TalkDrill Team
English Learning ExpertsYou know the phrases. You've read them in articles. But the moment your manager says "Let's go around the table," your mind blanks and you default to "I agree with what he said." You're not alone. According to Coastal M Solutions (2026), IT professionals with strong communication skills earn 15-20% more than peers with equal technical ability. That salary gap isn't about grammar. It's about showing up in meetings with the right words at the right time.
This guide gives you 50+ ready-to-use phrases organized by meeting phase, from opening to closing. Every phrase includes context for when to use it and a real example set in Indian workplaces. No theory, no fluff. Just the sentences you'll need in your next standup, client call, or sprint review.
Communication skills directly impact career growth and compensation. Professionals with strong English earn 15-20% higher salaries according to Coastal M Solutions (2026). Meetings are where that communication gets tested, in real time, with your manager and stakeholders watching.
Citation Capsule: According to Coastal M Solutions (2026), IT professionals with strong communication skills earn 15-20% more than peers with equivalent technical ability. Meeting performance is the most visible form of workplace communication, making it a direct driver of promotions and salary growth.
Think about it. Your manager doesn't see you write code or build spreadsheets in real time. But they do watch you speak in meetings. That 30-minute weekly sync is your most visible performance window. In a 2025 LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report, communication was ranked the #1 most in-demand soft skill globally (LinkedIn, 2025). Employers aren't looking for people who can write well. They want people who can think and speak clearly under pressure.
In Indian tech companies, the pattern is predictable. You have strong engineers who stay silent in sprint reviews while less technical colleagues get visibility simply because they speak up confidently. The promotion goes to the person who articulated the solution, not the one who coded it silently. This isn't fair, but it's reality.Here's what makes meeting English different from conversational English. Meetings have structure. There's an opening, a discussion, disagreements, decisions, and a close. Each phase has its own vocabulary. Once you learn the phrases for each phase, meetings stop feeling like a test and start feeling like a script you've rehearsed.
The first 60 seconds of a meeting set the tone for everything that follows. Research from Harvard Business Review (2022) found that meetings with a clearly stated purpose in the first minute are 30% more productive than those without one. Opening phrases aren't formalities. They're tools for controlling the room.
Citation Capsule: Harvard Business Review (2022) found that meetings with a clearly stated purpose in the opening minute are 30% more productive. Using structured opening phrases, such as stating the agenda and time constraints upfront, directly improves meeting outcomes and participant engagement.
"Thank you all for joining. Let's get started."
Use when: You're leading the meeting and everyone has joined.
Example: "Thank you all for joining. I know it's a packed Monday, so let's get started and try to wrap up by 11."
"I appreciate everyone making time for this."
Use when: The meeting was scheduled on short notice or outside regular hours.
Example: "I appreciate everyone making time for this on a Friday evening. I'll keep it brief."
"The purpose of today's meeting is to..."
Use when: You want to set clear expectations from the start.
Example: "The purpose of today's meeting is to finalize the Q3 delivery timeline before the client review next week."
"By the end of this meeting, I'd like us to have..."
Use when: You want to define a specific outcome.
Example: "By the end of this meeting, I'd like us to have agreed on the feature prioritization for Sprint 14."
"For those who haven't met, I'm [name] from [team]."
Use when: There are new participants or cross-team attendees.
Example: "For those who haven't met, I'm Arjun from the backend team. I'll be walking you through the API changes today."
"Let me quickly run through the agenda."
Use when: You want to outline what will be covered.
Example: "Let me quickly run through the agenda. We have three items: the deployment status, the QA findings, and the timeline for UAT."
"Shall we take the items in the order listed, or does anyone want to reprioritize?"
Use when: You want to show flexibility while maintaining structure.
Example: "Shall we take the items in the order listed, or does anyone want to reprioritize? Ravi, I know you have a hard stop at 3."
"Let's try to keep this to 30 minutes."
Use when: You want to set time expectations early.
Example: "Let's try to keep this to 30 minutes. If we need more time on any topic, we can schedule a follow-up."
Presenting your work clearly is where many Indian professionals struggle most. According to eXo Platform (2026), 75% of workplaces now use GenAI for drafting content, yet verbal communication in live meetings remains irreplaceable. No AI tool can present your sprint update for you.
Citation Capsule: eXo Platform (2026) reports that 75% of workplaces use GenAI for content drafting and 47% for meeting notes, yet live verbal communication during meetings remains a skill no tool can replace. Clear verbal updates in standups and reviews are still the primary way professionals demonstrate competence.
"I'd like to share a quick update on..."
Use when: It's your turn to present your progress.
Example: "I'd like to share a quick update on the payment gateway integration. We've completed the Razorpay sandbox testing and are ready for staging."
"The data shows that..."
Use when: You're presenting metrics or research findings.
Example: "The data shows that our API response time dropped from 800ms to 210ms after the caching layer was implemented."
"To give you some context..."
Use when: You need to provide background before your main point.
Example: "To give you some context, this client has been on the legacy system for three years, so migration needs to be phased."
"One approach we could consider is..."
Use when: You want to propose a solution without sounding pushy.
Example: "One approach we could consider is running A/B tests on the onboarding flow before committing to a full redesign."
"What if we tried..."
Use when: You want to float a creative or unconventional idea.
Example: "What if we tried pairing junior developers with senior QA engineers for the next sprint? It might catch bugs earlier."
"I'd like to build on what [name] said..."
Use when: You agree with a colleague and want to add your perspective.
Example: "I'd like to build on what Priya said about the Q3 timeline. I think we should also factor in the regression testing phase."
"That's an interesting point. To add to that..."
Use when: You want to acknowledge someone's contribution before expanding on it.
Example: "That's an interesting point, Karthik. To add to that, I noticed the same pattern in our Bangalore team's deployment logs."
"If there are no more questions on this, let's move on to..."
Use when: You want to transition smoothly between agenda items.
Example: "If there are no more questions on the infrastructure costs, let's move on to the hiring plan for Q4."
Inclusive meetings produce better decisions. A study by Cloverpop (2017) found that inclusive teams make better business decisions 87% of the time. Asking for input isn't just polite. It's a leadership skill that produces better outcomes and makes you look like someone who values the room.
"I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this."
Use when: You want to open the floor for general discussion.
Example: "We've seen the three options for the vendor migration. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on this before we decide."
"Does anyone have a different perspective?"
Use when: The group seems to be converging too quickly and you want to surface dissent.
Example: "It sounds like we're leaning toward Option B. Does anyone have a different perspective before we commit?"
"[Name], you've worked on something similar before. What's your take?"
Use when: You want to draw on someone's specific expertise.
Example: "Meena, you've worked on something similar at your previous company. What's your take on the microservices approach?"
"[Name], I'd value your input on this."
Use when: You want to include someone who hasn't spoken yet.
Example: "Suresh, you've been closest to the client on this. I'd value your input on the delivery date."
"We haven't heard from everyone yet. Any thoughts from the QA side?"
Use when: A subgroup has been silent and you want their perspective without putting one person on the spot.
Example: "We haven't heard from everyone yet. Any thoughts from the QA side on whether this timeline is realistic?"
"No pressure, but I'd be curious to know if anyone sees a risk we haven't discussed."
Use when: You want to surface concerns without making people feel they're being negative.
Example: "No pressure, but I'd be curious to know if anyone sees a risk we haven't discussed. Sometimes the quiet concerns are the important ones."
Disagreement is where meetings get productive, or where they fall apart. According to a Harvard Business Review analysis (2018), teams that engage in constructive conflict outperform "harmony-seeking" teams on complex tasks. The key word is constructive. These phrases let you disagree without damaging relationships.
Citation Capsule: Harvard Business Review (2018) found that teams engaging in constructive conflict outperform harmony-seeking teams on complex tasks. Using graduated disagreement language, from soft hedges to firm opposition, allows professionals to challenge ideas without damaging working relationships.
"I completely agree. That's exactly what we need."
Use when: Someone has proposed something you fully support.
Example: "I completely agree with Ananya's suggestion. Automating the regression suite is exactly what we need before the release."
"That aligns with what we've been seeing on our end as well."
Use when: Your data or experience confirms someone's point.
Example: "That aligns with what we've been seeing on our end as well. Our Pune team reported the same latency issues last week."
"I agree with the overall direction, but I have a concern about..."
Use when: You support the idea but see a specific problem.
Example: "I agree with the overall direction of moving to AWS, but I have a concern about the data residency requirements for our banking clients."
"You raise a valid point. I'd add that we also need to consider..."
Use when: You want to acknowledge someone's idea while expanding the scope.
Example: "You raise a valid point about the cost savings. I'd add that we also need to consider the retraining time for the operations team."
"I see where you're coming from, but I think there might be another way to look at this."
Use when: You disagree but want to be respectful about it.
Example: "I see where you're coming from on the staffing increase, but I think there might be another way to look at this. Could we solve the bottleneck with better tooling instead?"
"I'm not sure that would work in our case because..."
Use when: You have a specific reason the proposed approach won't work.
Example: "I'm not sure that would work in our case because our legacy system doesn't support real-time API calls. We'd need a middleware layer first."
"I respectfully disagree. Here's why..."
Use when: You have strong evidence that the proposed approach is wrong.
Example: "I respectfully disagree with the two-week timeline. Based on our velocity data from the last three sprints, we'd need at least four weeks."
"I have to push back on that. The data suggests otherwise."
Use when: You need to challenge an assertion directly and have the data to support your position.
Example: "I have to push back on that, Rahul. The data suggests otherwise. Our churn rate actually increased after the last pricing change."
Meetings drift. It's a universal problem. According to Atlassian's workplace research, the average employee attends 62 meetings per month, and half of that meeting time is considered wasted. Knowing how to politely steer a meeting back on topic is one of the most underrated professional skills.
"Sorry to jump in, but I think this relates to..."
Use when: You have a relevant point and the current speaker has been going on for a while.
Example: "Sorry to jump in, Vikram, but I think this relates to the dependency we identified last week. Can I share a quick update?"
"Can I add something here before we move on?"
Use when: The discussion is about to shift and you have an important point.
Example: "Can I add something here before we move on? The security team flagged a concern about this approach yesterday."
"This is a great discussion, but I want to make sure we stay on track."
Use when: The conversation has drifted to a tangential topic.
Example: "This is a great discussion about the design system, but I want to make sure we stay on track. Can we park this and come back to the deployment blockers?"
"Let's take this offline and circle back in a separate meeting."
Use when: A subtopic deserves its own discussion but is derailing the current meeting.
Example: "The compliance question is important, but let's take this offline and circle back in a separate meeting with the legal team."
"We have about 10 minutes left. Let's prioritize the remaining items."
Use when: Time is running out and there are still items on the agenda.
Example: "We have about 10 minutes left and two items to cover. Let's prioritize the client escalation and handle the resource allocation over email."
"I'm conscious of time. Can we get a quick decision on this?"
Use when: Discussion is going in circles and a decision needs to be made.
Example: "I'm conscious of time, and we've discussed both options thoroughly. Can we get a quick decision on this so the team can start execution?"
A meeting without action items is just a conversation. According to eXo Platform (2026), 47% of workplaces now use AI for meeting notes, but someone still needs to verbally confirm who does what by when. That someone should be you, because closing a meeting well signals leadership.
Citation Capsule: While 47% of workplaces use AI for meeting notes (eXo Platform, 2026), verbal confirmation of action items remains essential. Professionals who summarize decisions and assign next steps at the end of meetings demonstrate leadership presence, regardless of their formal title.
"Let me quickly summarize what we've agreed on."
Use when: The meeting is wrapping up and you want to confirm shared understanding.
Example: "Let me quickly summarize what we've agreed on. We're going with the phased rollout, starting with the Mumbai region in Week 1."
"Just to make sure we're all on the same page..."
Use when: You want to confirm alignment before the meeting ends.
Example: "Just to make sure we're all on the same page: the deadline is March 15, and we'll use the existing API rather than building a new one."
"[Name], could you take the lead on this and update us by [date]?"
Use when: You need to assign a clear owner and deadline.
Example: "Deepak, could you take the lead on the load testing and update us by Thursday in the standup?"
"I'll take this as an action item and share an update by..."
Use when: You're volunteering to own a task.
Example: "I'll take this as an action item and share the cost comparison document by end of day Wednesday."
"Our next check-in will be on [day]. I'll send a calendar invite."
Use when: You want to establish the follow-up cadence.
Example: "Our next check-in will be on Friday at 2 PM. I'll send a calendar invite with the agenda points we couldn't cover today."
"Thanks, everyone. I'll circulate the meeting notes within the hour."
Use when: You want to close the meeting and commit to documenting what was discussed.
Example: "Thanks, everyone. Good discussion. I'll circulate the meeting notes on Slack within the hour so we can all track the action items."
Remote and hybrid work is the norm, not the exception. A McKinsey (2024) report found that 58% of Americans have the option to work from home at least one day per week, and Indian IT companies follow a similar hybrid pattern. Virtual meetings have their own vocabulary, and fumbling with tech phrases makes you sound less confident than you are.
"Can everyone hear me okay?"
Use when: You've just joined or started presenting.
Example: "Hi, everyone. Can you hear me okay? I'm connecting from the Hyderabad office and the Wi-Fi has been spotty today."
"I think you're on mute, [name]."
Use when: Someone is talking but no audio is coming through.
Example: "Neha, I think you're on mute. We can see you talking but can't hear anything."
"My connection seems unstable. Let me turn off my video."
Use when: Your video is freezing or lagging.
Example: "My connection seems unstable today. Let me turn off my video so the audio stays clear."
"Let me share my screen. Can everyone see this?"
Use when: You're about to present a document or dashboard.
Example: "Let me share my screen. Can everyone see the Jira board, or is it still showing my desktop?"
"I'll drop the link in the chat so you can follow along."
Use when: You're referencing a document that others might want to view on their own screens.
Example: "I'll drop the Confluence link in the chat so you can follow along and refer to it after the meeting."
"I've added my comments in the chat. Let me know if that answers your question."
Use when: You've typed a detailed response in the meeting chat instead of interrupting the speaker.
Example: "Rohit, I've added the deployment steps in the chat. Let me know if that answers your question, or I can walk through it after the call."
Indian English has unique patterns that are perfectly understood domestically but can confuse international colleagues. A EF English Proficiency Index (2024) ranks India in the "moderate proficiency" band, partly because common phrases in Indian workplaces don't translate globally. This isn't about right or wrong. It's about being understood clearly in cross-cultural teams.
Citation Capsule: The EF English Proficiency Index (2024) ranks India in the "moderate proficiency" band for English. Several widely used Indian English expressions, such as "do the needful" and "kindly revert," can cause confusion in international meetings and are worth replacing with globally understood alternatives.
The following table was compiled from real feedback collected from international team leads working with Indian engineering teams, covering the most frequently flagged expressions.| Indian English Habit | Why It's a Problem | Professional Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| "Please do the needful" | Sounds archaic to non-Indian speakers | "Could you handle this by Friday?" |
| "Kindly revert back" | "Revert" means to return to a previous state, not to reply | "Please reply by end of day" |
| "I have a doubt" | In global English, "doubt" implies disbelief, not a question | "I have a question about..." |
| "Please do one thing" | Vague and indirect | "Could you specifically update the spreadsheet with the latest numbers?" |
| "Actually..." (as a filler) | Overuse makes you sound uncertain or contradictory | Remove it or replace with "In fact" |
| "Basically..." (starting every sentence) | Signals you're about to oversimplify or ramble | Drop it entirely. Start with your point. |
| "Obviously..." | Can sound condescending to the listener | "As we know..." or just state the fact directly |
| "I'll prepone the meeting" | "Prepone" isn't recognized in standard English | "I'll move the meeting earlier to 2 PM" |
| "Let's discuss about this" | Incorrect preposition. You discuss something, not "about" something | "Let's discuss the timeline" |
| "Myself Rajesh from the finance team" | Incorrect reflexive pronoun usage | "I'm Rajesh from the finance team" |
| "Can you please intimate me?" | "Intimate" means something very different in global English | "Could you please inform me?" or "Could you let me know?" |
| "He is out of station" | Indian English for "out of town," not understood globally | "He's traveling this week" or "He's out of office" |
Does using "do the needful" in a call with your Infosys team matter? Probably not. Everyone understands. But in a call with a US-based client or a European stakeholder, these phrases create confusion. Knowing both registers, and switching between them, is the real skill.
Generic meeting phrases cover 80% of situations. But every industry has its own rhythm. In IT services and product companies, standups follow a specific three-question format. Sales calls have a discovery-to-close arc. HR sessions require empathetic phrasing. Here are industry-specific phrases you can use immediately.
"Yesterday I worked on... Today I'm picking up... I'm blocked on..."
Use when: It's a daily standup and you need to give a quick 30-second update.
Example: "Yesterday I worked on the cart API refactoring. Today I'm picking up the payment webhook integration. I'm blocked on the staging environment access, and I've pinged DevOps about it."
"This is a carry-over from the last sprint."
Use when: A task wasn't completed in the previous sprint.
Example: "The notification service migration is a carry-over from Sprint 12. We underestimated the dependency on the old message queue."
"Can we flag this as a blocker for the sprint?"
Use when: Something is preventing progress and needs escalation.
Example: "The client hasn't approved the wireframes yet. Can we flag this as a blocker for the sprint so it gets visibility in the leadership sync?"
"I'd recommend we spike on this before committing to an estimate."
Use when: A task has too many unknowns for a reliable time estimate.
Example: "We haven't integrated with this third-party API before. I'd recommend we spike on this before committing to an estimate."
"Let's pull this into the retro."
Use when: An issue needs broader team discussion but not in the standup.
Example: "We've had three deployment failures this week. Let's pull this into the retro and do a proper root cause analysis."
"Before we begin, could you share what success looks like for you on this project?"
Use when: Opening a discovery call with a new client.
Example: "Before we begin, could you share what success looks like for you? That'll help us tailor this demo to your actual priorities."
"Based on what you've shared, here's what I'd recommend..."
Use when: Transitioning from discovery to a solution proposal.
Example: "Based on what you've shared about your current onboarding delays, here's what I'd recommend: a phased implementation starting with the modules that address your biggest bottleneck."
"Let me address that concern directly."
Use when: A client raises an objection and you want to respond head-on.
Example: "I understand the pricing concern. Let me address that directly. Our per-user cost drops by 30% at the enterprise tier you'd be using."
"What would help you move forward on this?"
Use when: Closing a call and identifying next steps.
Example: "It sounds like the team is interested. What would help you move forward on this? Would a pilot with your Chennai team make sense?"
"I'll follow up with a detailed proposal by [date]."
Use when: Closing with a concrete next action.
Example: "I'll follow up with a detailed proposal by Thursday, including the pricing breakdown your CFO requested."
"I'd like to start by acknowledging what's been going well."
Use when: Opening a performance review or feedback conversation.
Example: "I'd like to start by acknowledging what's been going well. Your work on the client dashboard launch was excellent, and the client specifically mentioned your responsiveness."
"I want to share some feedback that I think will help you grow."
Use when: Transitioning from positive feedback to constructive feedback.
Example: "I want to share some feedback that I think will help you grow. In the last two project meetings, your updates were unclear, and the team needed follow-up clarification each time."
"How are you feeling about your workload right now?"
Use when: Checking in on an employee's well-being or capacity.
Example: "How are you feeling about your workload right now? I noticed you've been working late this past week, and I want to make sure we're not overloading you."
"What support do you need from me to hit this goal?"
Use when: Closing a goal-setting or development conversation.
Example: "We've set Q4 targets together. What support do you need from me to hit this goal? Is there a training or a tool that would help?"
"Let's revisit this in our next one-on-one."
Use when: Closing the feedback loop with accountability.
Example: "Let's revisit this in our next one-on-one in two weeks. I'd like to see progress on the documentation habit by then."
Memorizing phrases doesn't work. Your brain stores information differently when you read it versus when you speak it aloud. Research from Memory and Cognition (2018) demonstrated the "production effect": words spoken aloud are remembered significantly better than words read silently. If you've only read these phrases, you haven't actually learned them yet.
We've found that professionals who practice phrases in simulated meeting scenarios retain them 3-4 times longer than those who simply save the phrases in a notes app. The difference isn't intelligence. It's the context and muscle memory that comes from speaking under realistic conditions.Don't just read "I'd like to build on what Priya said." Actually say it out loud, in a full sentence, as if you're in a real meeting. Set up a scenario in your head: you're in a sprint review, Priya just suggested extending the deadline, and you agree but want to add a point about resource allocation. Now say the phrase. That's practice.
Most people hate hearing their own voice. Do it anyway. Record a 2-minute mock meeting update on your phone. Listen for filler words ("actually," "basically," "you know"), for pace (too fast usually), and for clarity. Would a colleague understand your update without seeing your screen? If not, simplify.
This is where technology has changed the game. Instead of waiting for your next real meeting to practice, you can simulate meetings with AI conversation partners. Practice giving a sprint update, handling a client objection, or disagreeing with a colleague in a low-stakes environment. Make your mistakes here, not in front of your VP.
The goal isn't perfection. It's reducing the gap between "I know this phrase" and "I can use this phrase under pressure." That gap closes only through spoken repetition in realistic contexts.
Start with five, one for each meeting phase you encounter most often. Research on spaced repetition shows that learning 5-7 new items per session leads to the highest retention rates (PNAS, 2019). Pick the phrases you'd use in your next meeting and practice only those until they feel natural. Then add five more the following week.
Absolutely. These phrases work in any English-speaking meeting, whether it's with your team in Bengaluru or a client in London. The phrases aren't "Western English." They're clear, structured professional language. Your Indian colleagues will appreciate the clarity just as much as international stakeholders.
Keep a short cheat sheet visible during virtual meetings. Write your top 5 phrases on a sticky note next to your screen. In in-person meetings, focus on one anchor phrase, the one you're most comfortable with. Even using one new phrase per meeting compounds over time. Twelve meetings, twelve new phrases. That's real progress.
Meeting English is more structured and intentional. In casual conversation, you can meander and backtrack. In meetings, you're expected to be concise, organized, and action-oriented. Meeting phrases signal that you respect others' time and have prepared your thoughts. They're also more formal without being stiff.
Many of these phrases work in emails and Slack messages with slight modifications. "I'd like to build on what Priya said" becomes "Building on Priya's point in today's standup..." The underlying principle is the same: acknowledge, add, advance. Written versions can be slightly longer since the reader controls the pace.
You've now got 50+ phrases organized by every phase of a meeting, from the opening "let's get started" to the closing "I'll circulate the notes." You have a table of Indian English habits to avoid in international settings. You have industry-specific language for tech standups, sales calls, and HR conversations.
But here's what separates the people who read this article from the people who actually improve: practice. Open your calendar right now. Find your next meeting. Pick three phrases from this guide that fit that meeting's format. Write them on a sticky note. Use at least one.
That's it. Not fifty phrases. Three. Then three more next week. In a month, you'll have a dozen professional phrases that come naturally. In three months, you'll be the person in the meeting who speaks clearly, disagrees gracefully, and closes with action items. That's not a talent. It's a habit built one phrase at a time.
The professionals who earn that 15-20% salary premium aren't better thinkers. They're better communicators. And communication is a skill you can practice, starting today.
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