B1 · Module 01 · Class 02 — The Room Reads You
Narrative Scene
The Vantage pitch went well. Claire Beaumont asked sharp questions and Santiago answered every one of them. After the meeting, she shook his hand and said, 'We'll be in touch by the end of the week.' Elena, watching from the far end of the table, gave him a discreet nod.
Three days later, the call came. Vantage had narrowed their shortlist to two firms. They wanted a second, more detailed meeting — this time with Altius's full project team. Claire would be joined by two colleagues from Vantage's investment committee: David Park (Head of Risk) and Ingrid Solvang (Legal Counsel). The agenda would cover four areas: Altius's proposed methodology, the regulatory timeline, the risk framework, and commercial terms.
Santiago is now chairing this second meeting. He needs to set the agenda, manage three strong personalities from across two continents, make sure every voice is heard, and keep the conversation moving. After the meeting, Marco Peña — his junior analyst — will write the minutes. But first, Santiago needs to brief him on exactly what meeting minutes require at this level.
Vocabularyagenda: a list of items to be discussed at a meeting, usually distributed in advance minutes: an official written record of what was discussed and decided at a meeting action item: a specific task assigned to a person with a deadline, arising from a meeting quorum: the minimum number of people required for a meeting to be officially valid AOB: Any Other Business — the final agenda item for topics not planned in advance chairperson: the person responsible for running and directing a meeting facilitate: to make a process easier or help a group work more effectively table a topic: in British English: to put a topic on the agenda. In US English: to postpone it. (Know which is being used!) take the floor: to begin speaking in a meeting; to have the right to address the group sidebar: a brief, private conversation between two people during a larger meeting preliminary: coming before the main event; introductory indicative timeline: an approximate schedule, not yet confirmed or binding engagement letter: a formal document that defines the terms of a consulting or professional assignment caveat: a warning or qualification that limits or conditions a statement deliverable: a specific, agreed output produced as part of a project sign-off: formal approval from a decision-maker; the act of authorizing something |
Reported Questions and Meeting Management Language
A. Reported Questions
Reported questions follow statement word order — not question word order. They do NOT use do/does/did or inverted subject-verb structure.
Key rule: reported questions use STATEMENT word order. WRONG: She asked what did we charge for a six-month engagement. RIGHT: She asked what we charged for a six-month engagement. WRONG: He wanted to know could we start in January. RIGHT: He wanted to know if/whether we could start in January. |
Yes/No questions → asked if / asked whether:"Do you have experience in energy distribution?" → She asked if we had experience in energy distribution. "Can Altius start by February?" → He asked whether Altius could start by February. Wh- questions → asked + wh- word + statement order: "What methodology do you use?" → She asked what methodology we used. "How long will the due diligence phase take?" → He asked how long the due diligence phase would take. |
B. Formal Meeting Language
Opening the meeting: • "Thank you all for joining. Let's get started. I'd like to run through the agenda briefly." • "We have four items today. I'd like to aim to finish by 12:30. Please hold questions until the end of each section." Handing over: • "I'd now like to hand over to Marco, who will walk us through the risk framework." Interrupting politely: • "Sorry to jump in — could you clarify what you mean by 'regulatory exposure'?" • "If I may — I think this links to the point about timeline risk." Closing and confirming actions: • "To summarize: we've agreed on the scope, the timeline, and the initial fee structure." • "I'll send the minutes and action list by end of day. Thank you all for a productive session." |
Phrasal Verbs in Contextrun through: "I'd like to run through the agenda before we begin." (= go over quickly / review) bring up: "David brought up a concern about the regulatory timeline." (= introduce a topic for discussion) wrap up: "Let's wrap up this agenda item and move to commercial terms." (= finish / conclude) |
Read the meeting minutes Marco drafted after the second Vantage meeting. Notice how reported speech is used throughout.
MEETING MINUTES Altius Consulting Group / Vantage Capital Partners — Second Meeting Date: Thursday, 9 January 2025 Location: Altius Consulting Group, Mexico City Present: Santiago Reyes, Marco Peña (Altius); Claire Beaumont, David Park, Ingrid Solvang (Vantage Capital) Chair: Santiago Reyes 1. METHODOLOGY Santiago presented Altius's four-phase engagement framework. Claire asked how long the initial diagnostic phase would typically take. Santiago explained that it depended on data availability but generally ran four to six weeks. David noted that Vantage's internal timeline required a preliminary report by the end of February. Santiago confirmed that this was achievable provided the engagement letter was signed by 20 January. 2. REGULATORY TIMELINE Marco walked through the regulatory approval sequence for infrastructure acquisitions. Ingrid asked whether Altius had advised on transactions involving the Federal Energy Commission specifically. Marco confirmed that Altius had and offered to share a relevant case study. Ingrid also enquired whether there were any legal caveats the team should flag at this stage. Marco said he would include a legal risk matrix in the proposal. ACTION ITEMS ● Santiago Reyes: send full proposal to Claire Beaumont by Thursday 16 January. ● Marco Peña: prepare legal risk matrix and FEC case study for inclusion in proposal. ● Claire Beaumont: confirm Vantage sign-off process for engagement letter. Minutes recorded by: Marco Peña | Approved by: Santiago Reyes |
Practice Exercises
3 questionsNew exercises to reinforce what you learned. Different from the lesson material.
"She asked what did the engagement typically cost for a six-month project." — Correct form?
You want to open the meeting and outline the agenda. Which is the professional choice?
You want to move from one agenda item to the next. Which is professional?
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