Frequently used expressions in chemical engineering conferences (1)
Thread Content
I. Meeting Management and Time Control: Starting the Meeting and the Agenda ❌ Let’s start. ✅ Let’s call the meeting to order. / Let’s kick off today’s meeting. (“Call to order” is a standard phrase used to officially begin a meeting, while “kick off” is more casual; saying just “let’s start” gives the impression that something is missing). ）
❌ Let’s talk about the progress. ✅ Let’s review the progress. / Let’s go over the timeline. (“Talk about” is too casual; on a construction site, “review/go over” is more professional, as it implies a process of evaluation.) ）
❌ We’ll discuss after meeting. ✅ Let’s take it offline. (“Take it offline” is a common phrase used in international engineering conferences; it means to avoid wasting everyone’s time during the meeting and to handle the matter separately after the meeting.) ）
Handling tardiness and delays ❌ I’m late. ✅ Sorry, I’m behind schedule. / I got held up at the site. (“Behind schedule” is more formal than “I’m late,” while “got held up” naturally explains being delayed by tasks on site.) ）
❌ The delay’s because… ✅ The delay is caused by… / The delay is due to… (“caused by / due to” is more appropriate for engineering meetings than using “because” alone.) ）
❌ I’ll come a bit late. ✅ I’ll be a few minutes late. / Just a heads-up – I’ll be a few minutes late. (Saying “just a heads-up” in advance is very polite and professional on Teams or WhatsApp.) ）