Ten phrasal verbs to use in your next business meeting
Welcome to another episode of The Art of Business English. Are you looking for some phrasal verbs that you can use in your next business meeting? If so, then today I have got you covered with a hand picked selection of ten phrasal verbs that are perfect for you to use in your next meeting.
If you have been learning English for a while then I am sure you will agree that sounding native, especially in business situations can help a lot with your credibility. Speaking more fluent English makes you sound more confident and trustworthy.
Furthermore, you probably can also appreciate that knowing which expressions and phrasal verbs to use, as well as when to use them in a meeting can go a long way to making your meeting successful.
With that in mind, today I am going to help you learn ten amazing phrasal verbs for meetings. You will learn their meaning, in addition, I’ll give you some example sentences to help you put them into context.
So, without further ado, let’s dive right in.
Watch the episode here
Phrasal verbs for business meetings
Hold off on
Meaning: Postpone
“We should hold off on signing the deal until we have all of the details worked"
Take up
Meaning: Accept an offer
“I would like to take you up on your offer. Let’s arrange a meeting to discuss the details.”
Amp up
Meaning: amplify, increase, boost
“John, I am of the opinion we should amp up production, otherwise won’t be able to meet customer demand.”
Hammer out
Meaning: Negotiate or reach an agreement
“Let’s hammer out the details so that we can move forward with the next phase of the agreement.”
Hash out
Meaning: discuss and reach an agreement
“I think we have general consensus. Mary, if you could hash out the remaining points with Mark and send me the final agreement by Friday, that would be great.”
Iron out
Meaning: resolve small problems or irregularities
“That is great, once we have ironed out the last few issues then we can send the contract to be signed.”
Ramp up
Meaning: Increase amount, price, speed or power of something
“If we don’t ramp our productivity up then we will never meet the project deadline.”
Reach out to
Meaning: Attempts to communicate with the aim of establishing a good relationship
“Brian, could you please reach out to your colleagues in London and see if they can help us find a solution to this problem?”
Walk away from
Meaning: abandon or leave
“We have spent too long trying to reach an agreement on this deal, we have invested too much time to just walk away from it. We must persist.”
Set back
Meaning: delay or impede
“We have set back the delivery date by a week, due to problems with our supplier.”
So, there you have them, ten phrasal verbs that you can implement in your next business meeting.
Now that we have the list, in the last part of the episode I am going to give you some example sentences to help you put them into context. I will also give you the Spanish translation to help you better understand them.
Expression in context
Take a look at the table below.
Expression | Example | Spanish translation |
|---|---|---|
Hold off on | “We should hold off on signing the deal until we have all of the details worked | Retrasar |
Take up/take someone up on | “I would like to take you up on your offer. Let’s arrange a meeting to discuss the details.” | Aceptar |
Amp up | “John, I am of the opinion we should amp up production, otherwise won’t be able to meet customer demand.” | Ampliar/incrementar |
Hammer out | “Let’s hammer out the details so that we can move forward with the next phase of the agreement.” | Conseguir sacar adelante |
Hash out | “I think we have general consensus. Mary, if you could hash out the remaining points with Mark and send me the final agreement by Friday, that would be great.” | Debatir |
Iron out | “That is great, once we have ironed out the last few issues then we can send the contract to be signed.” | Poner algo en orden |
Ramp up | “If we don’t ramp our productivity up then we will never meet the project deadline.” | Aumentar |
Reach out to | “Brian, could you please reach out to your colleagues in London and see if they can help us find a solution to this problem?” | Dar/contactarse con |
Walk away from | “We have spent too long trying to reach an agreement on this deal, we have invested too much time to just walk away from it. We must persist.” | Alejarse |
Set back | “We have set back the delivery date by a week, due to problems with our supplier.” | Posponer |
Final thoughts
I love hearing from you, so let me know if you found these ten phrasal verbs useful. Are there any phrasal verbs that you love to use in your business meetings in English?
If you want to take your meetings to a ne level, where you gain the confidence to express yourself in English, as well as run effective, outcome orientated meetings, then make sure you enrol in the Art of Business English “Confidence in Business Meetings” online course.
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