Running a meeting in French

Level B2

Running a meeting in French

You are discussing a delivery with colleagues who use tu with each other. Your job is to make room for a contribution, state the different priorities and check a precise decision. A good summary does not itself create agreement. Listen to the example cards and try the short task before looking at its answers.

An opinion is not yet a shared decision

Je suis d'accord means ‘I agree’. On s'est mis d'accord means ‘we reached an agreement’: here on includes the people in the meeting. Sur le prix means ‘on the price’; mais pas sur la date means ‘but not on the date’. Recover the distinction before calling anything settled. The price can be agreed while the date remains open.

One delivery, two priorities

A is Ana and B is Ben. Ana proposes Friday delivery at this price. Ben wants quality and time to check it. He asks to interrupt; Ana's Bien sûr (‘of course’) gives him the floor. His next two lines are one contribution: first his priority, then his summary. Ana finishes by saying the date is still unresolved. They have not chosen Monday or agreed that Friday allows enough checking time.

Request a turn before adding your point

Pardon de t'interrompre means ‘sorry to interrupt you’; Je peux intervenir ici ? means ‘can I come in here?’ Intervenir here is to speak in the discussion, not to enter a room. The request gives the current speaker a chance to let you speak; it does not guarantee that an interruption will be welcome. In this collegial setting, t' addresses Ana with tu. After the invitation, give one relevant contribution rather than taking over the meeting.

Summarize the difference without erasing it

Si je résume means ‘if I sum up’ or ‘to sum up what I understand’. Here it presents a summary for checking, not a new proposal. Tu proposes vendredi means ‘you propose Friday’; moi, je veux du temps pour vérifier la qualité means ‘I want time to check the quality’. Moi stresses the second participant's priority; it does not turn that priority into a group decision. Keep who wants what and any condition. The shorter example with donc (‘so’) reports a price agreement and an unresolved date; it is another useful summary, not an extra fact from the dialogue.

Si je résume, une position, et l'autre priorité.

Name the proposal, then check consensus

Now consider a separate possible outcome: Monday delivery at this price, provided delivery is free. D'accord pour lundi… accepts Monday; à condition que la livraison soit gratuite means ‘provided delivery is free’. This recovers the condition + subjunctive construction: soit is the subjunctive of être. Do not drop the condition when reporting the agreement.

After stating that exact proposal, ask Tout le monde est d'accord ? (‘does everyone agree?’). Tout le monde takes est, singular. Je suis d'accord is an explicit individual answer. One displayed answer does not establish that every participant has agreed: give the others a chance to answer or object. If the date is still disputed, use the unresolved-date sentence instead of announcing a decision.

Recognize a return to the agenda

For recognition only: Revenons à la date de livraison means ‘let's return to the delivery date’. Revenons à… brings the discussion back to a topic. In the other example, on pourra parler des coûts plus tard means ‘we can talk about costs later’; revenons aux délais means ‘let's get back to the timing’. Aux is à + les. Delaying the cost discussion is not resolving it. These are meeting chunks to understand here; you do not need to produce them or learn a new imperative table.

Ben speaks; you keep the decision open

You are Ben speaking to Ana in the original dialogue. Say ‘Sorry to interrupt. Can I come in here?’ Then say ‘If I sum up, you propose Friday, and I want time to check the quality.’ Keep I as Ben and you as Ana; do not replace either position with Monday.

Next, as the facilitator, suppose you have just stated the complete Monday proposal with free delivery. Ask the group whether everyone agrees. Finally return to the original dialogue: nobody has settled the date, so say ‘We haven't agreed on the date yet.’ Try before listening; the four cards give the answers in order. The Monday proposal is a separate exercise, not an outcome of the original dialogue.

A turn, an accurate summary, a checked decision

Ask for the floor and let the invitation come. Use si je résume to preserve the different positions, then check a specific proposal with Tout le monde est d'accord ? Agreement needs actual answers, including any condition; an unresolved point stays unresolved. Recognize revenons à as a way to return to the agenda, without adding a new imperative paradigm.

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