Listening in Context: Following Professional Meetings
CEFR Level B2Lesson Goals
In this lesson, you will practice the skills needed to follow discussions in professional meetings, including recognizing key phrases, identifying problems, and tracking action items.
Understanding Meeting Language
Professional meetings have a clear structure. Recognizing the key phrases that guide the conversation will help you understand the purpose of each part of the discussion.
Example Meeting Dialogue
Listen to the audio of a short meeting between three colleagues: Dara (the manager), Lina, and Vuthy. They are discussing a marketing campaign. Try to identify the phrases they use to organize their talk.
Dara: "Alright everyone, let's begin. The main objective of this meeting is to finalize the new marketing campaign for the 'Discover Siem Reap' tour package. Lina, can you give us an update?"
Lina: "Of course. My main update is that the promotional video is almost finished. However, we still need to decide on the background music."
Vuthy: "I agree with Lina, the video looks great. Regarding the music, I have a contact at a local music studio. I can reach out to them this afternoon."
Dara: "That's a great initiative, Vuthy. Please do that. So, the action items are: Lina, you will send me the final draft of the video. Vuthy, you will contact the music studio. Let's follow up tomorrow morning."
Key Tip: Listen for Signposting Language
"Signposting" is what speakers do to guide the listener. These phrases act like signs on a road, telling you where the conversation is going next. Listening for them will help you keep track of the meeting's structure.
- To start a topic: "Let's begin with...", "The first item on the agenda is..."
- To change a topic: "Okay, let's move on to...", "The next point is..."
- To conclude: "To summarize...", "So, the next steps are..."
Practice Activities
Activity 1: Analyze the Dialogue
Based on the marketing meeting dialogue, answer the following questions.
- What was the main objective of the meeting?
- What was the problem Lina identified?
- What solution did Vuthy propose?
- What were the two final action items assigned by Dara?
Activity 2: Customer Complaint
Listen to the second dialogue in the audio about a customer complaint. Then, answer the questions below.
- Who was the customer?
- Why was he unhappy?
- What was the solution?
Show All Answers
Activity 1 Answers: 1. To finalize the new marketing campaign. 2. The promotional video still needed music. 3. He offered to contact a music studio. 4. Action 1: Lina sends the video draft to Dara. Action 2: Vuthy contacts the music studio.
Activity 2 Answers: 1. Mr. Smith. 2. His room service was 30 minutes late. 3. He was offered a voucher for a free breakfast.
Vocabulary
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Meeting (noun) [ការប្រជុំ]
A planned occasion when people come together to discuss something in a professional context.
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Objective (noun) [វត្ថុបំណង]
A goal or purpose that you are trying to achieve.
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Action Item (noun phrase) [รายการการกระทำ]
A specific task assigned to a person during a meeting, with a clear outcome.
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Campaign (noun) [យុទ្ធនាការ]
A planned series of activities designed to achieve a specific goal, such as in marketing.
Your Mission
Apply your skills with these real-world tasks.
- Watch a Professional Meeting: Search on YouTube for "business English meeting roleplay" or "project update meeting." Watch a short video (3-5 minutes). Identify the meeting's main objective and at least one action item that is decided.
- Plan a Simple Agenda: Imagine you are leading a meeting to plan a weekend trip for friends. Write a simple agenda with 3 points to discuss (e.g., 1. Choose a destination. 2. Finalize the budget. 3. Assign tasks for booking.).