🌍 Leading Meetings in English

A Two-Day Remote Training Program

For French Speakers via Microsoft Teams

πŸ“… 2 Days | 4 Sessions | 14 Hours Total

πŸ’» Remote Delivery via Teams

🎯 Focus: Scripted Facilitation with Tools

Key Approach: You will learn to facilitate meeting structure, not lead complex discussions. This is achievable at your level with the right tools

🎯 The Challenge & Our Solution

The Challenge

Your level is not high, but you need to lead meetings in English.

This seems impossible... but it's not!

Our Solution: "Scripted Facilitation"

  • You facilitate the structure (opening, transitions, closing)
  • You use memorized phrases for each stage
  • You have tools to reference during live meetings
  • Others provide the complex content - you're the "traffic director"

βœ… What You WILL Do

  • Open meetings professionally
  • Manage turns to speak
  • Use transitions between topics
  • Keep time
  • Close with action items
  • Follow up by email

❌ What You WON'T Do

  • Lead complex debates
  • Be the content expert
  • Answer all questions
  • Improvise long speeches
  • Speak without preparation
  • Sound like a native speaker

🧰 Your Facilitator's Toolkit

You'll receive professional tools to use during REAL meetings:

πŸ“‹ 1. Phrase Bank (4 pages)

All essential phrases organised by function:

  • Opening & closing scripts
  • Turn-taking & transition phrases
  • Emergency phrases for difficult situations
  • Time management language

πŸ’Ύ Download Phrase Bank PDF

πŸ“§ 2. Email Templates (3 pages)

  • 7 complete email templates (invitations, summaries, follow-ups)
  • Professional writing tips for French speakers
  • Before-sending checklist
  • Common email errors to avoid

πŸ’Ύ Download Email Templates PDF

πŸ—£οΈ 3. Pronunciation Guide (2 pages)

  • TH, H, word stress, final consonants
  • Numbers & time expressions (teens vs tens!)
  • Dates pronunciation
  • Daily 10-minute practice routine

πŸ’Ύ Download Pronunciation Guide PDF

⚠️ 4. Grammar & False Friends (3 pages)

  • 30+ false friends with corrections
  • Modal verbs, tenses, prepositions
  • Most common French speaker errors
  • Quick self-check list

πŸ’Ύ Download Grammar & False Friends PDF

🌐 5. British and American English differences (4 pages)

Understanding the differences - both are correct, just different!

  • Spelling & grammar differences
  • Date & time differences
  • Pronunciation differences
  • Meeting vocabulary

πŸ’Ύ Download British v American PDF

Others:

πŸ’Ύ Download IPA chart PDF

πŸ’Ύ English verb tenses chart PDF

Using these tools during meetings is professional, not cheating!
Keep PDFs visible on a second screen, print them out, or reference on your phone/tablet.

πŸ’‘ Click "Print / Save as PDF" button in each document to create your own copies

πŸ“… Day 1: Building Your Foundation

Morning Session (3.5 hours)

9:00-9:30: Welcome & Setting Realistic Expectations

β†’ Honest talk about what you CAN do at your level of English

9:30-10:45: Essential Pronunciation

β†’ TH, H, word stress, numbers, time expressions

11:00-12:30: Opening a Meeting - The Script Method

β†’ Memorize your opening script

Afternoon Session (3.5 hours)

14:00-15:15: Facilitating Discussion - Turn-Taking

β†’ Phrases to control meeting flow

15:30-17:00: Closing & Summarizing

β†’ Templates for action items and follow-up

Day 1 Goal: You'll have memorized scripts for opening and closing meetings professionally!

πŸ—£οΈ Pronunciation: The Critical Three

1. TH Sounds /ΞΈ/ /Γ°/ - ESSENTIAL

Why critical: "Thank you" not "Sank you" / "I think" not "I sink"

Technique: Put tongue between teeth and blow air

Practice phrases:

  • "Thank you all for joining"
  • "I think we should move forward"
  • "Let's discuss the three options"

2. H Sound /h/ - CRITICAL FOR RESPECT

Why critical: "Hello" not "Ello" / "How are you?" not "Ow are you?"

Technique: Breathe out like warming your hands

Practice phrases:

  • "Hello everyone, how are you today?"
  • "Here is our agenda"
  • "I hope everyone can hear me"

3. Word Stress - CHANGES MEANING!

Noun Verb
PREsent (gift) preSENT (to show)
REcord (document) reCORD (to document)
PROject (plan) proJECT (to forecast)

πŸ“ Your Opening Script - MEMORIZE THIS

This is THE most important thing you'll learn:

Good morning/afternoon everyone.

Thank you all for joining today's meeting.

For those who don't know me, my name is [YOUR NAME],
and I'm [YOUR ROLE] in [DEPARTMENT/COMPANY].

Today we're here to discuss [TOPIC].

We have [NUMBER] main points to cover:
First, [POINT 1]
Second, [POINT 2]
And finally, [POINT 3]

We have [TIME] for this meeting, so let's begin.

Before we start, does anyone have any questions about the agenda?

[Pause for responses]

Great. Let's start with the first point.

You will practice this script until you can deliver it confidently with minimal notes!

Memorization techniques: Visual, auditory, repetition (10+ times)

🎯 Facilitating: Turn-Taking Phrases

Your job: Direct the conversation traffic!

Giving the Floor

  • "[Name], what do you think?"
  • "[Name], would you like to add something?"
  • "Let's hear from [Name]"
  • "Does anyone else have an opinion?"

Managing Interruptions

  • "Sorry, let [Name] finish please"
  • "One moment, [Name] is speaking"
  • "Please wait, we'll come back to that"
  • "Hold on, let's finish this point first"

Moving Forward

  • "Thank you. Let's move to the next point"
  • "We're running out of time, let's move on"
  • "Let's come back to this later"

Checking Understanding

  • "Does everyone understand?"
  • "Is that clear?"
  • "Do we all agree?"

Key insight: You don't need to understand every word to facilitate!
You can say: "That's interesting. [Name], what do you think about that?"

πŸ“… Day 2: Practice & Mastery

Morning Session (3.5 hours)

9:00-9:20: Warm-up & Review

β†’ Practice your scripts

9:20-10:45: Transition Phrases - The Glue

β†’ Moving smoothly between topics

11:00-12:30: Handling Difficult Situations

β†’ Emergency phrases when things go wrong

Afternoon Session (3.5 hours)

14:00-15:00: Email Follow-Up

β†’ Templates for professional emails

15:15-16:45: Full Meeting Simulations

β†’ Everyone facilitates a complete 15-min meeting

16:45-17:15: Final Assessment & Resources

β†’ Your continued learning plan

Day 2 Goal: You'll facilitate a complete meeting from opening to closing with confidence!

πŸ”— Transition Phrases - The Professional Glue

Function Phrases
Starting "Let's start with..." / "First, we'll look at..."
Moving forward "Now, let's move on to..." / "Next, we need to talk about..."
Returning to a point "Going back to what we discussed earlier..." / "As we mentioned before..."
Time management "We have 10 minutes left, so..." / "We need to speed up a bit..."
Handling problems "Let's park that for now" / "We can discuss that offline"

Your Phrase Bank Document

You'll receive a 4-page PDF with all these phrases organized by function.

Options for using it during meetings:

  • Print it and keep on your desk
  • Keep PDF open on second screen
  • Reference it on your phone/tablet

Professional speakers use notes - you can too!

πŸ†˜ Emergency Phrases - When Things Go Wrong

When You Don't Know What to Say

  • "That's a good question. Let me think about that."
  • "I need to check that. Can we discuss it later?"
  • "I'm not sure. [Name], do you know?"
  • "Let me get back to you on that."

Why these work: Professional, honest, redirect pressure

When People Speak Too Fast

  • "Sorry, you're speaking a bit fast for me. Can you slow down?"
  • "Hold on, I want to make sure I understand."
  • "Let me stop you there. Can you repeat that?"

Remember: You're facilitating = you control the pace!

When Technical Problems Happen

  • "Sorry, I can't hear you. Can you check your microphone?"
  • "You're frozen. Can you turn off your camera?"
  • "Let's take a 5-minute break to fix this."

🏁 Your Closing Script - Action Items

A good closing = people know what to do next!

OK, we're coming to the end of our meeting.

Let me summarize what we discussed today.

First, we talked about [POINT 1].
[Name] will [ACTION] by [DATE].

Second, we discussed [POINT 2].
[Name] will [ACTION] by [DATE].

Finally, we looked at [POINT 3].
[Name] will [ACTION] by [DATE].

Our next meeting is on [DATE] at [TIME].

Does anyone have any final questions or comments?

[Pause]

Thank you all for your time and participation.

Have a good day/afternoon/evening.

Action Items Formula: WHO + WHAT + WHEN

"[Name] will [verb] the [thing] by [date]"

Example: "Marie will send the report by Friday"

πŸ“§ Email Templates - Easier Than Speaking!

Good news: Written English is easier because you can check before sending!

Meeting Summary Email

Subject: Summary - [Meeting Topic] - [Date]

Dear all,

Thank you for attending today's meeting about [topic].

Here is a summary:

1. [Topic] - [Name] will [action] by [date]

2. [Topic] - [Name] will [action] by [date]

Other Templates You'll Receive

  • Meeting invitation
  • Requesting information
  • Rescheduling a meeting
  • Following up on action items

⚠️ False Friends (Faux Amis)

Common mistakes French speakers make:

French Word ❌ Wrong English βœ… Correct English
Actuellement Actually Currently, at present
Γ‰ventuellement Eventually Possibly, perhaps
Formation Formation Training
Responsable Responsible Manager, person in charge
Assister Γ  Assist to Attend
Je suis d'accord I am agree I agree
PrΓ©senter (une personne) To present To introduce

πŸ“ Common Grammar Errors to Avoid

Modal Verbs (No "to" after!)

❌ "We must to go" β†’ βœ… "We must go"

❌ "You should to try" β†’ βœ… "You should try"

Modals: can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, would, ought

Present Perfect vs Past Simple

❌ "I work here since 2020" β†’ βœ… "I have worked here since 2020"

❌ "We have finished yesterday" β†’ βœ… "We finished yesterday"

Prepositions with Numbers

❌ "Increase of 20%" β†’ βœ… "Increase by 20%"

❌ "Increase at 200" β†’ βœ… "Increase to 200"

Don't worry too much! As a facilitator, a few grammar errors won't stop you. Focus on clear communication!

🎬 Meeting Simulations - You'll Practice

Everyone will facilitate one complete 15-minute meeting

Scenario 1

Project Kickoff Meeting

  • Introduce new project
  • Assign roles
  • Set first deadline

Scenario 2

Problem-Solving Meeting

  • Problem: Customer complaints
  • Discuss causes
  • Agree on solutions

Scenario 3

Budget Review Meeting

  • Present budget numbers
  • Discuss where to cut costs
  • Decide on priorities

Scenario 4

Team Update Meeting

  • Each person reports progress
  • Discuss blockers
  • Plan next steps

What you must do: Open with script, give everyone turns, manage time, use transitions, assign action items, close professionally

πŸŽ“ What You'll Achieve (Realistically!)

βœ… After This Training, You WILL Be Able To:

  • Open a meeting using a memorized script confidently
  • Present a simple agenda clearly
  • Give people turns to speak using standard phrases
  • Use transition phrases to move between topics
  • Manage time with simple announcements
  • Close with action items using template structure
  • Write follow-up emails using templates
  • Handle basic problems with prepared phrases
  • Facilitate internal meetings with supportive colleagues
  • Use tools/notes during live meetings professionally

❌ You Will Still Struggle With:

  • Spontaneous responses to complex unexpected questions
  • Fast-paced debates with multiple native speakers
  • Technical vocabulary you haven't prepared
  • Understanding heavy accents or slang
  • Perfect grammar in real-time

This is normal and expected at your level of English

πŸ’ͺ Your Competitive Advantage

Yes, your English is not high level, but...

You Have Valuable Skills:

  • βœ… You're organized and prepared
  • βœ… You keep meetings structured and on-time
  • βœ… You ensure everyone speaks
  • βœ… You follow up in writing
  • βœ… You have clear action items

These are valuable skills regardless of English level!

It's Professional To:

  • Have your phrase bank PDF visible during meetings
  • Keep notes on a second screen
  • Ask people to speak slowly
  • Redirect questions you can't answer
  • Say "Let me get back to you on that"
  • Reference your documents during the call
Your colleagues will be grateful for well-organized meetings!

πŸ“š Continued Learning Resources

Apps for Practice

  • ELSA Speak: Pronunciation practice with AI feedback
  • Cambly: Conversation practice with native speakers
  • Duolingo: Daily vocabulary building

YouTube Channels

  • Business English Pod: Meeting English series
  • Easy English: Street interviews with subtitles
  • Learn English with TV Series: Fun and practical

Practice Tips

  • 10 minutes every day > 2 hours once a week
  • Record your real meetings and review them
  • Find a language exchange partner
  • Start with internal meetings (lower pressure)
  • Keep phrase bank visible during meetings
  • Don't be afraid of mistakes!

Optional follow-up: 30-minute group session in 2 weeks to discuss your real experiences!

🌟 You Can Do This!

Remember:

Preparation beats perfection

Tools are professional, not cheating

Everyone uses notes - including native speakers

Your English will improve with practice

You're already bilingual - that's impressive!

You've got this!
Now go facilitate some meetings! πŸ’ͺ

πŸ“ž Questions?

Thank You!

Ready to facilitate meetings in English

πŸ’¬ Questions welcome

πŸ“§ Contact for more information

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