English for International Meetings

Each week participants take turns in chairing a meeting and taking the minutes of the meeting, the others actively participating in a meeting based on a simulation using prescribed roles. The group discusses an important matter and tries to come to a ddecision. Many aspects of business life are covered, from marketing to product developing, from communication to personnel management in a variety of types of companies, in different countries, with a wide range of problems. The outcome of the discussion is potentially different: they are open, and leave room for the imagination. Also, participants can have a different “job” each week – CEO one week, marketing manager the next. The course material has four important features:1. It tells learners what their opinions are about the matter being debated and enables them to concentrate on their communication skills rather than having to think of their own opinions. Disagreement is built into the roles to ensure that real discussion does take place.2. It is concise. Little time needs to be devoted to preparation and assimilation of facts and figures.3. All the situations are authentic, but real names and trademarks are left out of the main debate to enable learners to get away from their real-life roles and companies. The simulations and roles are also international in focus, presenting a range of business stuations in a range of countries.4. It forces participation. The way the roles are designed makes it difficult for participants NOT to join in at some point. You will learn how to effectively:

• call a meeting and write the agenda and chair the meeting
• go through the motions of an effective meeting
• interrupt, avoid interruptions and finish a point
• ask questions and clarify
• ask for and give strong, neutral, and discrete opinions
• give strong, neutral and discrete agreement and disagreement
• make proposals and give recommendations
• summarize and close meetings
• take minutes of a meeting

• Supported by video clips demonstrating sections of meetings which are good and bad and are then analysed and practised in role-plays during the simulated meetings.
• Parts of the simulated meeting are also videoed and played back to give feedback during the evaluation period.
• The assigned minute-taker then writes up the minutes and submits them to the trainer for editing before they are distributed to the group.