Business Spanish phrases for meetings

You've learned your verbs, you can order a coffee, you can chat about your weekend. Then someone says "Can you join the call with the Madrid team on Thursday?" and suddenly your Spanish feels very small. Meetings are their own world. People speak fast, they interrupt each other, and there's a set of phrases that come up again and again.

When I worked as a translator at an international company, meetings were a big part of my job. I sat between people who spoke different languages and helped them understand each other, live. What I noticed quickly is that meetings in Spanish run on the same few dozen phrases. Learn those, and you can follow almost any meeting and say what you need to say.

So here are the business Spanish phrases for meetings that I'd want every learner to have ready: how to open, how to give your opinion, how to agree and disagree without sounding rude, how to ask someone to repeat, what to say on a video call, and how to close. ¡Vamos!Let's go!Used to cheer someone on or get moving.

Before the meeting: greetings and small talk

Meetings in Spain rarely start with business. There's usually a minute or two of friendly chat while everyone joins, and it's a lovely chance to warm up your Spanish before the hard part.

Start with a greeting for the whole room:

• Buenos días a todos.Good morning, everyone.The standard way to greet a group before about 2 pm.
• Buenas tardes a todos.Good afternoon, everyone.Used from lunchtime until evening.
• Hola, ¿qué tal?Hi, how are you?Relaxed but still fine at work, especially with colleagues you know.

Then a little small talk:

• ¿Qué tal el fin de semana?How was your weekend?The classic Monday question.
• ¿Cómo va todo por allí?How's everything over there?Nice to ask someone in another office or city.
• Encantado de conocerte.Nice to meet you.Said by a man. A woman says encantada.

That last one is a small trap. EncantadodelightedMasculine form, said by a man. changes to encantadadelightedFeminine form, said by a woman. depending on who is speaking, not who you're talking to. So I say encantadadelightedFeminine form, said by a woman. whether I'm meeting a man or a woman.

Túyou, informalThe friendly form of you. or ustedyou, formalThe polite form of you. in a meeting?

Hindi speakers have a head start here, because we already live with तुम and आप. Spanish has the same split: túyou, informalLike तुम. for people you're close to, ustedyou, formalLike आप. for respect and distance.

In Spain, offices are quite informal. Colleagues usually say túyou, informalLike तुम. to each other, even to their boss. With a new client or a senior person from outside, start with ustedyou, formalLike आप. and switch if they invite you to with puedes tutearmeyou can call me túAn invitation to drop the formal usted.. In Latin America, ustedyou, formalLike आप. is often more common at work. When in doubt, follow the other person's lead. I've written a full post on tú vs usted if you want the details.

How to open a meeting in Spanish

If you're running the meeting, these phrases get everyone focused:

• ¿Empezamos?Shall we start?A soft, friendly way to begin.
• Gracias a todos por venir.Thanks, everyone, for coming.A polite opener. On a call, say por conectaros (Spain).
• El objetivo de esta reunión es...The aim of this meeting is...States the purpose clearly.
• Tenemos tres puntos en el orden del día.We have three points on the agenda.Orden del día means agenda.
• Empecemos por el primer punto.Let's start with the first point.Moves into the agenda.
• Pasemos al siguiente punto.Let's move on to the next point.The phrase you'll use most as the chair.

The word reuniónmeetingA work meeting. The plural is reuniones. is the one to know. You'll also hear orden del díaagendaLiterally, the order of the day. and, in more modern offices, simply agendaagenda or diaryAlso means a personal planner..

Giving your opinion in a business meeting

This is where many learners go quiet. They have an opinion, but they don't know how to start the sentence. The trick is to have three or four openers ready, so your brain only needs to find the rest.

• Creo que...I think that...The simplest, most common opener.
• En mi opinión...In my opinion...A little more formal.
• Desde mi punto de vista...From my point of view...Good when you want to sound careful.
• Me parece que...It seems to me that...Soft and polite, very natural in Spain.
• Yo propondría...I would suggest...The conditional makes it sound less pushy.

Here's a grammar note for B1 learners. In positive sentences, creo queI think thatFollowed by the normal indicative. takes the normal verb form: Creo que es una buena idea.I think it's a good idea.Positive, so indicative es. But when you make it negative, Spanish switches to the subjunctive: No creo que sea una buena idea.I don't think it's a good idea.Negative, so subjunctive sea. It's one of the first places the subjunctive shows up in real life. If that word scares you, my post on the subjunctive for beginners makes it friendly.

How to agree and disagree politely

Agreeing

• Estoy de acuerdo.I agree.The standard phrase. Note it uses estar.
• Tienes razón.You're right.Literally, you have reason. Formal: tiene razón.
• Exacto.Exactly.Short and natural.
• Me parece bien.Sounds good to me.Perfect for agreeing to a plan.
• Totalmente de acuerdo.Completely agree.Strong agreement.

A common mistake: learners say "soy de acuerdoI agree (wrong)Agreement needs estar, not ser." because they think of "I am". It's always estoy de acuerdoI agreeAlways with estar, never ser.. If serTo be (permanent)For what something is: identity, origin, profession. and estarTo be (right now)For how or where something is: feelings, states, location. still confuse you, see my ser vs estar post.

Disagreeing without sounding rude

Spanish speakers can be quite direct, but in meetings people still soften a "no". The pattern is simple: agree with something first, then add your "but".

• Entiendo lo que dices, pero...I understand what you're saying, but...Shows respect before you disagree.
• No estoy del todo de acuerdo.I don't completely agree.A gentle way to disagree.
• Lo veo de otra manera.I see it differently.Calm and neutral.
• Tienes razón en parte, pero...You're partly right, but...Gives credit, then disagrees.
• ¿Y si lo hacemos de otra forma?What if we do it another way?Turns disagreement into a suggestion.

That last one is my favourite. Instead of saying "that's wrong", you offer a new path. It keeps the meeting friendly and gets you heard.

Asking for clarification when you don't understand

This is the most important section in the whole post. I promise you, even at B2 there will be moments when you miss something. Fast speakers, a bad connection, a word you've never heard. The worst thing you can do is nod and hope. The best thing is to ask, and Spanish speakers are very happy to repeat.

• ¿Puedes repetirlo, por favor?Can you repeat that, please?Formal: ¿Puede repetirlo?
• Perdona, no te he entendido.Sorry, I didn't understand you.Formal: Perdone, no le he entendido.
• ¿Puedes hablar un poco más despacio?Can you speak a little more slowly?Totally normal to ask.
• ¿Qué quieres decir con eso?What do you mean by that?Asks for the meaning behind a point.
• A ver si lo he entendido bien...Let me check I've understood...Then repeat the idea in your own words.

That last phrase is a real professional move. You summarise what you heard, and the other person confirms or corrects you. It shows you're listening, and it saves a lot of mistakes later. In my translator days, this was the habit that mattered most: meaning matters more than every single word.

Interrupting politely

Spanish meetings can feel lively, with people talking over each other more than you may be used to. If you wait for perfect silence, you might never speak. These phrases help you jump in nicely:

• Perdona que te interrumpa, pero...Sorry to interrupt, but...The polite classic.
• Una cosa rápida...One quick thing...Signals you won't take long.
• Si me permites...If you'll allow me...Formal: si me permite.
• Antes de seguir...Before we go on...Good for adding a point before the topic changes.

And if someone interrupts you, you can smile and say Déjame terminar, por favor.Let me finish, please.Firm but polite.

Spanish phrases for video calls

Half of all meetings now happen on a screen. These phrases cover the usual video-call chaos. Note that in Spain people say vosotrosyou all, informalThe Spain-only plural you. for "you all", so you'll hear oísyou all hearVosotros form of oír. and veisyou all seeVosotros form of ver..

• ¿Me oís bien?Can you all hear me OK?Spain. In Latin America: ¿Me escuchan bien?
• Se te oye mal.Your audio is bad.Literally, you're heard badly.
• Tienes el micro silenciado.Your mic is muted.Micro is short for micrófono.
• Se te ha congelado la imagen.Your video has frozen.Very useful on shaky connections.
• Voy a compartir mi pantalla.I'm going to share my screen.Said before you present.
• ¿Veis mi pantalla?Can you all see my screen?Spain. Latin America: ¿Ven mi pantalla?
• Se ha cortado la conexión.The connection dropped.For when someone disappears.

How to close a meeting in Spanish

The end of a meeting is where the real work gets decided: who does what, and by when. These phrases help you leave with a clear plan.

• Para resumir...To sum up...Starts your summary.
• Entonces, quedamos en que...So, we've agreed that...Quedar en means to agree on something.
• ¿Quién se encarga de esto?Who's taking care of this?Encargarse de means to be in charge of.
• Yo me encargo.I'll take care of it.Volunteers you for the task.
• ¿Cuál es el plazo?What's the deadline?Plazo means time limit or deadline.
• Te mando un correo con el resumen.I'll send you an email with the summary.Formal: le mando.
• Gracias a todos, buen trabajo.Thanks, everyone, good work.A warm way to end.

Quedarto arrange or agreeA very common verb with many meanings. is a wonderful verb to learn. Quedamos el lunesLet's meet on MondayQuedar for making plans. means "let's meet on Monday", and quedamos en esowe agree on thatQuedar en for agreements. means "we're agreed on that". You'll hear it everywhere, in the office and outside it.

After the meeting, you'll probably need to write a follow-up email. That has its own rules, and I've covered them in how to write a formal email in Spanish.

Meeting phrases at a glance

Save this table and keep it open during your next call. Formal versions (for ustedyou, formalThe polite form of you.) are in brackets where they change.

Practise with flashcards

Try to say the Spanish out loud before you flip each card. Saying it, not just reading it, is what makes it come out in a real meeting.

How to get comfortable with meetings in Spanish

Knowing the phrases is step one. Using them under pressure is step two. Here's what I suggest:

1. Pick five phrases a week. Not fifty. Five that you'll actually use, like one opener, one agreement, one disagreement, one "please repeat" and one closing line.
2. Rehearse out loud. Before a call, say your opening line three times. It sounds silly, but your mouth needs practice as much as your brain.
3. Learn your field's words. A marketing meeting and an engineering meeting use very different vocabulary. My post on Spanish office vocabulary is a good place to start.
4. Don't fear mistakes. In a meeting, people care that you're clear, not perfect. A small grammar slip with a clear idea beats a perfect sentence you never said.

At B1 you can already handle a lot of this. You can follow familiar topics, give simple opinions and ask for clarification. At B2, you start to argue a point, follow faster speakers and handle surprises. Poco a pocoLittle by littleProgress comes step by step..

Keep going

Meetings stop feeling scary once the phrases come out on their own, and that only happens with real speaking practice. In my live B1 batches on Google Meet, we practise exactly this kind of Spanish: giving opinions, agreeing, disagreeing and asking questions, in small groups of up to 5 students, so you get plenty of turns to speak. If you're curious where Spanish can take your career, read careers in India that need Spanish next. ¡Venga!Come on!A friendly push to get going.