English for problem solving

Here's the situation:

You're in a team meeting and have a great idea, but yet again you don't have the language to be able to interrupt and offer your suggestion, so you stay quiet and think about it instead.

Before you know it the topic has moved on and you feel embarrassed saying anything now.

How can you stop this cycle from happening?

The first thing you need to do is interrupt, politely:

This doesn't need to be complicated. Native English speakers use the word 'sorry' a lot, so let's start there...

• "Sorry to interrupt."

• "Excuse me, may I add something?"

• "I'm sorry to cut in, but..."

Sorry to interrupt.

If you want to say something more formal you could use phrases such as...

• "Do you mind if I add something quickly?"

• "May I ask a quick question?"

Again, 'do you mind' and 'may I' are very polite ways of indicating that you want to speak.

Don't be afraid to interrupt when you can do this politely. Even if you are asked to wait, the chair of the meeting will come back to you and you can make your point.

Ideally the chair of the meeting will ask everyone present if they have anything to add before moving on to the next topic, but this is not always the case.

If you find the topic has moved on you can always bring it back...

• "Just going back to the earlier point about..."

• "I just wanted to add something to what Tom said before..."

Using the word 'just' softens the transition back to the previous topic and makes it, crucially, more polite.

What about ordering our paper from a cheaper supplier?

Once you have the attention of the room you can introduce your idea. Remember, be polite when making a suggestion.

Setting your idea as a question can encourage collaboration. Use phrases such as:

What about.....

Why don't we....

• "What about having dress down Fridays?"

• "What about ordering our paper from a cheaper supplier?"

• "Why don't we organise a team lunch once a month?"

• "Why don't we set up a buddy system?"

Should and could are great words for offering suggestions. Should is stronger than could so be careful when you use each one.

Again, setting your idea as an open statement or question is likely to encourage more discussion than saying "I think we should..."

Using words such as 'perhaps' and 'maybe' can encourage discussion.

• "Perhaps we could invite other team members to share their ideas."

• "Perhaps we could look at the impact the hotter weather is having on our customers."

• "Maybe we should open the store earlier in the morning."

• "Maybe we should think about offering more free samples of the products that are not selling as well."

Perhaps we could ask other team members to share their ideas.

Pick a couple of phrases that you feel comfortable saying and try to use them the next time you're in a meeting.

What about a little extra practice first?

Talk to me about Business English coaching.

Melissa completed a Business English course and this is what she had to say:

"I really enjoyed the English lessons with Joanne. She is such a sweet teacher!

The lessons were completely adapted to tasks I have to do at work. 

Whenever she saw that I was struggling with something, extra attention was paid to it. 

I have become much more confident with my English communication.

I definitely recommend Joanne Reilly!"