Guide · English for meetings · updated 2026-09-06

Seven slots, one sentence each — because you have two seconds, not a vocabulary problem.

If English is not your first language, the hard part of a meeting is not vocabulary. It is that the question ends and you have two or three seconds, and two seconds is not enough to search a hundred memorised phrases. So this page gives you seven positions instead, one sentence each: answer, confirm, buy time, probe, agree, object, move on. The order never changes, so what you practise is recognising which position you are in — a much smaller task than composing a sentence. The most valuable of the seven is number three, buying time: "That's a fair question. Let me double-check and get back to you by tomorrow." Catch the ball first, think second. Below: the seven sentences, how to use each one, the extra lines an online meeting needs, and an honest number about how often a panel of prompts actually gets clicked.

The seven

Square brackets are placeholders — swap in your own words. The positions are fixed, so slot three is always the one that buys you time.

#	Slot	When	Say
1	Answer	You have the answer	The short answer is [yes], and here's why.
2	Confirm	You missed part of it, or might have it wrong	Just to make sure I've got this right — you're saying [that], correct?
3	Buy time	No answer yet, or you need to think	That's a fair question. Let me double-check and get back to you by [tomorrow].
4	Probe	Not enough information to answer	Could you say a bit more about [that]? I want to make sure we're aligned.
5	Agree	You agree and want to stay in the conversation	I agree with that, and I'd add one thing: [point].
6	Object	You disagree but do not want a collision	I see it a bit differently — my concern is [X]. Can we talk that through?
7	Move on	Time to close, or to name the next step	Sounds good. So the next step is [X], and I'll take that.

How to use them

Catch first, think second. Reach for slot three even when you do have an answer. It buys two seconds and, more usefully, signals that you are taking the question seriously.
Disagree with slot six, never with "No". "I see it a bit differently" turns a contradiction into a comparison; "my concern is X" turns an objection into a question someone can answer.
When you agree, add something. "I agree" alone is disappearing. Slot five keeps you in the conversation.
Repeat back what you heard. Slot two gets you the missing half; "Sorry?" gets you the same sentence again at the same speed.
Claim the close. Slot seven is the cheapest way to be visible in a meeting: name the next step and take it.

One honest data point about tools that put prompts like these on your screen. In an instrumented 31-minute meeting on 2026-09-03, a seven-slot panel was displayed 128 times and clicked zero times, while the speaker spoke up 19 times without it. Being on screen is not the same as being usable when your pulse is up. That is why these seven are published as sentences to memorise, and why the panel is still labelled experimental inside the product.

The extra lines an online meeting needs

Remote adds opening, screen sharing and dropping out. All short; just learn them.

Moment	Say
Opening	Can everyone hear me OK? Great, let's get started.
Sharing	Let me share my screen. Can you see it now?
They are muted	I think you're on mute.
You dropped out	Sorry, I dropped off for a second. Could you repeat the last point?
Next item	Let's move on to the next item.
Closing	Let's wrap up. I'll send a summary with the next steps after the call.

If following the audio is the real problem, turn captions on before you worry about phrases: in Zoom each participant can choose their caption language (Zoom: translated captions, which needs the host's plan or add-on), and in Teams the organiser sets the spoken language for everyone (Microsoft: live captions in Teams meetings). Which route fits you: live caption translation on a Mac.

Questions people actually ask

Is memorising a hundred business English phrases worth it?+

It helps when you have time to retrieve them, and you do not: after a question you get two or three seconds, and a hundred phrases do not sort themselves in that window. Seven fixed slots solve a different problem — you stop asking what should I say and start asking which slot is this. The one that carries the most weight is slot three, buying time: That's a fair question. Let me double-check and get back to you by tomorrow.

What do I say when I did not understand the question?+

Use slot two: Just to make sure I've got this right — you're saying that, correct? Say back the part you did catch and the other person fills in the half you missed, which is far more than Sorry? gets you. If captions are available, turn them on first; in Zoom each participant can pick their caption language, and in Teams the organiser sets the spoken language for everyone.

How do I disagree in an English meeting without sounding blunt?+

Slot six: I see it a bit differently — my concern is X. Can we talk that through? Two moves are doing the work. See it differently turns a contradiction into a comparison, and my concern is X turns an objection into a question the room can answer. Starting with No ends the exchange; starting with a concern keeps you in it.

Do phrase templates actually get used in a real meeting?+

Not automatically. In our own instrumented 31-minute meeting on 2026-09-03 a seven-slot panel was on screen 128 times and clicked zero times, while the author spoke 19 times unaided. Being visible is not the same as being usable under pressure. That is why the seven sentences are published here as something to memorise rather than as a feature to rely on — the panel is still marked experimental in the product.