You know your subject inside out. You have the data, the proposal, the answer. Then the meeting starts and someone asks a question, two people talk at once, the connection stutters, and by the time you unmute yourself, the conversation has moved on. You get to the end of the call having said far less than you intended, and far less than you needed to.
Online meetings are harder than they look. And for non-native English speakers working in international teams, they present a very specific challenge: the right language has to arrive at the right moment, under pressure, with no time to think. This post gives you the phrases that make that possible.
Why Online Meetings Are Harder Than Face-to-Face
In a physical room, communication is full of signals, eye contact, a raised hand, a slight lean forward. You can see when someone is about to speak, and they can see you. Online, those signals disappear.
Add to that the micro-delays caused by internet connections, the background noise, the mixed accents across multiple locations, and the faster, more transactional pace that video calls tend to have, and it becomes clear why even confident professionals find online meetings demanding.
For non-native speakers, the stakes are higher. Hesitating too long can mean losing the floor entirely. Not knowing how to politely cut in means staying silent when you had something valuable to contribute. Using the wrong register can come across as abrupt or uncertain, neither of which reflects who you actually are.
The solution is not fluency in the abstract. It is the right phrases, practised until they arrive automatically.
The Phrases You Need โ By Category
Opening and Joining the Call
The first minute sets the tone. A confident opening signals that you are present, prepared, and ready to contribute.
- “Good morning everyone, can you hear me clearly?”
- “Thanks for joining. Shall we get started?”
- “Before we dive in, I’d like to quickly run through today’s agenda.”
- “Apologies for the slight delay, I’m with you now.”
- “Just to confirm, we have [name] and [name] joining from [location] , welcome.”
Checking Understanding
Online meetings move fast. If something is unclear, you need phrases that allow you to pause the conversation without sounding lost.
- “Could you say that again? I think the connection dropped for a moment.”
- “Just to make sure I’ve understood, are you saying that…?”
- “Sorry to interrupt , I want to be sure I’m following. Do you mean…?”
- “Can we just clarify what we mean by [term] before we move on?”
- “I didn’t quite catch that last point , would you mind repeating it?”
These phrases do two things at once: they get you the information you need, and they model the kind of clear, professional communication that everyone on the call benefits from.
Politely Interrupting and Taking the Floor
This is where many professionals struggle most. In English, particularly in internationalย Businessย settings, interrupting is acceptable, but theย wayย you do it matters enormously.
- “Can I just jump in here for a moment?”
- “Sorry to cut in, I think this links directly to what I wanted to raise.”
- “Before we move on, I’d like to add something to that point.”
- “If I could just jump in here, I think there’s an important consideration we haven’t covered.”
- “I don’t want to derail the discussion, but this feels relevant…”
Used well, these phrases show confidence and engagement. Used poorly, or not used at all, you either come across as aggressive or you stay invisible.
Buying Time When You Need a Moment
Not every question can be answered instantly. These phrases give you a beat to think without sounding uncertain or unprepared.
- “That’s a good question. Let me think about that for a second.”
- “I want to give you a considered answer on that, rather than an off-the-cuff response.”
- “Can I come back to that point at the end of this section?”
- “Let me just pull up the figures before I respond to that.”
- “I’d like to check one thing before I commit to an answer on that.”
Fluent speakers use these phrases constantly. They are not signs of weakness โ they are signs of professionalism.
Closing, Action Points, and Sign-Off
How a meeting ends is just as important as how it begins. A clean close builds trust and ensures that decisions are followed through.
- “Before we wrap up, let me summarise the key action points.”
- “To confirm, [name] will handle [task] by [date]. Is that agreed?”
- “Is there anything else we need to cover before we close?”
- “Thank you all. I’ll send a brief summary within the hour.”
- “Good meeting, everyone. Talk soon.”
Knowing the Phrases Is One Thing. Using Them Is Another.
Reading a list of phrases is a starting point. But in a real meeting, with real pressure, a real audience, and real consequences,the phrases that come out are the ones that have been practised until they feel natural.
That is exactly whatย Business English coaching at iTalkTermsย is designed for. Sessions focus on the language you actually use in your working life: your meetings, your presentations, your negotiations. Your tutor,a native English speaker, listens to how you express yourself and helps you find the words that work, in the moment, under pressure.
The introductory session is $6 for 45 minutes. It is the most direct way to find out what is holding you back , and what to do about it.
For Teams: Raise the Standard Across the Whole Room
If online meetings are a challenge for one person on your team, the chances are they are a challenge for several. The good news is that when a team develops shared language and shared confidence, the difference in meetings is immediately visible, and audible.
iTalkTerms Business English training for teams is built for exactly this. Groups of three or more receive complimentary course materials and professional certificates included as standard. Teams of ten or more receive an additional 10% discount.
Whether your team is distributed across one city or across multiple countries, as many of our clients across Europe are, including those we work with through ourย Businessย English coaching in Poland, the goal is the same: clearer communication, stronger meetings, better outcomes.
The Phrases Are Here. Now Use Them.
Save this post. Share it with a colleague who has ever come off a call feeling like they didn’t quite say what they meant. And if you want to go further, to practise these phrases in real conversation with a native English speaker who knows exactly what international professionals need, book your introductory session today.
The start of sounding exactly as capable as you are.
iTalkTerms โ Business English Coaching for Professionals. Online. Native. Effective.
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