Business people meet with clients, suppliers, owners, managers and others on a regular basis.
Arranging those meeting times is the target language for this lesson.
The structure of these conversations often looks like this:
| Requesting an appointment:
Politely asking for a meeting If possible, I would like to come by and see you [tomorrow]? I was wondering if we could get together [on Tuesday]? Do you think we could get together [next week]? Do you mind if we get together [sometime]? Could I visit you [later today]? Could I meet with you about this? Can we get together and talk about this? Is there a good time for us to get together [on Monday]? Suggesting a time/date: Could we meet at _________ on ________ the _____ of _____? Could we meet at 10AM on Monday the 3rd of July? Could we . . . Can we . . . Is it possible to . . . I’d like to see you at [time and date] . . . Would [time and date] be good for you? Rejecting a time/date: Apologize and give a reason I’m sorry, I’ve got another meeting then. I’m afraid I can’t, I’m out of town that day. I wish I could, but . . . [Date/time] is not good for me, I’m sorry. Suggesting an alternative time/date: How about next Friday, instead? Maybe 11:00 a.m., instead? How about . . . Could you do it at . . . Agreeing to a time and date: That’s fine. I’ll see you then. That sounds fine/good/great/super to me. Yes, lets try that. Perfect, let’s do it then. Perfect, let’s do that. |
Practice the following dialog with a partner:
| A: Hello, Mr. Zain? This is Henry Chu over at Hitachi. |
| B: Hello Henry, what can I do for you? |
| A: I was wondering if we could get together on Tuesday to talk about the specs* on the relays you ordered. |
| B: Tuesday sounds fine to me, what time is good for you? |
| A: How about 2 p.m.? |
| B: I’m sorry, I’ve got to meet with Mr. al Ghazi then, but any other time is fine. |
| A: Can we try 3 p.m. then? |
| B: That’s perfect, see you then. |
| A: Thank you Mr. Zain, I’ll see you Tuesday then, at 3 p.m.** |
| * specs are short for specifications – or details ** repeat the time to confirm agreement -this is not always done |
When you are finished with this lesson go to
the Making Appointments Activities Page
Business English Making Appointments Lesson