » to include the team.
Clearly name the steps: Let us proceed to..., Next, we shall discuss...
Manage time with confidence: We have 10 minutes left for this topic.
