English for Meetings: Start

Starting a meeting

Let’s start on the right foot. After everyone has arrived, the chairperson should officially start the meeting. There are a few simple ways to do this that are natural and friendly:

• Ok everyone, let’s get started.
• Ok, shall we start?
• Right, let’s begin.
• Can we start, please?
• Let’s start with …

Welcoming

Once the meeting starts, the chairperson can welcome everyone to the meeting and thank them for coming.  The chairperson might also take this time to make introductions or welcome special guests.

• Thank you for taking the time to attend this meeting.
• Thank you all for being here today
• I’d like to start by welcoming Mrs. …
• I’d like to introduce Mr…

Introducing the meeting objectives

Next, the speaker should give a brief outline of the objectives, agenda, and format of the meeting.

• We’re here today to solve …
• The main aim/purpose/objective of this meeting is to discuss…
• I’ve organised this meeting to discuss how to identify …
• The purpose of today’s meeting is to brainstorm …
• The goal of today’s meeting is to develop…
• Let’s review the meeting’s goals….

Example Dialogue:

You can combine any of these phrases to create a meeting opening that is complete and appropriate for your purposes:

Right, let’s begin. Thank you all for being here today. I’d like to start by welcoming Mrs. Jones from our American office. The purpose of today’s meeting is to discuss the new strategy in …..

Ok everyone, let’s get started. Thank you for taking the time to attend this meeting. We’re here today to solve …

Check out the other units in the English for Meetings Workshop. In each section you will find standard English phrases that you can mix, match and adapt to your specific content.