Meetings: making your point

Things to Consider before the Meeting

• Which kind of language gets your opinion across most effectively?

• Which kind of language will get you the best possible results?

Contributing Effectively

Do Don’t

• obey the ground rules• be positive• separate people from problems• keep to the topic

• monopolize the discussion• become emotional or too argumentative• make personal criticisms

Contributing EffectivelyDo Don’t

• use clear simple language• allow other to finish• ask for clarification if you don’t understand

• digress• use long complicated sentences• Interrupt too much• pretend you understand

Contributing Effectively

To be able to contribute effectively you need to:

• listen actively• observe others• be diplomatic• be positive

Contributing Effectively

To be able to contribute effectively you need :

• useful phrases for making your point• useful language for communicating towards a

successful outcome

Making Your Point

• express opinions and make suggestions• justify and give reasons• build up and argument• express agreement• express disagreement• balance points of view• explain• interrupt effectively• evade issues

Expressing Opinions

All participants should contribute as fully as possible by expressing opinions and making suggestions.

• I think …• Well, I think …• Well, personally …• As I see it, …• I don’t know what you think, but I …• I don’t know how you feel, but I …

Making Suggestions

Useful language for making suggestions:

• How about …?• I’d like to suggest …• We would …

Justifying and Giving Reasons

Ensure you give a good reason for what you say.

• This is why I have suggested this …• My reason for saying / suggesting this is …• I believe this because …

Building up an Argument

Useful language to support an argument:

• In addition, …• In support of this, I’d like to add …

Building up an Argument

Useful language to express advantages and disadvantages:

• The advantages of this would be …• There are some disadvantages, …

Expressing Agreement

Expressing agreement about other people’s opinions helps to move the discussion forward.

• Yes, and …• That’s right, …• Absolutely, …• Yes, that’s fine.• I agree.

Expressing Disagreement

Negative feelings should be expressed in a positive way as far as possible.

• Yes, but …• I’m not convinced that …• That’s not quite how I see it.• Wouldn’t it be better to …• That’s not quite what I think.

Balancing Points of View

Useful language to balance points of view:

• Yes, there are good reasons for that, but equally …

• On the other hand this is …, but on the other, …

Explaining

If you think someone has misunderstood you, or you wish to explain something more fully, you can use these phrases.

• I mean …• You see …• I’ll just run you through that again, …• What I mean is …

Interrupting Effectively

You show respect for the other participants if you use one of these phrases before interrupting someone. This also gives a signal that you want to say something.

• Can I just say something?• Sorry to interrupt, but …• Yes, but …

Evading Issues

It can be useful to postpone discussion on certain subjects until later in the meeting.

• I’d rather not talk about that at the moment.• Could we come back to that later on?• I haven’t really got all the information I need

to comment on that at present.

Questions?

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