Different situations can occur in conversation with colleagues or business partners. We may want to say our opinion or ask for the opinion of a second person, solve the problem, express agreement or disagreement, interrupted the conversation in a polite way, apologize and thank.
Beginning of the conversation
First, we greet our guest.
- Good morning. Pleased to see you again.
Then we have them seated at the table and offer them some refreshments.
- Please have a seat.
- Can I offer you something to drink?
We show an interest in our guest and express the gratitude for the meeting.
- Did you find us okay?
- I hope you had a pleasant journey.
- Thanks for agreeing to meet with me.
You may find the following phrases useful if you are supposed to express your opion.
How to express your opinion
- Personally I believe…
- In my opinion…
- From my point of view…
How to show you interest in other people’s opinions
- What’s your idea?
- Do you have anything to say about this?
- Do you agree?
You may agree or disagree with other people’s opinions.
How to express your agreement/strong>
- That’s just what I was thinking.
- I couldn’t agree with you more.
- You’re right.
How to express your disagreement
- I’m afraid I disagree.
- I don’t think so.
- Not necessarily.
- No, I’m not so sure about that.
Apologise for being wrong
Apology
- I didn’t do it on purpose.
- I’m terribly sorry.
- Please excuse my ignorance.
- Sorry. It was all my fault.
Then you start to solve the problem.
Solving the problem
- I’ll see what I can do.
- I’ll do my best.
- I’ll deal with it.
Sometimes we have to interrupt the conversation
The interruption of a conversation
- I’m sorry to interrupt, but…
- I don’t mean to intrude…
- Can I add something here?
- While that is an important point, it’s also important to add…
Finally we finish the conversation.
End of the conversation
- Excuse me, but I have to leave.
- May I be excused?
We express the pleasure.
- I’m glad we got to talk.
- I have really enjoyed our meeting.
Mr Pot: I don’t mean to intrude Jim, but I’m afraid I disagree with the relocation to France. In my opinion nobody here actually wants to live in France.
Mr Curtis: You didn’t let me finish. – Nenechal jsi mě to dokončit. The decision has been already taken.
Mr Pot: Pardon me. I don’t quite see what you mean. I thought we were here to discuss this. – Omlouvám se
Mr Curtis: No, perhaps I didn’t make myself clear. We are here to implement the decision.
Mrs Jones: I am sorry to interrupt, but why we should have our head office in France instead of here in Germany? We do most of our business here.
Mr Curtis: No, I’m not so sure about that. The decision to relocate makes good economic sense. We are not in a position to change company policy. Let’s move on…
Norwegian sentence structure is also subject-verb-object based. Even longer sentences bear a structural similarity to their English counterparts.