Using English at Work
Episode 3 - Attending the Morning Meeting
agenda - a plan for what will be discussed during a meeting, and in what order
* This agenda shows that there will be three breaks during today's meeting.
announcement - something that is said or written to let people know about something important
* This morning Krista made an announcement that she and her husband are expecting their first baby!
to go over (something) - to talk about something in depth; to talk about a specific topic or plan
* Let's go over the details again, just to make sure that everyone understands the new plan.
bullet point - a line of text in a list where each line begins with a small symbol (for example, •, ■, >)
* If you have a long list of items, it's easier to read them as bullet points than as a long sentence with lots of commas separating the ideas.
old business - things that were discussed in a previous meeting and still need to be talked about in today's meeting
* We need to talk about some old business. We've already talked about hiring two new employees. Hector, have you been able to make any progress with this?
new business - things that are being discussed in today's meeting for the first time
* We received a very angry letter from one of our best customers, so in today's new business I'd like us to talk about what went wrong.
status report - a quick spoken or written explanation of what one has done on a project or assignment; an explanation of what has been completed on a project
* At our staff meeting, each person was asked to give a three-minute status report about what he or she had done since we met last month.
to take turns - to do something in order, one person at a time, or one person after another
* Children, please take turns playing with the new toy.
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Using English at Work
Episode 3 - Attending the Morning Meeting
rundown - a short spoken or written explanation of the most important points or ideas about something
* Carla, can you please give us a two-minute rundown of what you learned at the conference last week?
to pay attention to (something) - to listen carefully and try to understand something
* Please don't play the piano right now. I need to pay attention to the news report to find out more about the fire.
feedback - positive or negative comments given in reaction to something that one has presented or done, designed to help one make it better next time
* After she finished her presentation, Clark gave her some helpful feedback about speaking more slowly in the future.
summary - a short written or oral description of the main points or main ideas of something longer
* Please write a one-page summary of what was discussed during the meeting.
pep talk - a short and encouraging speech; a short speech that is meant to help people do something faster, better, or with more enthusiasm
* Before every basketball game, the coach always gives his players a pep talk to help them win the game.
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