34 http://www.business-spotlight.de 2/2014adjourn sth. [E(dZ§:n] etw. vertagen
agenda [E(dZendE] Tagesordnung
apologize for sth. sich für etw. ent-
[E(pQlEdZaIz fO:] schuldigen
argument [(A:gjumEnt](Wort-)Streit
at a time [)Ät E (taIm] jeweils, zu einem
Zeitpunkt
chair a meeting den Vorsitz bei einer
[)tSeEr E (mi:tIN] Sitzung führen
confirm sth. [kEn(f§:m]etw. bestätigen
consultant[kEn(sVltEnt]Berater(in)
kick-off meeting Auftaktveranstal-
[(kIk Qf )mi:tIN] tung, erste Bespre-
chung
minutes [(mInIts] Protokoll
postpone sth. etw. verschieben
[pEUst(pEUn]
summarize [(sVmEraIz]ein Resümee ziehen
summary [(sVmEri] Resümee, Zusam-
menfassung
talk off the point vom Thema abkom-
[)tO:k Qf DE (pOInt] menIn dieser Rubrik nutzt KEN TAYLOR seine internationalen
Erfahrungen und gibt Antwort auf Fragen, die im heutigen
Geschäftsalltag häufig gestellt werden. mediumMeeting: are you
in control?BUSINESS SKILLS TOOLBOXCredit- How do I politely interrupt someone who is talking?
If you are chairing a meeting, your job is to keep control and
to be aware of time limits. You will need to interrupt people
who are dominating a discussion, talking off the pointor
taking too long to say what they think. To do this politely,
you could use this three-step method:
nStep 1: Say the person’s name. The person will normally
stop talking immediately.
nStep 2: Apologize forthe interruption. This prevents the
person you interrupted from feeling angry.
nStep 3: Explain why you have interrupted. This allows you
to move the meeting along.
Here is an example:
“John. Sorry to interrupt you, but our time is limited and I can
see that several other people have something to say. You should
raise this point again when we discuss the finances.”- When should I summarizeduring a meeting?
Summariescan be used to confirmwhat has been decided:
“So, to summarize, we’ve agreed that John will send out the invita-
tions to the kick-off meetingby 2 May.”
Summaries are also used to check understanding:
“If I’ve understood you correctly, you’re saying that the project has
been delayed for three weeks.”
Summaries can also signal the end of one phase of a discussion:
“We’ve agreed that the conference should take place on 18 June,
so now we need to discuss where it should be held.”
Summaries can help you to judge the degree of agreement:
“The proposal is that we hold the conference at the Astra Hotel. How
do you all feel about that?”
And summaries help the person writing the minutesto be accurate:
“Point 7 on the agenda: it was agreed that the conference should
be postponeduntil 18 June. This is so that staff can attend the proj-
ect meeting in Berlin in May.”- What if two people start an argument?
First, you could say: “One person at a time,
please.” Then ask other participants to say
what they think before getting back to the first
two. This might give them time to cool down.
If that doesn’t work, interrupt again, saying
their names and asking for their cooperation:
“John. Francis. I know you both have strong
opinions about this but it would help us all if we
could hear some other points of view.”
Usually people realize they are not behaving
well and calm down. If not, adjournthe meet-
ing in order to speak to the people involved:
“John. Francis. I’m going to adjourn the meet-
ing for ten minutes. Could the three of us speak
outside in private?”
If this doesn’t help, ask the people privately
to change their behaviour or leave the meeting.Ken Tayloris a communication con-
sultantand author of 50 Ways to Im-
prove Your Business English (Summer-
town). Contact: [email protected]Running a meeting
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