0: We all know,

0: 2020 was the year of Zoom and that line you're on mute.

6: You're on mute. And 2021 isn't very different. Is it?

12: So it's no surprise that over the last several months,

15: I've received quite a few requests on Zoom etiquette in English

20: and what are effective phrases you can use to have a successful discussion

25: on video conferencing platforms.

27: So whether you've been tasked with leading a business meeting on a video

31: conferencing platform,

33: or maybe you've decided to organize a group of friends to listen to some English

38: podcasts and then talk about them and you're going to be using something like

42: Zoom to do that. Today's Confident English lesson is for you.

46: If you don't already know, I'm Annemarie with Speak Confident English,

50: everything I do is designed to help you get the confidence you want for your

54: life and work in English.

56: That definitely includes conversations on video conferencing platforms and

60: making sure you know exactly what to say no matter what happens

66: by the end of this Confident English lesson today,

69: not only will you have a better grasp of Zoom etiquette overall,

73: but you'll also have essential phrases that will help you minimize technical

77: issues, handle interruptions,

80: and take control of any situation that may come up successfully.

91: To help give us a structure.

92: Or a framework for this video today,

94: we're going to look at seven different phases of a typical video conferencing

99: meeting or different scenarios that may arise that require

104: some effective phrases to help ensure smooth communication.

109: So again,

110: whether you're leading a business meeting or you're participating in an English

114: conversation in a Zoom classroom,

116: let's start first with what to do at the beginning to prepare

121: for a successful discussion. Before you even get started,

125: there are definitely steps you can take to help minimize the potential for

130: technical disruptions during the conversation.

133: If you're the one leading the discussion,

134: of course you want to test the software, your microphone, your video,

139: everything related to the video conferencing platform before the meeting starts.

143: In addition to that, you should ask your participants to do the same.

146: And there are two ways you can do that in a very polite way. First,

150: you can send a simple, quick email to all of the participants,

154: asking them to test the software, their video and microphone in advance,

158: especially if this is their first time using the particular platform.

163: One very easy sentence you can use in your email is something like:

168: if you've never used this video platform before we'll open the meeting room

172: early,

172: so that you have time to test your microphone and your video before the meeting

177: starts. Secondly,

179: it's important to follow through with that and make sure that you're able to

183: open the meeting five or 10 minutes early,

186: give your participants time to get set up.

188: Rather than just having a blank screen while your participants join,

191: you could create a slide or an image in advance and

196: share that with your participants so that they see a note that says we

201: will start our meeting, or we will start our discussion right on time.

205: Please be sure to test your microphone and your video before the meeting starts.

210: In addition to making sure everything technical is prepared for an advance,

213: the second thing you can do in this phase is to review the agenda and

218: share that in advance as well.

220: If you have others who will be contributing to the discussion or that you know

224: you will ask to share some key details,

228: let them know in advance,

230: give them time to be prepared so that they can be concise and clear in the

234: meeting. This same rule applies to any effective discussion.

239: So before the meeting,

240: make sure that you take time to consider what the key topics will be,

245: who will be responsible for talking about those topics or giving updates.

250: And what, if anything will be expected from the participants?

254: Are you expecting everyone to participate in the discussion? If so,

258: let them know in advance.

260: The next phase is your welcome and greeting phase plus introductions.

265: Just like you would do in any professional environment.

268: Definitely start with a greeting a quick, hello, good morning,

271: or good afternoon. If you're the host of the discussion,

274: and there are participants who are new to you,

277: you should definitely introduce yourself at the beginning.

280: The same is true for anyone who may be presenting, speaking,

283: or contributing significantly to the discussion.

287: Because it's important to get right to the agenda,

289: you want to make sure that the introductions are quick and concise.

294: So here are two simple formulas to help you do that.

297: If you're hosting a professional meeting, you could use something like,

301: hi everyone. I'm Annemarie, the director of Speak Confident English.

304: And I'll be your host for the discussion today. Or good morning, everyone.

308: I'm Lina.

309: I'm a junior analyst at KPMG and I'll be leading the discussion today.

315: Do you notice in both of those, I'm including the name,

318: the title or job position and the organization where someone works. Now,

323: if it's a more casual discussion, for example,

325: a book club or a podcast listening club,

328: you definitely want something more informal.

331: So rather than focus on your professional background,

334: you'll probably talk more about where you're from or some kind of a fun fact.

339: Here are two quick examples. Hey everyone, I'm Annemarie. I'm from DC.

343: And I joined this book club because I love mystery novels.

347: Here's another one. Hi everyone. I'm Annemarie.

351: I'm from Washington DC and I love mystery novels.

354: I've read everything by Agatha Christie. In both scenarios,

358: after you've finished your introduction,

361: it's a great practice to end with something positive.

364: You can keep it simple with something like I'm happy to join you today.

368: I'm looking forward to our discussion today, or I'm thrilled to be here. Now,

373: if it makes sense for your particular meeting or discussion,

376: you could ask every participant to introduce him or herself. When you do that,

381: it's important to tell your participants what they should include in their

384: introduction. It will help keep everyone concise.

388: A great way to do that is with something like:

391: there are some unfamiliar faces here today.

393: So let's do a quick round of introductions.

396: Then be sure to call on each individual person.

400: This will ensure that the process of introductions flows smoothly.

404: The third scenario in a typical online meeting is establishing ground rules to

409: ensure smooth communication and to help minimize distractions as

414: the host or leader. Not only do you want to demonstrate active listening skills,

418: but you also want to encourage your participants to utilize active listening

423: skills as well. Now in an online meeting,

426: active listening skills are a bit different in face-to-face conversations.

431: English, speakers love using verbal cues to indicate active

436: listening. You'll hear a lot of English speakers use things like, huh?

441: Hmm. Oh, that's interesting. Right?

446: These cues are fantastic in conversation,

449: but they don't always work in an online platform.

454: Sometimes they do. It depends on what you're using,

457: but if everyone's on mute or if there are too many people in the meeting

462: to utilize verbal cues,

465: you can also encourage your participants to use active body language

469: and utilize other features of your video conferencing platform.

474: For example, on Zoom,

476: there are reactions that people can use to indicate a thumbs up,

480: clapping their hands or other emojis to indicate that they're an agreement

485: or that they like what someone has said.

487: These are all signs that someone is listening carefully and they're engaged in

492: the discussion.

493: If you want to encourage your participants to do something like that,

496: here are a few statements you can use.

499: If you have any questions during the meeting today,

501: the easiest way to let me know is to use the raised hand emoji.

506: And don't hesitate to let others know if you agree,

509: or like something that they said by using the clapping hand or a thumbs up.

513: If you have any difficulties or need to leave early,

516: please let us know by sending a quick message in the chat.

520: By sharing all of this upfront,

522: you're establishing ground rules to help ensure smooth communication and

526: minimizing potential disruptions.

529: Now just like an online meeting may not be the best place for verbal cues.

534: It may not be the best place for using those reaction emojis either.

538: If you're giving a presentation to hundreds of people that might not be the best

542: place to do that.

544: So instead you can encourage your participants to use visual cues or body

548: language and facial expressions. If you see a hundred faces on Zoom,

552: but everybody's doing this.

559: How would that make you feel?

560: As the speaker, it would definitely be uncomfortable.

564: So encourage your participants to turn off other distractions and be

569: focused on the speaker. Lastly,

572: if you're hosting a meeting that is more of a discussion where you want

576: participants to jump into the conversation, ask questions,

581: share their ideas, tell them that that's, what's expected.

585: To do this, you want to encourage effective turn-taking.

589: What that means is that one person is allowed to speak,

592: say everything that they need without interruption.

595: And then it's the next person's turn to speak.

598: You can encourage them to do that by using the raised hand emoji. So, you know,

601: who wants to contribute or asking individuals to share a comment in the chat

606: so that, you know,

607: they want to contribute whenever possible it's best to avoid

611: interrupting, but sometimes we need to do it.

615: Now I have a whole lesson on how to politely interrupt someone on English,

620: but here are three quick ways to do that with all of them.

623: I recommend that you include some kind of a visual cue.

627: We often use our body language to indicate that we're about to jump in.

631: You'll see someone lean forward and maybe even put their hand up something like

636: this. So you might say, I'm so sorry to interrupt,

639: but I'd like to ask a quick question or I'm sorry to interrupt,

644: but I'd like to add one more thing to what you said before we move on a third

648: example. I apologize for interrupting,

651: but I want to clarify something that you said, all right.

654: So at this point you've prepared in advance.

657: You've greeted or welcomed all of your participants.

660: Maybe you've led some introductions and you've established effective ground

664: rules to ensure there's clear communication and you're minimizing

669: distractions.

670: The fourth scenario is to practice effective time management.

675: At the beginning, we talked about preparing in advance and providing the agenda,

679: doing that in advance will ensure a more effective discussion because everyone's

684: ready to talk about the key issues.

687: Time management also includes that turn taking that.

690: We talked about making sure that your participants know how and when they can

694: best contribute to the conversation from time to time individuals ask

699: questions that take you away from the main discussion or get you off

704: topic. And here's what you can say to manage this.

708: That's a great question,

709: but I want to make sure that we have time to get through our full agenda.

712: So let's come back to it at the end today. Thanks for asking that question.

716: I'll make sure that we save time at the end of our meeting today to answer any

720: questions that are outside of the agenda. Similarly,

723: you want to ensure that no one dominates the conversation or takes the

728: conversation off track. If you notice that someone starts to do that,

732: you can jump in and say something like that's a really great idea,

736: or that's a great suggestion hold onto that thought because I'd like to come

741: back to it at the end of the discussion today, or I appreciate your comment,

744: Sue. That's a really good point. Let's see what others have to say on that.

748: And lastly, if you know,

750: there's just a little bit of time left and you still have topics that you need

754: to discuss on your agenda.

755: You can say something like we are almost at the end of the meeting.

758: So let's try to get through the last three items.

762: This will help everyone return their focus to the meeting agenda.

766: The fifth scenario that you need to be prepared for is how to handle

770: interruptions because they will happen. It might be a dog barking,

774: someone at the door, knocking a baby crying, construction outside your window,

778: or some unexpected technical issue.

781: When any of those things happen, here are some ways to handle it.

786: I'm so sorry. You'll have to forgive the noise in the background.

789: Could you come back to me in a moment?

791: I need to put myself on mute for a second. If someone interrupts you,

795: you can respond with, sorry, let me finish my thought.

799: And then you can go ahead. Or one moment, please.

802: I'd like to mention one more thing before we move on.

805: Sometimes interruptions are caused by technical issues that are completely out

809: of our control,

810: and we may even lose the ability to stay connected to the online meeting.

815: And those situations,

815: it is always a good practice to let everyone know what's happening.

820: You can send a message in the chat to let everyone know you're having a

824: technical difficulty or if necessary, send an email when you do that,

828: always let them know what you plan to do going ahead.

832: If you're a participant, you can let the host know that you'll review the notes.

836: If you're the host or the leader,

838: you can let them know when you will try to reschedule the meeting.

843: The sixth common scenario for an online meeting is asking other people to

847: wait while you do something. For example,

851: if you're the host of the meeting or in my case,

853: if you're the teacher and you want to share your screen,

856: or you have a presentation that you want to share,

859: you'll often use phrases like bear with me for a moment.

863: I seem to have lost my presentation slides.

866: Please wait for a moment while I get ready to share my slides.

870: I apologize for the wait. Please give me a moment so that I can share my screen.

875: Then when others have waited, make sure to thank them for their patience.

878: And you can simply say thank you so much for waiting or thanks for your

883: patience. And finally, to bring a close to effective Zoom etiquette,

888: and must have phrases is end your or your discussion on a high

893: note. What that means is to end with something positive.

897: If you're the host of the meeting,

899: you can end by providing a quick summary or highlighting the key

903: takeaways. You can do that with a sentence starter,

906: like let's go over the priorities... To summarize, we will...

911: And then give your action steps. To quickly recap...

914: And then again, give your key takeaways or the key points.

919: After you've done that,

920: you can thank everyone for their time with something simple.

923: Like we got a lot done today.

925: Thank you so much for your time and patience or thanks everyone for coming.

929: This was a fascinating discussion. And finally,

932: just like you started with a typical greeting you would use in any situation,

937: you can also end with a goodbye. For example,

940: I hope you all have a great weekend.

941: I'll see you next week or have a great day everyone.

945: And with that you have over 30 must have phrases for effective online

950: meetings in English before we finish. I'd love to hear from you.

954: If you've hosted, led or participated in an online meeting,

958: is there a phrase that you always use that I didn't mention today?

963: If there is I'd love to know,

965: and you can share it with me in the comment section below,

968: if you found today's lesson useful to you,

970: be sure to give it a thumbs up here on YouTube and subscribe to the Speak

974: Confident English channel.

975: So you never miss one of my Confident English lessons.

978: Thank you so much for joining me today.

980: And I look forward to seeing you next time.