Business Meetings

Video provides a powerful way to help you prove your point. When you click Online Video, you can paste
in the embed code for the video you want to add.

1 How often do you attend meetings?

WARM UP QUESTIONS

2 What role do you have in meetings? Give some examples.

3
What role do you have in meetings? Give some examples.
L Listening

Tony: Thanks. Okay, let’s get the ball rolling.

First on the agenda today, Carrie can you please give us an update on the
marketing strategy for our new beverage Ginger Cola?

Carrie: Yes, Tony. Well, we have decided to pitch the new ginger Cola as a health
and energy drink.

Tony: Fantastic! I think this will be our next big hit. There is no reason that it
shouldn’t be a winner.

It tastes great, it’s healthy and it has very low calories. It’s perfect for working out.
Let’s make this the next Red Bull energy drink.

Where are we with the advertising and promotion strategy?

Carrie: We still have a few things to work out, but we are planning to have a power
hitter from the Japan baseball league as a celebrity endorsement. We still have to
iron out some details, but we think he’s a great fit.

Tony: Great idea.

Well let’s set aside more time at the next meeting for a more in depth look at what
you have planned. Of course, that’s really important, but we have a lot to cover in
today’s meeting.

Carrie: Okay Tony. I will be ready to present to everyone then.

Tony: Let’s move on to the next topic. I have sent around an action list for each of
you to take a look at. It includes a look at the following calls to action that we need
to address for the upcoming charity Walkathon. Let’s take a few moments and go
over everyone’s role. This is extremely important for us. We need to give back to
the community.
Carrie: I couldn’t agree more. This has been at the top of all of our agendas and we
have come up with some pretty innovative ideas. Let me start things off if that’s okay with
everyone else?
 Word Bank

run late | get through | get started | take the minutes | get the ball rolling
agenda, update | a winner | pitch | big hit | work out
v Vocabulary

Synonyms – find words in the video with the same meaning.

1. very successful

2. drink (noun)

3. behind schedule

4. what is new about X

5. meeting plan

6. start something

7. exercise

8. execute something to completion

9. good for you

10. advertise
 Fill in the Blanks
Use the words from the Word Bank to complete the following sentences. You may have to
change the tense/form of the word.

1. Bob likes to ________________. He goes to the gym every day.

2. The new exercise machine is a ________________. They sold two-hundred units.

3. There is a lot to ________________, so please hold your questions until the end of the meeting.

4. Sheila is ________________ today. She will arrive in about thirty minutes.

5. If we want to make our deadline, we really need to ________________.

Grammar Practice
Underline the correct form of the verbs.

1. We should get start/started.

2. They arrive/arrived late.

3. We have/had many things to discuss at our next meeting.

4. Jack take/took minutes at our last meeting.

5. They decide/decided to go with another company.

6. We discuss/discussed many things at our last meeting.

7. We will pitch/pitching a sports recovery drink.

8. I give/gave him an update.

Fill in the Blanks
Fill-in-the-gaps with the correct preposition for or to.

1. It’s excellent ___________ cleaning things.

2. It’s great ___________ cook pasta with.

3. It’s a perfect tool ___________ help you weed the garden.

4. It’s the ideal thing ___________ keeping fresh.

5. It will help you ___________ stay fit.

Useful Vocabulary

efficient/inefficient | waste of time | ramble on | get (straight) to the point

 PRINTABLE FLASHCARDS

Warm Up Questions How often do you attend meetings?

What role do you have in meetings? Give some examples.

What do you like or dislike about meetings?

Watch the following YouTube video:

https://youtu.be/z-8o9sp8YIA
Tony: Hello everyone. Tim and Melinda are running late. But we have a lot to get through so we should

ANSWER KEY
get started. Jason, can you please take the minutes today?
Jason: Yes, of course Tony. No Problem.

Listening Answers

1. Tim and Melinda are running late.

2. Jason was responsible for taking the minutes.

3. First on the agenda is an update from Carrie

4. She will update everyone on the marketing strategy for their new beverage.

5. Ginger Cola

6. It is a health and energy drink.

7. Yes, he thinks that it will be their next great hit.

8. He describes it as tasting great, healthy, low in calories and great for working out.

Vocabulary Builder

Synonyms

1. a hit 2. beverage 3. running late 4. update 5. agenda 6. Get the ball rolling 7. work out 8. make it
happen 9. healthy 10. pitch

Grammar Practice

1. started 2. arrived 3. have 4. took 5. decided 6. discussed 7. pitch 8. gave

Fill-in-the-Gaps

1. for 2. for 3. to 4. for 5. to

Listening Questions 1. Who is running late?

2. What is Jason responsible for in the meeting?

3. What is first on the agenda?

4. What will Carrie update everyone on?

5. What flavor is the new beverage?

6. What kind of drink is it?

7. Does Tony think that the new Ginger Cola will be successful?

8. How does Tony describe the new drink?