English for Online Meetings: How to Speak Confidently During Video Conferences
In today’s world, video conferencing has become a standard part of everyday life. Whether we’re working remotely due to a pandemic, traveling for business, or navigating through challenging times like war, tools like Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams help us stay connected.
Online meetings are now part of our daily lives — in work, education, and even casual communication. To feel confident during a video call in English, it’s helpful to know key vocabulary and useful phrases. This article offers everything you need to sound professional and feel comfortable.
Getting Started with a Video Call
- Join the meeting
- Join the audio by computer
- Enter the meeting code
- Mute / Unmute microphone
- Turn on / off the camera
- See the list of Participants
- Record the meeting
- Leave the meeting
Tip: Check your technical settings before the meeting starts to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Additional Features Worth Knowing
- Virtual background – useful if you want to hide your real background or appear more professional
- Polls – interactive polls for quick feedback
- Breakout rooms – small group workspaces
- Chat – text chat for communication without interrupting the speaker
Introduction: Greeting Participants in English
- Good morning / afternoon / evening, everyone!
- I’m [Name], and I’ll be leading today’s meeting.
- I’ll be your host for the meeting.
- I’m excited to be here with you today.
- Let’s get started.
- I am glad to see you today.
- I am looking forward to starting our discussion.
Keeping the Communication Flowing
- Is everyone ready to begin?
- Please share your thoughts in the chat.
- Are we good to go on?
- Can you see my screen?
- Feel free to raise your hand or react.
Bonus: In Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams, you can use emoji reactions like 👍, 👏, ❓, etc. — a quick and easy way to interact.
Common Tech Issues and How to Report on Them
- I can’t hear you. You're on mute.
- I’m sorry, I have to put myself on mute for a moment.
- I cannot see you well. Please move closer to the camera.
- I’m having trouble sharing my screen.
- Your connection seems unstable.
- The connection is slow / poor.
- You’re frozen.
- The screen is frozen.
- Sorry, I got disconnected.
- Sorry, I got kicked out.
- Let me try to reconnect.
- I apologize for the wait. Please give me a few seconds so I can share my screen.
- Bear with me for a moment. I guess I have lost my presentation slides.
Asking Questions or Requesting Clarification
- Could you repeat that, please?
- Can you clarify what you meant by...?
- Sorry for interrupting, but may I ask a quick question?
Wrapping Up the Meeting
- Thank you for your time today.
- It was nice to meet you / to see you!
- It was great talking to you.
- Let’s stay in touch.
- I’ll follow up with you tomorrow / next week.
- Looking forward to our next meeting.
- Let’s get back in touch with you.
Additional Tips
- Remember the basics of netiquette: camera on, be on time, stay attentive, and avoid multitasking.
- Clarify the time in UTC if you’re working across time zones:
- Let’s meet at 10 am Kyiv time (GMT+3).
To reinforce this vocabulary and get fully prepared for effective online communication in English, join our special course “English for Meetings”. Get more details or register for the course here: https://bubbles.center/en/
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