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May 6, 2013 10:59
11 yrs ago
65 viewers *
English term

Let's give the floor to Mr. X vs. Mr. X, you take the floor

English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters spoken English
Which sounds more natural in conference contexts?
Responses
4 +8 Mr X, you have the floor / the floor is yours
4 +3 "(With your permission,) I would now like to give/cede the floor to"
3 +2 Let's give the floor to Mr. X
4 +1 I'll now hand over the floor to Mr X
5 Whatdayousay we give the floor to Mr. X ...
4 let's give the floor to mr. x vs. mr. x
3 I/Let's invite Mr X to take the floor
2 Mr./Ms. X, you now have the floor
Change log

May 6, 2013 14:23: writeaway changed "Field" from "Art/Literary" to "Other" , "Field (write-in)" from "(none)" to "spoken English"

Discussion

Darius Saczuk (asker) May 6, 2013:
Let's say a semi-formal context. In the US, "let's give" is pretty common.
AllegroTrans May 6, 2013:
The crux is.... ....we don't know how formal/informal this conference is, asker. Both of these are acceptable use of English, only you can judge. If you need to translate "blindly" you may want to use a more formal phrase.
Darius Saczuk (asker) May 6, 2013:
My bad I wanted to write, "Mr. X, you HAVE the floor".

Responses

+8
51 mins
Selected

Mr X, you have the floor / the floor is yours

Sorry to be awkward, and maybe customs are different in America and the UK, but "Let's give the floor to Mr. X" doesn't sound very natural to me. I'm not saying it couldn't or wouldn't be said, but I just find "give the floor to X" a bit awkward. And "you take the floor" is rather peremptory.

What would naturally be said depends on the formality of the occasion and the circumstances. If it's someone chairing a session and introducing scheduled presentations, you might say:

"Our next speaker is Mr X"
or
"I now call upon Mr X" (to say a few words/to speak to us/to respond to the previous speaker, or whatever).

Then you could add one of the phrases I've suggested, addressed to Mr X: "the floor is yours" or "you have the floor".

In a free-flowing discussion or question session, with contributions from the floor, a moderator would probably use one or these phrases to dictate who is now going to speak (so the rest of you keep quiet).
Peer comment(s):
agree Tony M : I agree that neither of the original propositions is really natural in EN.
21 mins
Thanks, Tony
agree Jonathan MacKerron : beat me to it by a few seconds...
46 mins
So it seems; luck of the draw. Thanks, Jonathan
agree B D Finch : I think "let's" sounds a bit patronising.
1 hr
Yes, perhaps that's the problem. Thanks!
agree AllegroTrans : "let's" maybe acceptable in an informal conference, all depends....
2 hrs
Thanks! Could be. I wouldn't rule it out entirely, but I can't quite imagine myself saying it.
agree jccantrell : Also, the "let's" implies that others have a vote in it. Usually, it is just the chairman who has this power. "You have the floor" sounds most natural to me.
2 hrs
Thanks, JC!
agree Edith Kelly : you have the floor
4 hrs
Thanks, Edith!
agree Charlesp
6 hrs
Thanks, Charles :)
agree Jadwiga Wos
1 day 5 hrs
Thanks, Iga :)
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you, Charles. I extend my thanks to all answerers. I wish I could award points to everybody."
4 mins

let's give the floor to mr. x vs. mr. x

sounds more natural in conference context
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+2
5 mins

Let's give the floor to Mr. X

This sounds more natural and nicer to say than "Mr. X, you take the floor". The latter sounds imperative and high-handed (at least to me).
Peer comment(s):
agree Sheila Wilson : I agree that the second should be "you HAVE the floor" to avoid it sounding like an order
1 min
Thanks!
agree Michael Lyman
3 days 30 mins
Thank you Michael!
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+3
9 mins

"(With your permission,) I would now like to give/cede the floor to"

www.babla.fr ›
With your permission, Sir, I would like to cede the floor to Mr. Prica.
www.intgovforum.org/IGF-OpeningSession-301006...‎
Traducir esta página
30/10/2006 – And I would now like to give the floor to the next speaker, who is the secretary-general of the international telecommunication union, Mr. Utsumi.
Peer comment(s):
agree Sheila Wilson : but I don't think the first of the two propositions would be ill advised, at least in a less formal situation than your example
17 mins
Thanks, Sheila. There are various ways of saying this.
agree George BuLah (X) : (Ladies and Gentlemen, with your kind permission...)... :-)
1 hr
Many thanks, JacaZwawa.
agree Tina Vonhof (X)
6 hrs
Cheers and thanks, Tina.
disagree Charlesp : possible, but way too formal (IMHO)
7 hrs
You are entitled to your opinion.
agree Jadwiga Wos
22 hrs
Thanks very much, Iga.
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51 mins

Mr./Ms. X, you now have the floor

another way to go
Something went wrong...
+1
1 hr

I'll now hand over the floor to Mr X

another to add to the pot. This sounds very natural, and I use it frequently when translating speeches. A few examples:-

Make It All About Them: Winning Sales Presentations - Page 100 - Google Books Result

books.google.co.uk/books?isbn=1118519612
Nadine Keller - 2012 - Business & Economics
I will now hand over the floor to Kathleen, who will talk to you about implementation.” This kind of transition represents an enormous missed opportunity to build ...
[PDF]
Transcript- Conference Call - Moil Limited
moil.nic.in/.../Q3FY13%20Post%20Result%20Conference%20Call%20Tr...‎
Feb 6, 2013 – will now hand over the floor to the management for a brief outline on the results, post which we can go to the Q&A session. Over to you, sir.
[PDF]
Q3 FY 2012-13: Analyst Conference Call - Apollo Tyres SA
www.apollotyres.co.za/.../Q3_FY_2013_Apollo_Tyres_Analyst_C...‎
Feb 6, 2013 – Strategy & Finance; Rakesh Dewan, Head, Accounts; and Ritu Kumar, Head. Financial Planning & Control. I now hand over the floor to Gaurav.
[PDF]
Transcript Corporate Resturcturing Organisation Changes - Marico

www.marico.com/.../Transcript_Corporate Resturcturing_Organ...‎
Jan 7, 2013 – I now hand over the floor to the management to take the proceedings further. Over to you, Sir. Milind Sarwate: Good evening. This is Milind ...
[PDF]
Transcript of HGS Q1 FY13 Results Conference call
www.teamhgs.com/pdf/results-presentationq4FY9812.pdf‎
Aug 9, 2012 – I now hand over the floor to Partha to provide key highlights of our performance for the quarter. Partha De Sarkar. Good afternoon to all of you.
[PDF]
to download - Geometric, Ltd.
geometricglobal.com/.../Geometric_Analyst_Call_Transcript_July_23_2...‎
Jul 23, 2012 – I would like to now hand over the floor to Mr. Parpia for his opening comments. Go ahead sir. Mr. Manu M. Parpia: Thank you Kavita. So, clearly ...
[PDF]
Executive Forum Company and Industry Structure – The ... - Eurelectric

www.eurelectric.org/download/LyonDownload.aspx?UserID=11691...‎
what future path lies ahead for our gas and electricity sectors. Let me now hand over the floor to Rafael Miranda, Vice-President of. EURELECTRIC. Mr. Miranda ...
Peer comment(s):
agree Arabic & More : I like this one the best.
3 hrs
thank you Amel :)
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2 hrs

I/Let's invite Mr X to take the floor

I invite Mr X to take the floor

... just another variant
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7 hrs

Whatdayousay we give the floor to Mr. X ...

Or more slowly, "What do you say, we give the floor, to Mr. X ..."

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2013-05-06 18:16:59 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Especially as you say you are looking for a "natural" sounding voice - "Whatdayousay.." is how we talk.
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