Sound Fluent & Professional: English Phrases for Meetings & Updates

Speak Naturally and Clearly in Your Next Work Meeting

Have you ever given a project update in English… and then realized afterward that your words didn’t reflect what you really meant?

Maybe you sounded too formal. Or too vague. Or just… not like yourself.

In this lesson, you’ll learn 22 powerful English phrasal verbs for meetings that will help you sound confident, natural, and clear.

Whether you’re starting your update, describing progress, sharing a delay, or wrapping up, these phrases will help you communicate effectively and professionally.

Why Phrasal Verbs Matter in Professional English

If you’re already familiar with phrasal verbs, that’s great. But here’s what’s often missing:

Native speakers use them constantly—especially in meetings.

Phrasal verbs like “follow up on”, “carry on with”, or “wrap up” may seem simple, but they’re the difference between sounding stiff and sounding fluent.

They help you:

• Express updates clearly

• Communicate progress confidently

• Navigate delays professionally

Related: How to Give a Project Update at Work

English Phrasal Verbs for Starting Your Update

Let’s begin with four expressions that help you open your project update naturally:

1. Catch up on

“Let me catch you up on what we discussed last time.”

2. Fill in

“I’ll fill you in on the budget changes.”

3. Bring up

“I’d like to bring up the client feedback we received.”

4. Go over

“Let’s go over the key findings from the report.”

These make you sound prepared and in control — without being too formal.

English for Describing Progress at Work

Now let’s talk about how to show progress using professional, fluent expressions:

1. Carry on with

“We’re carrying on with the testing phase.”

2. Check in on

“I checked in on the team’s progress.”

3. Follow up on

“I followed up on the supplier issue.”

4. Keep up with

“We’re working hard to keep up with demand.”

5. Move forward with

“We’re moving forward with the next phase.”

6. Work on

“Our team is working on final edits.”

Using these phrases adds rhythm and clarity to your message and shows your professionalism.

How to Explain Delays or Challenges Without Sounding Defensive

Even skilled professionals struggle here. But phrasal verbs can help you stay calm and clear:

1. Run into

“We ran into some issues with the feedback process.”

2. Hold up

“Final approval is holding up our timeline.”

3. Push back

“We’ve pushed back the launch date by two weeks.”

4. Look into

“I’m looking into the issue and will share an update.”

5. Sort out

“We’re working to sort out the final contract details.”

Phrasal Verbs to Close Your Update Professionally

A strong finish is just as important as a strong start. Here are phrases that help you wrap up:

1. Wrap up

“We’re wrapping up beta testing this week.”

2. Hand over

“I’ll hand over the remaining tasks before I go on leave.”

3. Follow through on

“We need to follow through on our promise to fix these bugs.”

4. Get back to

“I’ll get back to you with the final numbers.”

5. Sign off on

“Melissa needs to sign off on the drafts.”

6. Put together

“I’ll put together the revised schedule by Wednesday.”

7. Set up

“We’ll set up weekly check-ins starting Friday.”

Want to Go Further?

If you found this lesson helpful, you’ll love my free training: “How to Get the Confidence to Say What You Want in English.”

It’s designed to help you:

• Overcome overthinking

• Speak clearly in any situation

• Build true English confidence

Click here to join the free training.

And tell me in the comments: What’s one phrasal verb from today’s lesson that you’re excited to use?

Try It: Practice Challenge

Imagine your manager says:

“Can you give us a quick update on where things stand?”

Try responding using 2–3 of the phrasal verbs from this lesson. For example:

“We’re moving forward with the rollout and wrapping up testing this week. We ran into some delays with approvals, but I’ve followed up on that and will get back to you by Friday.”

Write your own version in the comments below or in your learning journal.

As always, you can share your examples and questions with me in the comments below.

All my best, 

Annemarie