Listening Content

[1:38] Workplace Meeting English: Expressing Opinions, Polite Disagreement, and Agreement Skills

　Tip:It takes [1:38] to read this article.

Listening Content Display

This article explains how to express your opinions, politely disagree with others, and effectively show agreement in workplace meetings, helping readers improve their communication and expression skills in professional settings.

Select word → Click 🔍 to translate"

Content

Hello, welcome to Lesson 2 of our Week on Meetings. In Lesson 1, you saw examples of appropriate and inappropriate behavior in meetings. You also studied the language that you can use if you're the chair of a meeting. In this lesson, you'll learn how to express opinions in meetings and respond to other people's ideas. We'll look at ways to show agreement. Then we'll look at how to interrupt politely and indirect ways to disagree. All of these are skills that will help you be successful in meetings.

Before we begin, let's talk about appropriateness. Some of you may be thinking, 'I’m not going to speak up and disagree with anyone at a meeting.' That wouldn't be polite. Or maybe you're new to your team and you're thinking that no one will want to hear your opinion. Of course, you'll decide when it's appropriate, but in many meetings, you'll be asked for your opinion. And in some cultures, you may be viewed negatively if you don't express an opinion. The trick is how to express an opinion in an appropriate way that won't make anyone unhappy. That's what we'll study in this lesson.

So, are you ready? Let's go back to Renear Chocolate's for a discussion about a location decision. Listen to Tina, Eric, and Neil as they express their opinions. Who likes the university location? Why? Who doesn't like it? And why? Which location do they choose in the end?

Listening Comprehension

appropriate
verb
1. give or assign a resource to a particular person or cause
e.g. I will earmark this money for your research
She sets aside time for meditation every day
Synonym: allowearmarkset asidereserve
2. take possession of by force, as after an invasion
e.g. the invaders seized the land and property of the inhabitants
The army seized the town
The militia captured the castle
Synonym: captureseizeconquer
agreement
noun
1. compatibility of observations
e.g. there was no agreement between theory and measurement
the results of two tests were in correspondence
Synonym: correspondence
2. the thing arranged or agreed to
e.g. they made arrangements to meet in Chicago
Synonym: arrangement
3. the statement (oral or written) of an exchange of promises
e.g. they had an agreement that they would not interfere in each other's business
there was an understanding between management and the workers
Synonym: understanding
4. the verbal act of agreeing
5. the determination of grammatical inflection on the basis of word relations
Synonym: concord
6. harmony of people's opinions or actions or characters
e.g. the two parties were in agreement
Synonym: accord
decision
noun
1. the act of making up your mind about something
e.g. the burden of decision was his
he drew his conclusions quickly
Synonym: determinationconclusion
2. the trait of resoluteness as evidenced by firmness of character or purpose
e.g. a man of unusual decisiveness
Synonym: decisiveness
3. a position or opinion or judgment reached after consideration
e.g. a decision unfavorable to the opposition
his conclusion took the evidence into account
satisfied with the panel's determination
Synonym: determinationconclusion
4. the outcome of a game or contest
e.g. the team dropped three decisions in a row
5. (boxing) a victory won on points when no knockout has occurred
e.g. had little trouble in taking a unanimous decision over his opponent
express
noun
1. rapid transport of goods
Synonym: expressage
2. public transport consisting of a fast train or bus that makes only a few scheduled stops
e.g. he caught the express to New York
Synonym: limited
3. mail that is distributed by a rapid and efficient system
Synonym: express mail
interrupt
noun
1. a signal that temporarily stops the execution of a program so that another procedure can be carried out
disagree
verb
1. be of different opinions
e.g. I beg to differ!
She disagrees with her husband on many questions
Synonym: differdissenttake issue
2. be different from one another
Synonym: disaccorddiscord