#208 Providing Additional Clarification After a Meeting｜French Business Phrases

After a meeting ends, you may sometimes need to speak individually with a specific participant. For example, you might want to explain a point in greater detail or confirm how a project should proceed.

In situations like this, it is important to speak politely and show respect for the other person’s time.

In this section, I will explain useful French expressions for providing additional clarification after a meeting, following the flow of a typical conversation.

Dialogue

A

Excusez-moi, auriez-vous quelques minutes après la réunion ?
（Excuse me, would you have a few minutes after the meeting?）

B

Oui, bien sûr. De quoi s’agit-il ?
（Yes, of course. What is it about?）

A

J’aimerais revenir sur un point que nous avons évoqué pendant la réunion.
（I would like to come back to a point we mentioned during the meeting.）

B

Vous voulez parler du calendrier du projet ?
（You mean the project schedule?）

A

Oui, exactement. Je voudrais m’assurer que nous sommes sur la même longueur d’onde.
（Yes, exactly. I would like to make sure we are on the same page.）

B

Très bien. Discutons-en maintenant si vous voulez.
（All right. We can discuss it now if you like.）

A

Merci beaucoup, j’apprécie votre temps.
（Thank you very much. I appreciate your time.）

1. First, Check Whether the Person Has Time

Immediately after a meeting, the other person may be preparing to move on to their next appointment.

For that reason, I recommend first asking whether they have time to talk.

In French, the structure “avoir + noun” is used to express having time. Therefore, “avoir quelques minutes” means “to have a few minutes available.”

The phrase “après la réunion” (after the meeting) indicates when you would like to speak. You may also hear similar expressions such as:

In business situations, specifying a clear time—using expressions such as “après” or “à la fin de”—makes it easier for the other person to respond.

2. Briefly Explain What You Would Like to Discuss

Once the other person agrees to talk, the next step is to explain what you would like to discuss.

It is often helpful to indicate that the topic is related to the meeting.

The verb “revenir” normally means “to return,” but the expression “revenir sur + noun” means “to return to a topic” or “to revisit something that was previously discussed.”

In this structure, the preposition “sur” indicates the subject or topic being discussed.

In the second half of the sentence, the phrase “un point que …” uses the relative pronoun “que” to add information about “un point.”

The verb “nous avons évoqué” is in the passé composé, which describes a completed event in the past. In this context, it clearly indicates that the topic was already mentioned during the meeting.

3. Clarify the Purpose of the Discussion

One common reason for speaking privately after a meeting is to confirm details or ensure that everyone has the same understanding.

The expression “s’assurer de + noun” or “s’assurer que + clause” means to “make sure” or “to confirm something.”

Because “s’assurer” is a reflexive verb, the reflexive pronoun “me” appears when the subject is “je,” giving the nuance of personally confirming something.

The phrase “sur la même longueur d’onde” literally means “on the same wavelength.” In practice, it is a figurative expression meaning that two people share the same understanding or perspective.

Summary