Leading a Meeting in French: Setting the Agenda and Managing Turns
Learn French phrases for opening a meeting, presenting agenda items, giving the floor, and moving discussion forward as the chair.
By TheaFirst conversations · Yapr Learn
Leading a meeting in French is not just vocabulary; it is a distinct conversational role. As chair, you decide when to open, which item comes next, who speaks, and when to close. This lesson gives you the standard phrases French speakers use to set an agenda, hand over the floor, and keep a discussion on track. You will practise formal and semi-formal workplace French, mainly from France, with notes on Quebec usage where it differs.
By the end, you can…
- open a meeting and present the agenda in French.
- give the floor to a participant and manage speaking turns.
- move from one agenda item to the next and close a meeting.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Si vous êtes prêts, commençons par le premier point.
If you're ready, let's start with the first item.
see voo zet prey, ko-mahn-sawn par luh pruh-myay pwan
Standard opening as chair. The nous form commençons is common in France; in Quebec, on commence is also frequent.
Je passe la parole à Marie.
I'll give the floor to Marie.
zhuh pass la pa-rol a ma-ree
Formal way to hand over a turn. Use passer la parole à + person.
Un instant, on reviendra à ce point plus tard.
One moment, we'll come back to that point later.
uh nan-stahn, on ruh-vyan-dra a suh pwan plew tar
Polite way to stop a digression without dismissing the speaker.
Point suivant : le budget.
Next item: the budget.
pwan swee-vahn: luh bew-zhay
Concise transition used in France. In Quebec, prochain point is also common.
Si personne n'a rien à ajouter, je clos ce point.
If no one has anything to add, I'll close this item.
see pair-son na ryen a a-zho-tay, zhuh klo suh pwan
Checks for objections before moving on. Clore is formal; fermer ce point is more informal.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
To manage turns, use je passe la parole à + [person] or je donne la parole à + [person]. To return to someone, say je reviens à vous. To move on, use point suivant or on passe au point suivant. These patterns put you in the chair's role rather than the participant's role.
When to use it
Use the formal register with external clients or senior colleagues: Si vous le voulez bien, commençons. With a familiar team, on commence par le premier point is natural. In Quebec, you may hear on débute or on va commencer; both are acceptable. Avoid tu forms when chairing a formal meeting.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
Bonjour à tous. Si vous êtes prêts, commençons par le premier point : les ventes du trimestre.
Hello everyone. If you're ready, let's start with the first item: quarterly sales.bon-zhoor a toos. see voo zet prey, ko-mahn-sawn par luh pruh-myay pwan: lay vahn-tuh dew tree-mess-truhMerci. Avant les ventes, je voudrais signaler un problème de livraison.
Thank you. Before sales, I'd like to flag a delivery problem.mair-see. a-vahn lay vahn-tuh, zhuh voo-dre see-nye-lay uh pro-blem duh lee-vray-zonUn instant, on reviendra à ce point plus tard. Je passe la parole à Marie pour les ventes.
One moment, we'll come back to that point later. I'll give the floor to Marie for sales.uh nan-stahn, on ruh-vyan-dra a suh pwan plew tar. zhuh pass la pa-rol a ma-ree poor lay vahn-tuhTrès bien. Si personne n'a rien à ajouter, je clos ce point et on passe au suivant.
Very well. If no one has anything to add, I'll close this item and we'll move to the next one.tray byen. see pair-son na ryen a a-zho-tay, zhuh klo suh pwan ay on pass o swee-vahnA little context goes a long way
In French workplace meetings, the chair often uses nous or on to include the group, but retains formal vous for individuals. Directly interrupting a senior colleague can be seen as rude; as chair, you can legitimise interruptions by saying un instant or je note votre point. In Quebec, meetings may be slightly less formal in address, but the chair still controls the agenda.
One thing to watch for
Using the participant phrase Je voudrais ajouter quelque chose to lead the meeting.
Try this instead: That phrase signals a participant, not the chair. To lead, use Je passe la parole à… or Point suivant : … For example: Je passe la parole à Paul, puis on passe au budget.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1You are chairing and want to move to the next agenda item. What do you say?
Show a sample answer
Point suivant : le budget.
This clearly signals a transition and keeps the chair's role. On passe au point suivant is also correct.
2A colleague goes off topic. How do you politely postpone their point?
Show a sample answer
Un instant, on reviendra à ce point plus tard.
This acknowledges the point without rejecting it. On y reviendra plus tard is a valid shorter alternative.
3You want to give the floor to Sophie. What do you say?
Show a sample answer
Je passe la parole à Sophie.
This is the standard turn-giving phrase. Je donne la parole à Sophie is equally correct.
As chair, your job is to frame, hand over, and close: commençons par le premier point, je passe la parole à…, point suivant, je clos ce point.
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