Phrases to use during meetings to sound smart can be subdivided into various categories, such as opening, introductions, agreeing, and so on. We discuss various options to choose from in this article.

Effective communication helps generate optimal outcomes in meetings. The phrases to use during meetings that we will discuss in this article will not only help express your ideas clearly and professionally, it will also help you create a strong impression on others. Below are various categories, which list phrases you can use in that context. 

1. Opening the Meeting

This concerns what you say when a meeting starts. Greeting everyone, appreciating their presence, and setting the stage for the subsequent meeting is a great way to start off.

Listed are some phrases that you can use to open the meeting:

1. I hope everyone is well. I would like to start by welcoming you all.
2. Thank you, everyone, for joining us today.
3. I appreciate you all being here.
4. Thank you, everyone, for joining us on such short notice.
5. Thank you for being on time, shall we get started?
6. It looks like everyone has joined us, let’s get started then.
7. Good morning/afternoon/evening to all, I see that everyone has joined. 
8. Although we are not at our full capacity in this meeting today, we shall get started because it’s time. 
9. Before we start, I would like to set a few ground rules for us to follow.
10. Today’s topic is…

2. Making Introductions

Before delving into the meeting content, meetings involving new people would require an introduction so people can get to know each other as well as understand the context they speak from (e.g., their expertise).

Here are some ways that you can introduce yourself and set the stage for others to follow your lead in doing so as well:

1. Allow me to introduce myself. I am… It’s a pleasure to meet you all.
2. Could everyone introduce themselves briefly?
3. Let’s go around in order while briefly introducing ourselves. I am… 
4. I would like to introduce…
5. I would like to welcome…
6. I will begin by introducing…
7. It’s my pleasure to introduce…
8. Before we start, let’s introduce ourselves one by one
9. To begin, let’s go around and introduce ourselves.
10. Since we need to get a start on this quickly, let me make some quick introductions. This is…

Related: ever wonder why virtual meetings are harder than in-person meetings? Here’s why.

3. Expressing Agreement and Support

Many meetings involve decisions and plans being made. You can offer support for these in many ways.

You can agree and support the idea as well as add to it with your own points. Below are some ways to achieve that smartly:

1. I completely agree with your point
2. I get what you mean, that should help
3. I support that idea
4. I’m completely on board with this
5. Right, that makes perfect sense
6. I was thinking the same thing
7. I’m with you on that
8. I’m in favour of that
9. I’d like to add…
10. I’d like to piggyback on that point.

4. Expressing Disagreement

There will be times in a meeting when you’re not in support of ideas. However, you don’t want to be impolite or set a negative tone to what you’re saying by offending anyone. You can do that by acknowledging their perspective and gently offering your concerns and ideas around it.

Below are some ways you can express disagreement and offer a different perspective on the topic:

1. I get what you mean but I would like to offer another perspective
2. I see where you’re coming from, but I have a different perspective on this
3. Can we also consider…
4. I just wanted to put forth some alternatives before we make a final decision
5. I understand your point, but I had some concerns
6. I do have some reservations about that
7. I have a different opinion on this
8. I feel that there are downsides to this approach that need to be discussed
9. The downsides outweigh the benefits in my opinion
10. I have a different perspective that I’d like to share.

5. Asking Questions

Getting all your doubts clarified during the meeting is a great way of avoiding misunderstandings and delays in meeting the meeting agenda. But the question is how do you do that in the smartest way possible?

Here is a list of phrases and questions that you can make use of to get your doubts clarified during a meeting:

1. Just wanted to clarify something before we move forward
2. Could you please elaborate on that point?
3. I’m not entirely clear on…
4. Can you provide some more details?
5. I have a question about…
6. Can you break down how…?
7. I wanted to know more about…
8. How will… be implemented?
9. What is your thought process behind…?
10. What would… result in?

Related: feel that your meetings are very awkward? Check out this article to know more.

6. Providing Suggestions

Sharing your ideas in a meeting is seen to be an effortless way of showcasing your interest, expertise, and creativity regarding the concerned topic or project. One of the most popular ways in which you can share your ideas is by providing suggestions to ongoing discussions.

You can choose to either support the current idea in discussion, offer a close alternative or bring a completely new idea to the table. Here are some of the ways in which you can offer your suggestions during a meeting:

1. I have a suggestion while we’re on this topic
2. I would like to offer a suggestion on…
3. Would it also help to…?
4. I was just thinking how we could also do… 
5. Have we considered…?
6. I have some thoughts on how… can be improved
7. Could we try…?
8. Based on my experience with…, I think… would be a good idea in this situation
9. I had some observations that I would like to discuss with the team
10. What’s been discussed so far makes sense. What about also doing…?

7. Summarizing The Meeting

When the meeting is about to end, it always helps to summarize what took place. This is especially helpful when there are a bunch of things to be followed up on because it acts as a reminder for the participants.

Here are some phrases you can use to summarize the meeting:

1. To recap what we’ve discussed so far…
2. Just to recap…
3. Let’s summarize the key points we’ve covered today…
4. In summary…
5. Putting it briefly, we…
6. To sum up…
7. To wrap things up…
8. In conclusion…
9. I would like to reiterate…
10. In a nutshell…

8. Expressing Appreciation and Closing the Meeting

Closing the meeting is pretty straightforward, but do you want to do it smartly? Then you can express appreciation, add well wishes, and mark the ending in an elegant way.

Below are some phrases you can use to express appreciation and close the meeting:

1. Thank you all for your valuable inputs
2. I appreciate your time and active participation
3. Thank you for your valuable input and active engagement. It’s been a pleasure having this discussion.
4. As we come to the end, I’d like to recognize the effort that was put into this. Thank you, everyone.
5. Let’s wrap it up for today
6. Let’s close here
7. We’re all done, have a great day, everyone
8. Glad to have this productive meeting with you all.
9. Appreciate everyone’s involvement here, let’s wrap this up.
10. Let’s conclude here today.

Related: planning and structuring a meeting

Here you will find more phrases to use during meetings if you’re interested.

Conclusion

The article lists our phrases to use during meetings to sound smart. These will help elevate your communications skills in meetings and create a strong impression.

Meetings involve public speaking, check out coaching to get better at how you present yourself. You can also refer to this article to find out ways to improve your public speaking at home.