How to Run a Formal Conversation in English (With Example Phrases)

You have probably noticed that there are many things in English that you can separate into casual and formal: clothing, events, and even relationships. Conversations are no exception.

Every English learner should master different communication styles with other people to be able to hold conversations of different levels of importance — and with people of different levels of familiarity.

You need to keep proper expressions in mind to be able to use them depending on the situation. Sometimes, just a few words are all it takes to turn the conversation in a completely different direction. Choosing the right ones at the right time will allow you to show yourself as a professional at all times.

Below, you will find a step-by-step guide to maintaining a formal conversation in English, along with helpful tips. Let's begin!

Formal Greetings

Any conversation begins with a greeting. Formal greetings in English are appropriate when you communicate with colleagues, business partners, as well as people you meet for the first time.

When meeting new people, you need to find out the person's name, give your name in response, and say that you are pleased to meet them.

Here is a set of phrases for a formal greeting:

Possible responses to the formal greeting:

Make sure to check our post about the difference between "How are you?" and "How are you doing?" to find out which one is suitable for the business environment and which one to use in less formal settings.

If you did not hear what the other person said, ask them to repeat using one of the phrases:

Conversation Starters

After you have greeted the person, you need to continue the conversation. When talking to a friend, you are likely to quickly find a topic of conversation. However, if you have just met a person at an official event, it is necessary to establish contact between you and your new acquaintance.

We've already discussed the basic rules for running a small talk in the previous article. Although they refer to more casual chatting, they are also applicable to a given setting, so make sure to check them as well.

At a formal event (contrasting small talk or everyday conversations), you can use the following phrases to start a formal conversation in English:

Phrases to Express Your Opinion

Once you have the person’s attention, it is important to be able to keep the conversation going. Most likely, your new acquaintance will ask a question or will be interested in your point of view on a topic. To answer them, you need to know how to express your opinion in a polite manner.

Here are several phases suitable for both formal and casual speech:

At an official event, try to formulate your thoughts more carefully and less emotionally than when communicating with friends. For example:

Phrases to Express Agreement or Disagreement

First of all, let's figure out how you can agree with someone in English.

All the phrases listed below are appropriate in both formal and informal settings. They are neutral: if you are at a business event or a meeting, say them in a calm tone, and at a party with friends, you can get a little bit emotional.

Choose a phrase to agree with the person in a proper way:

When you want to express disagreement in a professional context, you need to be very polite to avoid offending the other person, especially if you have just met them or are at an official event.

We recommend using the following expressions of disagreement in a formal English conversation:

How to (Politely) Interrupt a Person Speaking

Interrupting someone without offending them is a real skill. Of course, it is important to note that you should not interrupt the speaker and wait until they are finished to express your opinion.

However, if it's necessary to intervene in the conversation, make sure to say "Excuse me!" first and then use one of the following examples:

After you have expressed your opinion, do not forget to pass the word back to the person. To do this, you can say:

How to Say Goodbye Formally

After the conversation, you need to say goodbye to your new acquaintance. Of course, the standard "Goodbye!" is suitable for almost any given setting. However, you can say goodbye with other phrases as well.

Here is a list of expressions for ending a formal conversation in English:

Additional Tips

As you already know, the formal style is used in an official setting —  when communicating at conferences and presentations, conducting business negotiations, writing documents, corporate emails, and scientific articles.

You should follow several rules to make the speech sound formal:

Avoid Using Contractions

In formal writing, there is no place for contractions like “I'm,” “I'd,” or “I don't.” Instead, use the complete forms of the words: “I am,” “I would,” and “I do not.”

Moreover, the use of contractions is one of the primary reasons for the most common misspellings — for example, confusing "their" and "they're."

Misspellings can hurt the initial meaning of a sentence and make you look unprofessional.

What Does “Duly Noted” Mean?

Speaking of misspellings, let's take a closer look at the formal go-to phrase "duly noted," which means that something is properly recorded or taken into proper consideration, i.e., in strict accordance with requirements. The word “duly” alone means something is done in a due manner or time, e.g., “duly elected” or “duly apologized.”

Its common misspellings include "dually noted," "dully noted," and "duelly noted." "Dually" means a double capacity, while "dully" means something is done in a boring manner. And if you’ll ever see “duelly noted” written, just know it's an incorrect spelling of “duly noted.”

Is “Duly Noted” Rude?

When spelled correctly, you can use "duly noted" in a formal speech in the meaning of simple acknowledgment of an opinion or action. That's why you also don't want to confuse the word "duly" with "dully" — to avoid letting someone know you barely consider what they're saying.

Moreover, "duly noted" can also be used sarcastically, meaning that something is heard and ignored rather than taken into appropriate consideration. It’s not necessarily rude, but you should pay close attention to the context in which you use the phrase "duly noted."

Avoid Using Slang and Phrasal Verbs

When holding a formal conversation, there are a few things you should avoid to make it sound appropriate. Some of these things include:

Use the Passive Voice

The formal English language uses not only long phrases but also complex grammatical constructions. If you have started to express an idea, make sure to develop it, support it with clear arguments, justify it and bring it to a conclusion.

In addition, formal emails and oral speech allow you to use the passive voice much more often than in casual conversation, as it is more suitable for an official setting. The reason is that the active voice personifies speech, while the passive voice has a more formal connotation, compare:

As you can see, the first option sounds more discreet and respectful.

If you want to speak formally, do not forget to use complex sentence structures (for example, independent clause + at least one adverbial phrase), participial phrases, conditional sentences, etc.

Use Special Terminology

Each industry has its own specifics, so try to use the appropriate jargon or vocabulary. For example, if you work for an accounting firm and check the financial statements of a business, it would be appropriate to say "audit" instead of "check."

Try to use specific, industry-related words in an official setting and business correspondence — your English speaking skills will not only benefit from this, but the person you’re speaking to will also be pleasantly surprised.

Avoid Speaking for Yourself

If you are writing a business letter or conducting business negotiations, try to avoid expressions such as "I think" and "in my opinion."

As a rule, you should speak on behalf of the company you work for — talk less about yourself and your personal opinion, and contact business partners as a representative of the company.

Here are the example sentences:

Be Discreet and Inclusive

Last but not least. Formal speech is an example of ethical, respectful, and inclusive communication. Choose your words carefully to avoid offending the people you’re addressing.

To write and speak inclusively, make sure to follow these principles:

The Bottom Line

As you can see, to maintain a formal conversation in the English language, you need to learn some common phrases that will help you start a conversation, and you’ll need to be careful with your choice of words. Fortunately, you don't have to memorize all the examples mentioned in this article — you can revisit it as frequently as you need to.

Furthermore, with practice, you will learn a lot of additional expressions from native English speakers and boost your English vocabulary.

If you're interested in expanding your vocabulary and picking proper phrasing, you can download our Langster app. It is full of bite-sized stories with grammar explanations for each, which will allow you to enjoy your English learning experience even more. See for yourself: