«It’s very difficult todo esto …»

Quien no haya seguido los chascarrillos políticos de estos últimos años, no reconocerá la referencia del título. Para esa persona, la referencia se explica aquí.

Y, tanto si tú eres la persona anterior como cualquier otra, siempre te vendrán bien algunas frases en inglés que puedes querer tener listas y utilizar en tu próxima reunión de negocio.

Por ejemplo, si no te sientes totalmente cómodo en una videoconferencia en inglés, imprímete este post y pégalo al lado de la pantalla (ojo, que ayuda mucho si antes lo has leído un par de veces y practicado en voz alta).

Para comenzar la reunión

• Thank you all for coming.
• I would like to begin by introducing …
• It’s my pleasure to introduce …
• Please join me in welcoming …
• Our aim today is …
• I’ve scheduled this meeting so that we …
• Our purpose today is …

En relación con la agenda de la reunión

• First, we will be discussing …
• We will then move on to …
• Next, we will consider …
• And if there is enough time, we will go over …
• Finally, I will be closing the meeting by …

Durante la reunión

• So, how’s the project coming along?
• Has everyone submitted their weekly reports?
• Reading last week’s reports, I would like to add …

Dar la palabra a alguien

• I suggest we hear now from X, who will be updating us on …
• X, can you let us know the latest on …?
• I believe X has a point on this, would you please let us know?
• X will now take over.
• I’d like to hand you over to X, who will talk you through …
• Now I would like to introduce X who will be talking about …

Si quieres intervenir durante la reunión

• I think we should try …
• The way I see things …

Si quieres confirmar lo que estás oyendo

• I am with X on this.
• I support your view.
• I am fully on board.
• I completely agree.

Si no estás de acuerdo con lo que estás oyendo

• That’s a great point, but maybe we should consider other options such as …
• Have you considered …?
• I see where you are coming from, but …
• I’m sorry but I have to disagree on this because …

Cambiar el tema del que se está hablando

• If there are no further views on this, I suggest we move on to …
• Let’s move on to the next item in the agenda, which is …

Si quieres sugerir algo

• Why don’t we …?
• Couldn’t we try to …?
• How about we …?
• Have you thought about …?

Si quieres aclarar o reformular algo que has dicho

• Let me put this another way.
• Here’s what I had in mind.
• My idea was …
• In a nutshell, what I’m saying is …

Si quieres que te aclaren algo que otro asistente a la reunión ha dicho

• Could you be a little bit more precise, please?
• Can you expand on that?
• Could you please confirm what you mean by …?

Si necesitas pedir que te repitan algo

• Can you run that by me one more time, please?
• I missed that, would you mind repeating that again?

Si quieres pedir su opinión a otros asistentes

• How do you feel about this, X?
• What are your views on …?
• X, can we get your input?

Para evitar salirse del tema

• Can we go back to our subject, please?
• I’m afraid we are running out of time. Can we continue this discussion in our next meeting, and now go back to …?
• Let’s skip this topic and take it up at another time.

Para resumir lo hablado

• To sum up, we’ve discussed about …
• Before we finish, let me summarise the main points of today’s meeting.

Para cerrar la reunión

• That just about covers everything for today.
• We have covered everything from our agenda.
• We will have to leave it here. Our next meeting is scheduled for …
• Unless anyone wishes to make any further points, we’ll leave it here.

Y para agradecer a los presentes su asistencia (y paciencia)

• I would like to thank everyone for coming today.
• Thank you all for your time.
• I would like to thank you all for sharing your time today.

(Bonus track: en un ambiente muy distendido, he visto a algunos conferenciantes terminar con una pequeña broma. Ya es un clásico, creo, la conocida como Looney tunes ending).