Business English Podcast · Phone & Video Calls · Episode 10

Stopping People from Talking Over One Another

Three people talking at once and nobody listening — how to chair video calls in English without being rude.

B2 · Monologue · 4 Min. · free

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Editorially reviewed by James Simmonds – English teacher since 2004Published 20 September 2026

ScenePeter chairs weekly video calls with teams in Hamburg, Madrid and Leeds. When the calls descend into vocal chaos, he builds a repertoire of polite chairing phrases — and learns along the way why "bis Freitag" is not "until Friday".

0:00 / 4 Min.

Tip: listen to the episode twice before you start the test. · Worksheet (PDF)

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Peter — Team lead, e-commerce

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Transcript

The full transcript opens after the comprehension test — so you train real listening instead of reading along.

German support

PeterWelcome back to the Simmonds Business English Podcast. I am Peter, and today we tackle a problem every remote team knows: people talking over one another in video calls — and how to stop it politely.

PeterI chair a weekly call with colleagues in Hamburg, Madrid and Leeds. For months, it was chaos. Someone would start an update, two others would jump in, the audio would clip, and the loudest voice would win. After thirty minutes, we had decided nothing.Zwei fielen dem Sprecher ins Wort, der Ton übersteuerte, und die lauteste Stimme gewann.

PeterThe turning point was embarrassingly simple: ground rules, announced at the start of every call. "Quick reminder of our ground rules: one speaker at a time, stay on mute when you are not speaking, and use the raise-hand button if you want to come in." Thirty seconds — and the tone of the whole meeting changes.Grundregeln zu Beginn: einer spricht, alle anderen stumm, Handzeichen-Funktion nutzen.

PeterThe second technique is to allocate the floor by name. Open questions like "Any thoughts?" invite three people to answer at once. Instead, I say: "Elena, you have the floor." Or: "I would like to hear from Leeds first — James, over to you." Naming the speaker removes the competition before it starts.Das Wort gezielt vergeben: „Elena, you have the floor."

PeterBut what do you do when two people are already talking over each other? You interrupt the interruption — politely and firmly. My three standard phrases: "Sorry to jump in — one at a time, please." Then: "Could we let Elena finish, please?" And to the person I stopped: "Tom, I will come back to you in a moment." That last sentence is crucial: the interrupted person needs to know their point is not lost.Wichtig: Dem Gestoppten sofort zusichern, dass sein Punkt nicht verloren geht.

PeterAnd you must actually come back: "Tom, you wanted to add something — go ahead." If people learn that a parked point always returns, they stop fighting for airtime. If they learn it disappears, they interrupt harder next time. Trust is the real moderation tool.

PeterNow for the small language trap that cost me a weekend. At the end of one call, I typed into the chat: "Please send your comments until Friday." My colleague in Leeds read that as: keep sending comments continuously up to Friday — a stream of feedback. What I meant was a deadline.„Until Friday" verstand mein Kollege als Dauerzustand – nicht als Frist.

PeterHere is the rule. The German "bis" covers both situations, but English splits them: "until" describes a state that continues up to a point — "I am in meetings until three." Deadlines take "by": "Please send your comments by Friday." You can work on something until Friday, but you deliver it by Friday.„Until" = andauernder Zustand, „by" = Frist. „Bis Freitag senden" heisst „send it by Friday".

PeterSo: announce your ground rules, allocate the floor by name, break up cross-talk with "one at a time, please" — and always bring parked speakers back. Our calls now end ten minutes early, with decisions. Thanks for listening, and see you in the next episode.

Key phrases

to talk over

to speak while someone else is still speaking

Please stop talking over each other — we cannot follow the audio.

ground rules

basic rules agreed for how a meeting runs

Let us agree on three ground rules before we start.

one at a time

one person speaking, the others waiting

One at a time, please — the microphones are clipping.

to have the floor

to be the person whose turn it is to speak

Elena, you have the floor — everyone else on mute, please.

to jump in

to enter a conversation quickly, often to interrupt

Sorry to jump in, but we only have five minutes left.

to let someone finish

to allow a speaker to complete their point

Could we let Elena finish, please?

to come back to someone

to return to a person whose point was postponed

Tom, I will come back to you in a moment.

by Friday

no later than Friday — the deadline meaning of German "bis"

Please send your comments by Friday.

Language notes

In this episode a team lead shows how he ended the vocal chaos in international video calls: announcing ground rules, allocating the floor by name, stopping interruptions politely and bringing parked speakers back. You learn the key B2 chairing phrases — and why a deadline is "by Friday", not "until Friday".

Chairing means naming names

The single most effective trick in the episode is allocating the floor by name: "Elena, you have the floor" instead of "Any thoughts?". In video calls, open questions systematically produce collisions because nobody can read the others' body language. Important for German learners: "das Wort haben" is "to have the floor" — "you have the word" is a literal translation native speakers do not use.

Interrupting politely and firmly

Peter's triad — "Sorry to jump in", "Could we let Elena finish, please?", "Tom, I will come back to you in a moment" — combines British politeness forms with firm control. The cultural core: in English-language meetings the chair may interrupt, as long as the stopped speaker is visibly protected. Coming back ("Tom, you wanted to add something — go ahead") is not a courtesy; it is the foundation of the whole group's discipline.

"Bis" is two English words

German "bis" merges two meanings that English strictly separates: the continuing state ("I am in meetings until three") and the deadline ("send it by Friday"). "Please send your comments until Friday" sounds to native speakers like a continuous stream of comments up to Friday — not a due date. The episode's rule of thumb: you work on something "until Friday", but you deliver it "by Friday".

Keep practising: Learn business English online — with real teachers from Simmonds, since 2004.

Frequently asked questions

What language level is this episode for?

Level B2 (CEFR). The monologue uses natural meeting English with idiomatic chairing phrases; the vocabulary list explains all eight key terms bilingually.

How do I stop everyone talking at once in English?

With three phrases: "Sorry to jump in — one at a time, please", "Could we let Elena finish, please?" and — to the stopped person — "I will come back to you in a moment". Plus: announce ground rules at the start and allocate the floor by name ("Elena, you have the floor").

What is the difference between "until" and "by"?

"Until" describes a state continuing up to a point ("I am in meetings until three"). "By" marks a deadline ("send it by Friday"). German "bis" covers both cases — which is why "send your comments until Friday" is a typical German-speaker mistake.

Where can I practise chairing meetings in English live?

In the online business English courses from Simmonds Language Services (englisch-lehrer.com/online): live lessons with real teachers on Zoom, for companies and individuals across Germany. You start with a free consultation about your language needs.

Are the voices real?

Episodes are produced with high-quality AI voices (Hume) and editorially reviewed by our trainer team — the same method as our interactive lessons.

Want to practise these phrases in a real conversation?

The podcast trains your ear — in our online lessons you practise the conversation yourself, with real teachers. For companies across Germany since 2004.

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