Agreeing and Disagreeing in Meetings

From department meetings to meetings with external associates, you will be required to show agreement or disagreement with an idea or suggestion every once in a while. If your relationship is strong with trust, the language you use is less important. However, sometimes it is necessary to demonstrate diplomatic language, in particular when disagreeing with an associate. It is not just the words you use that can show how you feel. The delivery of the words can also express how you feel about an idea.

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Listen to the following clips and decide whether the responder is a) firmly agreeing b) tentatively agreeing c) tentatively disagreeing or d) firmly disagreeing

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Phrases

Note: Two of the ways for tentatively agreeing and disagreeing are very similar and depend on intonation.

Strongly agreeing

  • What x is saying is absolutely right.
  • I agree with that 100%

Tentatively agreeing

  • Thanks for that. I’ll definitely take that into consideration
  • That’s an interesting way to look at it. I take your point.

Tentatively disagreeing

  • That’s an interesting way to look at it. I take your point but I still believe it would be challenging
  • That could be an option we return to at a later date.

Firmly disagreeing

  • I see it from a different point of view
  • I’m afraid that probably wouldn’t be feasible.
2 replies
  1. hschweiker
    hschweiker says:

    User feedback:

    Some speakers spoke fast. Might be frustrating if they can’t understand it after doing it more than once. Could an optional audio script or interactive transcript be included?

    Reply
  2. hschweiker
    hschweiker says:

    Comments (user feedback):

    If the image was included in the email, I might be more likely to click on it

    Interactive exercises are more beneficial.

    From the email sent, it was not clear that the TOTW had changed and it now was not interactive. This could have been highlighted further.

    Examples could be hidden during listening, collapsible so some can see it if they want to. Otherwise it might be confusing.

    Reply

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