Vocabulary.

Expressing opinions in meetings

en mi opinión
a mi modo de ver
desde mi punto de vista
para serte sincero
en lo que a mí se refiere
Personalmente, creo que...
No estoy del todo seguro sobre...
¿No crees que deberíamos...?
Entiendo lo que quieres decir, pero...
Creo firmemente que...
Con todo el respeto,...
Tal como yo lo veo,...
Es una idea interesante; sin embargo, That’s an interesting point,
creo que...
in my opinion
in my view
from my point of view
to be honest
as far as I’m concerned
Personally, I think...
I’m not too sure about...
Don’t you think we should...?
I see where you’re coming from,
but...
I strongly believe...
With (all due) respect,...
The way I see it,...
however, I think...
/innn mai opíniannn/
/innn mai vvviuu/
/frommm mai point ovvv vvviuu/
/tuu bi ónest/
/as faa as aimmm konséenddd/
/péesonli ai zink/
/aimmm not tuu shoo abáut/
/dóunt iuu zink ui shud/
/ai si ueee ioo kámin(g) frommm
bat/
/ai ssstrón(g)li belíiivvv/
/uiz ool diuu rispékttt/
/dze uei ai si it/
/dzats aníntrestin(g) point,
hhhauévvva ai zink/

Tips

 Notice how we’ve translated “I see where you’re coming from” in the context of a

discussion. It basically means “I see what you mean” or “I understand what you’re saying” and
places emphasis on the fact that you follow the other person’s reasoning.


 Another way of saying “The way I see it” is “As I see it”. These two synonymous phrases

are an excellent alternative to the (all too) commonly used expression “in my opinion”.


 The word “point” is often used in the sense of “reason” or “argument”, as you can see in

“That’s an interesting point...”. Other examples are: “I can see your point but...”, “You’re making a
very good point, however,...”.

Grammar: How about...?

We’re going to focus on a common way of making a suggestion using “How about...?” (‘¿Qué tal si...?’ / ‘¿Y
si...?’ / ‘¿Qué te parece si...?’). In order to make your suggestion, simply say “how about” followed by a verb
in the gerund. For example, “How about practising with some examples?” (‘¿Y si practicamos con unos
ejemplos?’), “How about saying them out loud?” (‘¿Y si los decimos en voz alta?’). OK, that’s a great idea!
Let’s see some examples!

—Brad no está aquí. ¿Qué hacemos? —¿Qué tal si
reprogramamos la reunión?
¿Y si buscamos un nuevo proveedor?
¿Qué tal si salimos a comer después de la conferencia?
¿Y si le pedimos al departamento de RR. HH. que
investigue el asunto?
¿Qué os parece si reducimos los precios para ser más
competitivos?
—Brad isn’t here. What do we do? —How about
rescheduling the meeting?
How about looking for a new supplier?
How about going out for lunch after the
conference?
How about asking the HR department to look into
the issue?
How about reducing prices to be more
competitive?

It’s also possible to use “how about” followed by the subject of the sentence, but in this case there’s no
inversion of the subject and the verb, we simply say “How about we leave this for tomorrow?”, “How about
you get in contact with the Head of department?”.

¿Qué tal si reprogramamos la reunión? How about we reschedule the meeting?

¿Qué te parece si investigo más sobre esto antes de que
tomemos una decisión?
¿Qué le parece si habla con su cliente sobre esta nueva
propuesta?
¿Y si reconsideramos bajar los precios de nuestros
productos de alta gama?
¿Qué os parece si involucramos al equipo de ventas?
How about I do more research about this before
we make a decision?
How about you talk to your client about this
new proposal?
How about we reconsider lowering the prices of
our high-end products?
How about we get the sales team involved?
Phrasal verbs
This phrasal verb has two meanings. When people “talk things over”, it means that they exchange opinions and
discuss something, for example, “Let’s talk it over tomorrow; I don’t have time right now”. It can also have the
meaning of consulting something with someone: “This is a big decision; I first want to talk it over with my
wife”, “These are the different options. You should talk them over with your doctor”.

On the other hand, “to talk over someone” refers to speaking loudly or in an insistent manner, to the point of
almost interrupting the other person who’s talking: “I hate it when the boss talks over me”.

In a meeting, if you wish to ‘sacar un tema’, you could say “Excuse me, I would just like to bring up the issue
of...”. You might have also heard this phrasal verb in the context of ‘criar/educar a niños’: “She was brought
up by her aunt in Switzerland”, “They were very well brought up”.

to talk over hablar sobre algo en detalle, hablar por encima de alguien
to bring up sacar (un tema)

Expressions
Instead of “side” or “part”, in English we use the word “hand” when expressing ‘por un lado,... por otro
lado’. On top of that, don’t forget that the expression includes the article “the” in both parts of the sentence:
“On THE one hand, I think Dan’s proposal is very interesting, but on THE other hand, I feel that he doesn’t
have the experience to lead the project”.

This expression is another way of saying “to give one’s honest opinion” or “to say what’s on someone’s
mind” and can be translated as ‘decir lo que uno piensa’ o ‘ser franco’. Remember to use the possessive
adjective (“my mind”, “your mind”, “his/her mind”, etc.): “I spoke my mind in the meeting this morning”,
“Don’t be afraid to speak your mind”, “She always speaks her mind, even if the boss is present”.

Common mistakes
When you validate someone’s argument by saying something like ‘Aunque tiene sentido hacerlo así, yo creo
que...’ or when you want to express that something isn’t plausible (‘No tiene mucho sentido hacer esto...’), in
English we say that something “makes” or “doesn’t make sense”, not that it “has/doesn’t have sense”:
“Although it makes sense to do it like that...”, “It doesn’t make much sense to do this...”.
Remember that when you want to say ‘tiene sentido’ or ‘no tiene sentido’ without specifying what you’re
referring to, you need to use “it”: “it makes sense”/“it doesn’t make sense”.

This mistake is even common among English learners with a high level. ‘Estar de acuerdo’ in English
corresponds to the verb “to agree”; the expression “to be agree” doesn’t exist! So in order to avoid saying “I’m
agree” or “I’m not agree”, repeat at least 10 times “I agree”, “I don’t agree”; “I agree”, “I don’t agree”; “I
agree”, “I don’t agree”, etc. Also bear in mind that the verb “to disagree” is very common, so rather than “I
don’t agree”, you can use “I disagree”.

to (not) have sense to (not) make sense

I’m (not) agree. I (don’t) agree.

Pronunciation tips

 Every time you say “I think...”, make sure you pronounce the “k” properly! It’s a strong

/k/ sound, like the one in the Spanish name ‘Quique’. This may seem obvious, but the vast majority of
Spanish speakers say /ai zin/ instead of /ai zinkkk/.


 The past tense of “bring up” is “brought up”, which is pronounced /broot ap/. In this

case, the letters “ough” correspond to a long ‘o’ sound in Spanish, the same sound as the one in
“thought” (from “to think”), “fought” (from “to fight”) and “bought” (from “to buy”), for example.


 The vowel sounds in “rang” and “rung” (the past forms of “to ring”) aren’t the same. The

“a” in “rang” sounds almost like a Spanish ‘a’, whereas the “u” in “rung” is pronounced with the
mouth barely open.

English in action
Here are a few tips that can help you express your opinion effectively while making make your needs and
requests sound less direct and more like suggestions rather than actual demands. These will also come in handy
when you try to convey any type of bad news, both in a business environment and in everyday life.

One way of saying it More polite

Use positive words in a negative
form.
Soften negative sentences.
It was boring. That’s incorrect.
That’s a bad idea.
I don’t like it.
It wasn’t very exciting.
I don’t think that’s correct.
I don’t think that’s a very good idea.
I’m afraid I don’t like it very much.
Show a humble attitude by putting
the focus on “I” or “we”, not
“you”.
Use qualifiers like “slightly”, “a
little”, “quite” and/or
the modal verb “might” to
minimise a negative message.
Sound less direct by using
negative questions.
Use the passive voice to avoid
finger-pointing.
Use the past continuous of
“to think” to state your opinion
more tentatively.
You need to make a better offer.
There’s a problem.
This project is over budget.
We should change the logo. We
have to ask the client. We want a
discount.
The second option would be better.
Jane told me to cancel the meeting. I was told to cancel the meeting.
You said the report was ready
today.
We should reconsider their offer.
We’re looking for a better offer.
There’s a little problem.
This project might be slightly over
budget.
Can’t we change the logo? Shouldn’t
we ask the client? Couldn’t you give
us a discount?
Wouldn’t the second option be
better?
It was agreed that the report would
be ready today.
I was thinking that we could
reconsider their offer.

Now change the following sentences to sound more polite:

You are wrong

We don’t like the colours of the design.

You will need to lower the price.
We need to change the date.
Jeremy said that I can use the equipment.

We’re not going to be able to reach an agreement today.

Translation list
Me temo que no estoy de acuerdo del todo.
No estoy del todo seguro de que esto sea lo que hay que
hacer.
Puede que tengas razón, pero aun así creo que
deberíamos considerar la segunda opción.
En mi opinión, deberíamos centrarnos en mejorar la
atención al cliente en lugar de expandir nuestra clientela.
Para serte sincero, no me convence su propuesta (de
ellos).
¿No crees que deberíamos cambiar la expresión del
eslogan?
Entiendo lo que quieres decir, pero creo que esto
complica las cosas.
Con todo el respeto, creo que estamos cometiendo un
error.
Creo firmemente que ésta es la manera de hacerlo.
I’m afraid I don’t quite agree.
I’m not too sure this is the right thing to do.
You may be right, but I still think we should
consider the second option.
In my opinion, we should focus on improving
customer service instead of expanding our
customer base.
To be honest, I’m not convinced by their proposal.
Don’t you think that we should change the
wording of the slogan?
I see where you’re coming from, but I think this
makes things more complicated.
With all due respect, I believe we’re making a
mistake.
I strongly believe that this is the way to go.
Es una idea interesante, pero personalmente creo que
necesitamos más tiempo.
Tal y como yo lo veo, deberías hablarlo con tu abogado.
¿Qué tal si sacas ese tema en la próxima reunión?
No temas decir lo que piensas.
Te llamo lo antes posible.
En lo que a mí se refiere, esto no tiene ningún sentido.
That’s an interesting point, but I personally think
that we need more time.
The way I see it, you should talk things over with
your lawyer.
How about you bring that up at the next meeting?
Don’t be afraid of speaking your mind.
I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
As far as I’m concerned, this doesn’t make any
sense.

„ The adverb “still” doesn’t only mean ‘todavía’ (as in “It’s 11 o’clock and you’re still in bed”) but it’s
also used in the sense of ‘aun así’. A typical way of starting a sentence with this use of “still” is “I still think
that...” (‘Aun así creo que...’). Here’s another example: “Even if we reduce costs, we still won’t be able to
meet the objectives”.

„ When you’re sceptical and want to say the English equivalent of ‘No me convence’, don’t say “this
doesn’t convince me” because it doesn’t sound natural. What we usually say is “I’m not convinced” or “I’m
not convinced by...”.

„ “This is the way to go” is a figurative way of saying “This is the way to do it” or “This is how we should
do it”.

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