ESL CONNECT

Arranging & Rearranging Meetings

A B1 ESL CONNECT lesson on arranging and rearranging meetings, helping learners suggest times, negotiate changes and confirm details professionally.

Stock image of one person sitting at a desk and speaking on the phone
Lesson preview

Arrange, confirm, and rearrange meetings with confidence

This lesson helps learners practise professional scheduling language, polite question forms, and realistic meeting changes. The image gives the page a more modern business feel.

B1CEFR level
40 minInteractive lesson
6 stagesMeeting practice
Section 1
Stage 1 — Warm-up
Meetings in English
5 minutes · Discussion & context setting

Discuss with your partner:

1. How do you usually arrange meetings — by phone, email, or in person?

2. Have you ever had to cancel or change a meeting at the last minute? What did you say?

3. What is important when rearranging a meeting? (Think about: politeness, reason, new time)

Teacher note: Elicit phrases students already know. Ask: what's the difference between "cancel" and "postpone"? Between "free" and "available"? Write key vocabulary on the board before starting.

Today's scenario — use these diaries to arrange and rearrange a meeting:

Student A — Sarah Chen (Project Manager)
Mon 9:00Busy
Mon 14:00Free
Tue 10:00Free
Tue 15:00Busy
Wed 11:00Free
Wed 14:00Busy
Student B — Marco Ricci (Sales Director)
Mon 9:00Free
Mon 14:00Busy
Tue 10:00Busy
Tue 15:00Free
Wed 11:00Free
Wed 14:00Free
Phone call Business English Rescheduling included
5 min
Stage 2 — Vocabulary
Key meetings vocabulary
10 minutes · Gap-fill exercise
Click a word, then click a blank to fill it. Hover over a word to see its definition.
available
postpone
agenda
convenient
reschedule
venue
confirm
urgent

Complete the sentences with the correct word from the box.

Are you on Wednesday afternoon, or are you busy?

I'm afraid we'll need to the meeting — something urgent has come up.

Could you send me the before the meeting so I can prepare?

Would Tuesday at 10 o'clock be for you?

I need to our meeting — I have a conflict on Thursday.

We haven't decided on a yet — shall we meet at your office or ours?

Could you the meeting details by email, please?

This is quite — we need to meet before the end of the week.

10 min
Stage 3 — Functional language
Useful phrases for meetings
8 minutes · Study & practise

Arranging a meeting

I'd like to arrange a meeting to discuss...
Would you be available sometime next week?
When would be a good time for you?
Could we meet on Tuesday at 10?

Checking availability

Are you free on Wednesday afternoon?
Would Thursday morning suit you?
Does 2 o'clock work for you?
I'm free any time after 3 on Friday.

Agreeing on a time

That works perfectly for me.
Tuesday at 10 sounds good.
I'll put that in my diary.
Shall I send you a calendar invite?

Rearranging a meeting

I'm afraid I need to rearrange our meeting.
Something urgent has come up — would it be possible to change the time?
I'm so sorry for the short notice.
Could we move it to later in the week?

Confirming and closing

So to confirm, we'll meet on Wednesday at 11.
I'll send a confirmation email right away.
I look forward to seeing you then.
Please let me know if anything changes.
Notice how questions often use "Would...?" and "Could...?" rather than "Can...?" or "Do...?" — this sounds more professional and polite in business English.
8 min
Stage 4 — Question forms
Meetings question forms drill
10 minutes · Multiple choice quiz
10 min
Stage 5 — Role play
Arranging the meeting — then rearranging it
12 minutes · Pair work · Two rounds
How to use: This role play has two parts. Part 1: arrange the meeting. Part 2 (a few days later): Student A needs to rearrange it. Use the diaries from Stage 1 to find a time that works for both.
Student A — Sarah Chen (Project Manager)

You want to arrange a meeting with Marco about the new sales project. Use your diary from Stage 1. In Part 2, you need to rearrange — something urgent came up on Wednesday morning.

Student B — Marco Ricci (Sales Director)

Wait for Sarah to call you. Check your diary from Stage 1. In Part 2, stay professional and be flexible — suggest an alternative time.

Part 1 — Arranging the meeting

Sarah — Student A
[Call Marco. Greet him and introduce yourself. Say you'd like to arrange a meeting to discuss the new sales project.]
Marco — Student B
Hi Sarah! Good to hear from you. Yes, of course — when were you thinking?
Sarah — Student A
[Check if Marco is free on Monday afternoon at 2 o'clock. Look at your diary from Stage 1.]
Marco — Student B
Monday at 2? I'm afraid I'm busy then. What about Tuesday morning?
Sarah — Student A
[Say Tuesday morning doesn't work for you either. Suggest Wednesday at 11.]
Marco — Student B
Wednesday at 11 — yes, that suits me perfectly. Where shall we meet?
Sarah — Student A
[Suggest a venue — your office or a meeting room. Ask if Marco needs the agenda in advance.]
Marco — Student B
Your office sounds great. And yes, please do send the agenda — it would be very helpful.
Sarah — Student A
[Confirm the details: Wednesday at 11, your office. Say you will send a calendar invite and the agenda by email.]
Marco — Student B
Perfect. I'll look forward to it. See you Wednesday!

⏱ A few days later — the day before the meeting...

Part 2 — Rearranging the meeting

Sarah — Student A
[Call Marco the day before the meeting. Apologise and explain that something urgent has come up — you need to rearrange.]
Marco — Student B
Oh, that's a shame — I had it in my diary. Is everything alright?
Sarah — Student A
[Reassure him — nothing serious. Ask if he would be available later in the week, e.g. Wednesday at 2 or Thursday.]
Marco — Student B
Wednesday at 2 could work actually. Let me just check... yes, I'm free then.
Sarah — Student A
[Confirm the new time. Apologise again for the short notice. Say you will update the calendar invite.]
Marco — Student B
No problem at all — these things happen. I'll see you Wednesday at 2 instead.
Sarah — Student A
[Thank him for being flexible. Close the call professionally.]

Swap roles and try again!

This time, it is Marco who needs to rearrange. He has an unexpected client visit on Wednesday. Use the diaries to find a new slot. Try to write a short follow-up email too.

12 min
Stage 6 — Summary
Lesson complete!
5 minutes · Review & feedback

Today's lesson

Arranging & Rearranging Meetings

B1 level · ~40 minutes

What you practised today:

8 key vocabulary words for scheduling and meetings
Functional phrases for 5 meeting situations (including rescheduling)
6 question form exercises (present simple questions, polite conditionals, indirect questions, future forms)
A two-part role play: arranging then rearranging a meeting using real diary slots

Homework ideas:

1. Write a short email (80–100 words) from Sarah to Marco confirming the rearranged meeting details.
2. Write a dialogue: you phone a colleague to cancel a meeting. They are disappointed. Apologise and suggest three alternative times.
3. Look at a real business email in English — find examples of polite question forms and future arrangements.
Great work today! In professional English, it's not just what you say but how you say it — polite question forms and clear confirmations make a great impression.