Last time, we looked at ways to open a meeting with a client. This month, I want to give you some guidance on how to close one. Bringing any meeting to an end in the right way is crucial, and regardless of what the nature of the meeting is, you need to finish it at the right time in the appropriate style and with the right words.

I'm sure we have all been to meetings that have dragged on too long, and in my experience there is one thing worse than a meeting that goes on too long, and that's a meeting where nothing actually happens.

Choosing the right time to finish means knowing what the objectives were, so if it's your responsibility to bring the meeting to an end, you can do so like this: ‘Right, I think we have covered everything we needed to – does anyone have anything else to add?’ This helps everyone to see that it's time to finish.

Depending on the nature of the meeting, you might need to recap what was said or agreed upon. So you could say: ‘Let's quickly run through what we have said or agreed on today.’ Invite some input and regularly check that everyone agrees with you.

The next thing to do is actually say goodbye – not as easy as it sounds. This is when non-linguistic issues, such as culture, the relationship with the client and the nature of the meeting, all have an impact. There is no one universal way of doing this, but if this is the first time you have met a new client, you could say something like: ‘It was good to meet you and thanks for coming here today.’ There is a tendency for some non-native speakers to be too sycophantic, in other words, say too much – keep it short and confident. Shake hands and get their coats. You don't want to ruin a successful first meeting with a long, embarrassing farewell.