How to Start a Business Meeting in English

If you have to lead a meeting in English, the first minute can be the difficult part.

You need to get everyone’s attention, explain why you’re meeting, tell people what you’re going to cover and get the discussion started. And you need to do all of that without sounding too formal or reading from a script.

The good news is that you don’t need a long introduction.

A clear meeting opening usually has five parts:

  1. Welcome everyone.
  2. Explain the purpose.
  3. Say how much time you have.
  4. Give the agenda.
  5. Ask someone to start the discussion.

Here’s a simple example:

A complete opening

Good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining. The purpose of today’s meeting is to agree the final timeline for the launch. We’ve got 30 minutes, and there are three things we need to cover: testing, the budget and responsibilities. Let’s start with testing. Anna, could you give us a quick update?

That’s enough. Everyone knows why they’re there.

Jump to
  1. How to open a business meeting in English
  2. Start the meeting
  3. Explain the purpose of the meeting
  4. Tell people how much time you have
  5. Introduce the agenda
  6. Introduce people only when you need to
  7. Ask someone else to speak
  8. A complete opening you can adapt
  9. Two examples of natural meeting openings
  10. Common mistakes when starting meetings
  11. Before your next meeting
The structure

How to open a business meeting in English

Let’s look at each part of the opening and the phrases you can use.

Step one

Start the meeting

In most normal workplace meetings, you don’t need a formal announcement.

You can simply say:

  • Right, shall we get started?
  • Okay, I think everyone’s here. Let’s make a start.
  • Thanks for joining, everyone. Shall we begin?
  • If everyone’s ready, let’s get started.
  • Good morning, everyone. Thanks for being here.

For an online meeting:

  • I think we’ve got everyone now. Shall we get started?
  • Let’s give it another minute and then we’ll start.
  • Can everyone hear me okay?
  • Right, I think we’re ready to start.

A little more informal

With colleagues you know well, you may also hear:

  • Right, let’s get started.
  • Okay, let’s kick off.
  • Shall we kick things off?

Kick off is common in everyday workplace English. It means to start something.

Be careful with this one

I’d be a little more careful with Let’s get down to business. It’s perfectly good English, but it can sound abrupt if people have only just joined, particularly with clients or people you don’t know well.

Avoid making the opening too formal

You don’t normally need expressions such as:

Too formal for most meetings
Instead of

I would like to commence today’s meeting.

Say

Shall we get started?

Why: Commence is grammatically correct, but it sounds too formal for most modern workplaces. The simple version usually sounds much more natural.
Step two

Explain the purpose of the meeting

This is one of the most important parts.

Don’t simply announce the topic. Tell people what you want the meeting to achieve.

You can say:

  • The purpose of today’s meeting is to…
  • We’re here today to…
  • The main aim today is to…
  • I called this meeting because we need to…
  • What we need to decide today is…
  • By the end of this meeting, I’d like us to have…
  • The main thing we need to agree today is…

For example:

In practice

The purpose of today’s meeting is to agree the launch date.

We’re here today to review the client’s feedback and decide what needs to change.

By the end of this meeting, I’d like us to have agreed who is responsible for each part of the project.

There’s an important difference here

Compare:

Today we’re going to talk about the new website.

with:

Today we need to agree what needs to change on the new website before it goes live.

The second version is much clearer because people know what decision needs to be made.

Step three

Tell people how much time you have

This small step makes a meeting much easier to manage.

You can say:

  • We’ve got about 30 minutes.
  • We have 45 minutes for this.
  • I’d like to keep this to around half an hour.
  • We need to finish by eleven.
  • We’re a little short on time today, so I’d like to focus on three points.
  • Let’s try to finish by [time].

For example:

In practice

We’ve got about 30 minutes, so I’d like to focus on the two decisions we need to make today.

I’d like to keep this to 45 minutes. If there are any points we can’t finish, we can follow up afterwards.

This also gives you a natural reason to bring people back to the subject later if the discussion starts to go off track.

Step four

Introduce the agenda

You don’t need to read a long agenda word for word.

Usually, it’s enough to tell people the main points.

You can say:

  • There are three things I’d like us to cover today.
  • We have three main points on the agenda.
  • First, we’ll look at…
  • Then we need to discuss…
  • Finally, we’ll decide…
  • I’d like to start with [topic], then move on to [topic].
  • Before we start, is there anything urgent we need to add?

For example:

In practice

There are three things I’d like us to cover today. First, the client’s feedback. Then we need to look at the revised timeline. Finally, we’ll agree who is responsible for the next steps.

If the agenda has already been sent to everyone, you don’t need to explain every item again.

You can simply say:

When everyone has the agenda

You’ve all got the agenda, so I won’t go through every point. The main thing we need to decide today is the deadline.

That sounds much more natural than spending five minutes reading information everyone already has.

If you need to change the order

You can say:

  • I’d like to take the second item first today.
  • Can we start with [topic]?
  • I suggest we leave [topic] until the end.
  • Let’s deal with [topic] first because [reason].
  • We can come back to [topic] later.

For example:

In practice

I’d like to take the budget first today because Mark needs to leave at half past ten.

That gives people a clear reason for changing the order.

Step five

Introduce people only when you need to

The old-fashioned idea that every business meeting needs a formal round of introductions isn’t true.

If everyone already knows each other, don’t waste time introducing them again.

If some people haven’t met, keep it short:

  • Before we begin, perhaps we could quickly introduce ourselves.
  • Not everyone has met, so let’s do some quick introductions first.
  • Could we quickly go around and say our name and role?
  • Let’s start with a quick introduction from everyone.
  • Could you briefly introduce yourself and explain how you’re involved in the project?

For example:

In practice

Not everyone has met before, so let’s quickly go around. Just your name, your role and how you’re involved in the project.

If you need to introduce a new person yourself:

Introducing someone new

Before we start, I’d like to introduce Maria. She’s joining us from the finance team and will be working with us on the budget.

That’s usually all you need.

Step six

Ask someone else to speak

Once you’ve explained the purpose and agenda, somebody has to start the actual discussion.

This is where a lot of learners become unsure because they don’t want to sound as if they’re giving orders.

Here are some natural ways to invite someone to speak:

  • Anna, could you give us a quick update?
  • James, would you like to take us through the figures?
  • Could I ask Maria to start with the client feedback?
  • Peter, could you talk us through what happened?
  • Would you like to start, Anna?
  • Anna, perhaps you could start us off.
  • Let’s hear from the sales team first.
  • Would you like to kick us off, James?

Would you like to kick us off? is natural but fairly informal. It works well with colleagues and in relaxed meetings.

With a client or a more formal group, I’d normally use:

More formal

Daniel, would you like to take us through the latest version?

Could I ask Daniel to give us a brief update?

Asking the whole group to contribute

You may also want to make it clear from the beginning that you want people to speak:

  • Please feel free to ask questions as we go.
  • I’d like to hear everyone’s view on this.
  • Before we make a decision, I’d like to hear from each team.
  • If anyone has a concern, please raise it as we go.
  • We’ll leave a few minutes at the end for any final questions.

This is useful when you don’t want one or two people to dominate the whole meeting.

Your template

A complete meeting opening you can adapt

Here’s a simple structure you can use before your next meeting.

Fill in the brackets

Good [morning/afternoon], everyone. Thanks for [joining/being here].

The purpose of today’s meeting is to [purpose].

We have [amount of time], and there are [number] main things I’d like us to cover: [item 1], [item 2] and [item 3].

By the end of the meeting, I’d like us to [decision/result].

Let’s start with [first item].

[Name], could you [give us a quick update/take us through the figures/explain where things stand]?

Don’t learn the whole thing word for word. Use the structure and change the details for your own meeting.

How to start a business meeting in English — welcome everyone, explain the purpose, give the time and agenda and ask someone to speak
In practice

Two examples of natural meeting openings

Internal team meeting

With your own team

Morning, everyone. Thanks for joining.

The aim today is to decide which launch date we can realistically commit to.

We’ve got about 25 minutes. There are three things we need to check: testing, client approval and resources.

Let’s start with testing. Marta, could you give us a quick update on where things stand?

This works well because it’s short. There’s no unnecessary formal language.

Meeting with a client

With a client

Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for joining us.

The purpose of today’s meeting is to review the proposal and make sure we’re clear on the next steps.

We have about 45 minutes. I’d like to cover three areas: the scope, the timing and responsibilities.

Before we begin, is there anything you’d particularly like us to add?

If not, let’s start with the scope. Daniel, would you like to take us through the latest version?

The tone here is slightly more careful, but the English is still simple.

Speak Up in Meetings

Starting the meeting is only the first part

Once the discussion starts, you may need to join in quickly, ask someone to clarify a point, buy yourself a few seconds to think, disagree carefully or check exactly what has been decided.

Speak Up in Meetings gives you practical phrases for those moments, with examples for face-to-face, Teams and Zoom meetings.

Get Speak Up in Meetings →

Immediate access · No subscription · Opens in a new tab

If you need it

If you need to review the previous meeting

Not every meeting needs this.

But if there are actions or decisions from the previous meeting that matter today, deal with them briefly before moving on.

You can say:

  • Before we start, let’s quickly check the actions from our last meeting.
  • Can we quickly go over what we agreed last time?
  • There are two points from our previous meeting that we need to follow up on.
  • Before we move on, can we check where we are with [action]?
  • Last time, we agreed that [decision]. Is that still the position?

For example:

In practice

Before we start on the new proposal, let’s quickly check the two actions from last week. Anna, did we get final approval from finance?

You don’t need to read all the minutes unless there is a formal reason to do so.

Watch out

Common mistakes when starting meetings in English

Mistake 1 — Giving a long introduction
Instead of

As you are all aware, during the past few months we have been considering a number of different possibilities regarding…

Get to the point

The main decision today is whether we launch in June or September.

Why: You don’t need to explain the entire history of the project before anyone else speaks.
Mistake 2 — Sounding more formal than necessary
Instead of

I would now like to commence proceedings.

Say

Right, shall we get started?

Why: Avoid using complicated English simply because it’s a business meeting.
Mistake 3 — An agenda without a purpose
Instead of

First we’ll discuss the budget, then the timetable.

Say

We need to decide today whether the current budget and timetable are realistic.

Why: An agenda tells people what you’re discussing. The purpose tells them what you need to achieve — and why the discussion matters.
Mistake 4 — Forgetting about the time
Instead of

Saying nothing about how long the meeting will last.

Say

We’ve got 30 minutes, so let’s focus on the two decisions we need to make.

Why: If you know you only have 30 minutes, say so at the beginning. That makes it much easier to keep the meeting moving.
Mistake 5 — Doing all the talking yourself
Instead of

Giving a long explanation of your own view before anyone else has spoken.

Say

Sarah, could you give us your view on the deadline?

Mark, what are you seeing from the client’s side?

Why: If you’re leading the meeting, your job isn’t to give a speech. Explain what needs to happen and bring other people into the discussion. Simple questions like these make the meeting much more useful.
Get ready

Before your next meeting

Don’t prepare a long script.

Write down five things:

  1. How you’ll start.
  2. The purpose of the meeting.
  3. How much time you have.
  4. The main agenda points.
  5. Who you’ll ask to speak first.

Then say your opening aloud once or twice. For example:

Say it aloud

Thanks for joining, everyone. The purpose today is to agree the final deadline. We’ve got 30 minutes. I’d like to look at testing, resources and client approval. Let’s start with testing. Anna, could you give us a quick update?

If you can say that comfortably, you’re ready to start the meeting.

In short

Final advice

You don’t need an impressive speech to start a business meeting in English. In most meetings, 30 to 60 seconds is enough.

Make four things clear:

  • Why you’re meeting.
  • What you need to discuss.
  • How much time you have.
  • Who should speak first.

Then get the discussion started. Simple English works very well here.

Speak Up in Meetings

Have the words ready when the discussion starts

Opening the meeting is easier when you have a structure. The more difficult part is often what comes next: finding the right English quickly enough to join the discussion, answer a question or disagree without sounding too direct.

Speak Up in Meetings gives you practical phrases for each stage of a real work meeting, including what to say when the conversation moves quickly or you need a moment to think.

See Speak Up in Meetings →

Immediate access · No subscription · Opens in a new tab

Keep learning

More Business English lessons for meetings

If this lesson was useful, these will help you sound clearer and more natural once the discussion starts.