Meetings Vocabulary

Word/ Meaning Example sentence

part of speech

absent not present The vice president is absent due to unforeseen

adj circumstances.

accomplish succeed in doing We have a lot to accomplish today, so let's

verb begin.
address deal with; speak on I hope we do not have to address this matter
verb again in the future.
adjourn close a meeting If there are no further comments, we
verb will adjourn the meeting here.

agenda list of objectives to cover in Please forward the agenda to anyone who is
noun a meeting speaking at the meeting.

AGM Annual (yearly) General We always vote for a new chairperson at

noun (abbr.) Meeting the AGM.
allocate assign roles/tasks to certain I forgot to allocate someone to bring
verb people refreshments.
AOB Any Other Business The last item on the agenda is AOB.
noun (abbr.) (unspecified item on
agenda)

apologies item on agenda announcing Everyone is present today, so we can skip

noun people who are absent; the apologies.
apologies for absence

ballot a type of vote, usually in Please fold your ballot in half before you place
noun writing and usually secret it in the box.

board of group of elected members of The board of directors meets once a month to
directors an organization/company discuss the budget.
noun who meet to make decisions

boardroom a large meeting room, often The boardroom is reserved for a managers'
noun has one long table and many meeting, so we'll have to meet in the lounge.
chairs

Brainstorm thinking to gather ideas Let's take a few minutes and brainstorm some
verb ways that we can cut costs.
verb

casting vote deciding vote (usually by The role of treasurer was decided based on the
noun the chairman) when the chairman's casting vote.
votes are otherwise equal
chairperson/ the person who leads or As chair, it is my pleasure to introduce to you,
chair presides at a meeting Mr. Allan Davis.
noun

clarification/ explanation/proof that Before we address this matter, I'll need

verification something is some clarification as to who was involved.
noun true/understood

closing last thoughts spoken in a I just have a few closing remarks and then you
remarks meeting (i.e. reminders, will all be free to go.
noun thank yous)

collaborate work together as a The board fell apart because the members had
verb pair/group difficulty collaborating.

commence begin We will commence as soon as the last person

verb signs the attendance sheet.

comment express one's opinions or If you have a comment, please raise your hand
verb or noun thoughts rather than speak out.

conference formal meeting for Before the conference there will be a private
noun discussion, esp. a regular meeting for board members only.
one held by an organisation

conference telephone meeting between Please make sure I have no interruptions while
call three or more people in I'm on the conference call.
noun different locations
confidential private; not to be shared Any financial information shared during this
adjective meeting should be kept confidential.

consensus general agreement If we cannot come to a consensus by the end of

noun the meeting we will put it to a vote.

deadline due date for completion The deadline for buying tickets to the
noun conference is May 25th.
designate assign If no one volunteers to take the minutes I will be
verb forced to designate someone.

formality a procedure (often Everyone knows who is going to be the next

noun unnecessary) that has to be vice president, so this vote is really just
followed due to a rule a formality.

grievance complaint The first item on the agenda relates to

noun a grievancereported by the interns.
guest speaker person who joins the group I am delighted to welcome our guest
noun in order to share speaker Holly, who is going to be offering
information or deliver a some sales pitch tips.
speech
implement make something happen; It's not a question of whether or not we're going
verb follow through to use this idea, it's whether or not we know how
to implement it.

mandatory required It is mandatory that all supervisors attend

adjective Friday's meeting.

minutes a written record of Before we begin with today's meeting, let's

noun everything said at a meeting quickly review the minutes from last month.

motion a suggestion put to a vote The motion to extend store hours has been
noun passed.
objectives goals to accomplish I'm pleased that we were able to cover all of
noun the objectivestoday within the designated time.

opening chairperson or leader's first As I mentioned in my opening remarks, we

remarks words at a meeting (i.e. have to clear this room before the end of the
noun welcome, introductions) hour.

overhead machine with a special light I'm going to put a pie chart on the overhead
projector that projects a document projector so that everyone can visualize how
noun onto a screen or wall so that our profits have declined.
all can see
participant person who attends and Can I have a show of hands of all of those who
noun joins in on an event were participants in last year's conference?

proxy vote a vote cast by one person There must have been one proxy vote because I
noun for or in place of another count twelve ballots but only eleven attendees.

punctual on time (not late) Firstly, I want to thank you all for
adjective being punctual despite this early meeting.

recommend suggest I recommend that you sit closer to the front if

verb you have trouble hearing.
show of hands raised hands to express an From the show of hands it appears that
noun opinion in a vote everyone is in favour of taking a short break.

strategy plan to make something We need to come up with a strategy that will
noun work allow us to have meetings less frequently.
unanimous in complete agreement; The vote was unanimous to cut work hours on
adj united in opinion Fridays.

vote to express (the expression We need to vote for a new vice chairperson now
verb or noun of) an opinion in a group by that Jerry is retiring.
voice or hand etc
wrap up finish Let's wrap up here so that we can get back to
verb our desks.