영어로 의사결정 메모는 어떻게 쓰나요? B2 중상급: 회의 표현, 수량 표현, 재검토 조건

의사결정 메모는 회의에 없던 사람에게 무엇을 결정했는지, 근거가 보여 주지 못하는 것은 무엇인지, 어떤 더 큰 대안을 기각했는지, 어떤 결과가 나오면 다시 논의할지를 알려 줍니다. 그 전의 회의에서는 사실에 근거해 주장하고(“If we look at the facts…”), 정중하게 이의를 제기하고(“I’m not convinced that…”), 논의를 앞으로 진행시키는(“Can we move on to…?”) 표현이 필요합니다. 이 주제는 B2(중상급) 수준으로, 결정 회의를 진행하거나 결정을 문서로 정리하는 관리자, 팀 리더, 분석가를 위한 것입니다. 하루 10분이면 충분합니다.

이 글이 맞는 분

비용, 안전, 시간의 제약 속에서 팀이 여러 대안 중 하나를 골라야 하는 회의를 진행하는 관리자와 팀 리더.
수치를 발표하면서 데이터가 증명하지 못하는 점까지 분명히 말해야 하는 분석가와 운영 담당자.
회의에 없던 사람, 즉 임원, 재무팀, 결정의 영향을 받는 직원을 위해 결정을 문서로 정리하는 모든 분.
아직 이릅니다: 회의에서 의견을 말하고 묻는 것이 아직 어렵다면 근거를 들어 지원자를 평가하고 다음 단계를 정하는 B1 글부터 시작하세요.
너무 쉽습니다: 결정 회의를 진행하고 문서로 정리하는 일이 이미 익숙하다면 시험 점수와 실제 통화 평가가 엇갈리는 C1 교육 파일럿 결정으로 넘어가세요.

예시 학습 페이지 열기

단어 카드

present evidence

ground an argument in observable facts

If we look at the facts, we’ll see that Friday accounts for 46 percent of late calls.

state consequence

connect an option to its likely result

If we open every evening, it’ll mean much more overtime unless we recruit.

give an opinion

mark a judgement as your view rather than a fact

In my opinion, the mixed model is the safest starting point.

respond

agree, qualify or disagree directly

I’m not convinced. The winter sample may contain too many disruption calls.

clarify

request detail or restate another speaker’s meaning

So what you’re getting at is a Friday trial with an emergency line on other days?

manage participation

set purpose, invite a view and protect a speaker’s turn

Today, I’d like to establish our trial model. Owen, could you start us off? Hang on, let’s hear his evidence.

manage progress

control time, move topic and record action

I don’t want to spend too long on this point. Can we move on to safety? Then let’s draw up some action points.

대화

Maya Today, I’d like to establish which evening-service model we should test for twelve weeks. Let’s consider customer impact, staff safety and cost. Owen, could you start us off?

Owen If we look at the facts, we’ll see strong demand: 1,240 late calls in six weeks, and most were resolved without escalation. In my opinion, we should open until ten every day.

Maya I’m not convinced that the sample supports every day. Winter disruption may have created too many calls, and full opening costs €96,000 a year.

Owen The thing is, a Friday-only service could leave customers without help on other evenings.

Maya Could you give us some detail, please? Are you proposing staffed coverage or an emergency response on quieter days?

Owen What I mean is a staffed Friday service until ten and an emergency callback until eight on other weekdays. So that’s close to Priya’s €21,000 model.

Maya That limits both cost and fatigue. I don’t want to spend too long on the permanent model before we have summer information. Can we move on to measures?

Owen We should track call volume, resolution, missed connections, overtime and fatigue reports. If demand exceeds ten calls an hour on two non-Friday evenings, we review the hours.

Maya Agreed. Let’s draw up the action points: I’ll confirm the safety controls by Wednesday; you’ll prepare the rota and baseline by Friday; and we’ll review after week six and week twelve.

문장 형태

singular countable

use a, an, the or one: a proposal, an option, the journey, one fact

We need a proposal with one clear review date.

plural countable

use many, too many, not many, a few, few, fewer or a number

We received fewer complaints but too many fatigue reports to ignore.

uncountable

use much, too much, not much, a little, little or less

There is too much overtime and very little reliable summer information.

both plural and uncountable

lots of, plenty of, more, most, some, enough, hardly any, any and no work with both classes

We have enough chairs and enough equipment, but hardly any spare time.

most versus most of the

most refers generally; most of the refers to a specific known group or amount

Most customers prefer quick answers; most of the customers in our winter sample called after a cancellation.

fewer versus less

use fewer with plural countable nouns and less with uncountable nouns

The mixed model needs fewer employees and less overtime.

a few versus few; a little versus little

a few and a little mean some; few and little emphasise that the amount is almost insufficient

We have a few options but little evidence about employee preferences.

추가 연습

Cedar Transit: read behaviour, not labels

Maya and Owen compare evidence and decision behaviours.

Cedar Transit must decide whether its customer helpline should remain open until 22:00. In a six-week test, 1,240 calls arrived after 18:00. Most concerned same-day cancellations; 71 percent were resolved without escalation. The test required 186 hours of overtime and received two fatigue reports, neither involving an incident.

At the review, Rosa worked through cost, safety and demand in a fixed order. She recommended a smaller permanent late team. Joel immediately supported full opening because the first week had produced grateful customer messages. After seeing the overtime total, he asked to compare more options. Priya said little during the debate but later proposed a rotating 20:00 service plus an emergency line. Tariq opposed any extension at first because the depot had never offered it. When the group showed that missed connections peaked on Fridays, he accepted a Friday-only trial.

Finance estimates annual costs of €96,000 for full opening, €54,000 for Rosa’s smaller team and €21,000 for Priya’s mixed model. The six-week sample includes winter disruption, so it may overstate normal demand. It contains no employee preference survey and no evidence about summer. The director needs a recommendation today, but implementation can be reviewed after twelve weeks.

Know what can be counted directly

countable items

product, colleague, suggestion, fact, journey, proposal and document can take a/an and plural -s

A proposal contains three suggestions and two supporting facts.

uncountable communication

information, advice, news and correspondence normally have no plural form and take a singular verb

The information is incomplete, and the advice was based on old news.

uncountable resources

money, equipment, software, accommodation and insurance are treated as masses or categories in their general meanings

The software is ready, but some equipment, suitable accommodation and travel insurance are still needed.

uncountable activities

travel and expenditure are normally uncountable when referring generally to activity or spending

Business travel has decreased, but travel expenditure is still high.

paper — material or document

paper is uncountable as material; a paper is a document, article or newspaper

We used less paper after moving the figures into a short briefing paper.

business — activity or company

business is uncountable as commercial activity; a business is an organisation

Business is improving, and three local businesses have extended their hours.

experience — knowledge or event

experience is uncountable as accumulated knowledge; an experience is one event

Her scheduling experience helped the team learn from two difficult customer experiences.

time — duration or occasion

time is uncountable as a resource; a time or times refers to an occasion

We have little time, but we have tested the emergency line three times.

Write the service director’s decision memo

Maya and Owen review the decision memo and its evidence charts.

Subject: Decision — twelve-week evening-service trial

To: Service operations and workforce planning

We have agreed to test a staffed Friday helpline until 22:00, with emergency callbacks until 20:00 on other weekdays. The six-week winter test recorded 1,240 late calls, and 71 percent were resolved without escalation. However, it required 186 overtime hours and produced two fatigue reports. There is very little summer information and no employee preference survey, so the evidence does not support permanent full opening.

Full daily opening would cost an estimated €96,000 a year. The selected mixed model is estimated at about €21,000 a year and preserves support on quieter evenings. Maya will confirm safety controls by Wednesday. Owen will prepare the rota, employee consultation and baseline figures by Friday.

We will review call volume, resolution, missed connections, overtime and fatigue at weeks six and twelve. If demand exceeds ten calls an hour on two non-Friday evenings, the steering group will reconsider staffed hours. Any safety incident will trigger an immediate pause and review.

Please send rota or safety objections to Maya by 16:00 Thursday.

이 단원 배우기

어떻게 배우고 싶나요?

계정이 있나요?

무료 계정은 한 단원을 계속 열어 둘 수 있습니다.

먼저 근거, 그다음 이의 제기

한 팀이 12주 동안 시범 운영할 저녁 상담 전화 서비스를 고르고 있습니다. 듣고 답해 보세요. 오웬은 무엇을 제안하고, 마야는 왜 납득하지 못하나요? (매일 밤 10시까지 운영하자는 제안입니다. 겨울철 혼란 때문에 수요가 부풀려졌을 수 있고, 매일 운영하면 연간 96,000유로가 듭니다.)

Owen If we look at the facts, we’ll see strong demand: 1,240 late calls in six weeks, and most were resolved without escalation. In my opinion, we should open until ten every day.

Maya I’m not convinced that the sample supports every day. Winter disruption may have created too many calls, and full opening costs €96,000 a year.

회의 표현: 주장하기, 반응하기, 진행하기

어떤 문장이 사실이고, 어떤 문장이 예측이며, 어떤 문장이 내 의견인지 드러내세요. 반대할 때는 사람이 아니라 근거를 문제 삼으세요. “I’m not convinced that…”은 “…라는 점이 잘 납득되지 않습니다”에 가까운 표현으로, 직접적이지만 무례하지 않습니다. 진행자는 답이 아니라 과정을 관리하고, 각 안건을 실행 항목으로 마무리합니다.

“If we look at the facts, we’ll see that Friday accounts for 46 percent of late calls.” – 근거 제시하기
“If we open every evening, it’ll mean much more overtime unless we recruit.” – 결과 말하기
“In my opinion, the mixed model is the safest starting point.” – 의견 말하기
“I’m not convinced. The winter sample may contain too many disruption calls.” – 이의 제기하기
“So what you’re getting at is a Friday trial with an emergency line on other days?” – 상대의 말 확인하기
“Today, I’d like to establish our trial model. Could you start us off?” – 목적을 밝히고 발언 요청하기
“I don’t want to spend too long on this. Can we move on to safety?” – 다음 안건으로 넘어가기

가산 명사와 불가산 명사: 명사에 맞는 수량 표현

information, advice, news, evidence, equipment, overtime은 불가산 명사입니다. 복수형이 없고 단수 동사를 쓰며, 셀 때는 “a piece of” 같은 단위 표현을 붙입니다. 한국어는 명사를 셀 수 있는지 문법으로 구분하지 않고 “정보들”, “조언들”처럼 복수를 붙이기도 해서 “informations”, “advices” 같은 실수가 자주 나옵니다. 한국어 “더 적은”도 영어에서는 둘로 나뉩니다. 복수 명사에는 fewer, 불가산 명사에는 less를 씁니다. “a few”와 “a little”은 조금 있다는 뜻이고, “few”와 “little”은 거의 없다는 뜻입니다. “most”는 일반적인 이야기, “most of the”는 특정 집단을 가리킵니다.

“The mixed model needs fewer employees and less overtime.” – fewer + 복수 명사, less + 불가산 명사
“We have a few options but little evidence about employee preferences.” – 대안은 몇 가지 있지만 근거는 거의 없음
“Most customers prefer quick answers; most of the customers in our winter sample called after a cancellation.” – 일반적인 고객 / 특정 표본의 고객

결정 방식을 설명하는 표현

동사는 명사와 함께 덩어리로 익히세요: weigh up the information(정보를 따져 보다), consider all the options, get different perspectives, delay a decision until…(…까지 결정을 미루다). 성격이 아니라 행동을 묘사하세요. “She was methodical in this review”가 “She is a methodical person”보다 공정합니다.

토론해 보세요: 중요한 결정을 내릴 때 당신은 체계적인 편인가요, 직관적인 편인가요? 데이터가 많아지면 팀이 더 현명해지기보다 더 느려지기만 할 수도 있을까요?

“I’ll delay my decision until the revised safety assessment arrives tomorrow.” – 특정 정보가 올 때까지 결정을 미루기

나에게 맞는 방법으로 이 단원 배우기

여섯 단계로 쓰는 의사결정 메모

정해진 한 독자층을 위해 160–190단어로 쓰세요. 재무팀은 비용을, 영향을 받는 직원은 근무표와 안전을 알고 싶어 합니다. 제목 예시: “Decision: twelve-week evening-service trial”. 두 수치가 함께 움직일 뿐이라면 “caused”가 아니라 “is associated with”라고 쓰세요.

결정: “We have agreed to trial a staffed Friday helpline until 22:00, with emergency callbacks on other weekdays.”
근거와 한계: “The winter test logged 1,240 late calls but needed 186 overtime hours, and summer data is missing.”
기각한 대안: “Full daily opening would cost about €96,000 a year, against €21,000 for the mixed model.”
담당자와 기한: “The service manager will confirm safety controls by Wednesday.”
재검토 조건: “If demand exceeds ten calls an hour on two non-Friday evenings, we will reconsider staffed hours.”
회신 기한: “Please send objections to the service manager by 16:00 on Thursday.”

자주 하는 실수

주장이나 메모를 약하게 만드는 실수입니다.

“There were less complaints.” “fewer complaints”로 고치세요.
“We need more informations and advices.” “more information and advice”라고 하세요.
“Most of customers…” 일반적인 이야기라면 “Most customers”, 특정 집단이라면 “most of the customers in our sample”입니다.
“I am not agree.” “I don’t agree”나 “I’m not convinced”를 쓰세요.
“We will review it later.” 측정 항목, 날짜, 조건을 적으세요.

하루 10분 연습

이번 주에 실제로 내려야 하는 결정 하나로 연습하세요.

3분: 그 결정에 대해 근거 하나, 의견 하나, 정중한 이의 제기 하나를 말해 보세요.
3분: 자신의 수치로 fewer, less, a few, little을 넣은 문장 네 개를 쓰세요.
4분: 결정, 기각한 대안, 측정 가능한 재검토 조건을 초안으로 써 보세요.

다음 단계

다음은 가격을 기억하는 것과 실제 구매를 구분하는 매장 시범 운영 제안서, 그리고 시범 단계만 승인받는 아웃소싱 권고안입니다.

자주 묻는 질문

영어로 의사결정 메모는 어떻게 쓰나요?

결정과 그 범위로 시작하고, 핵심 수치와 그 한계를 적은 뒤 기각한 대안을 밝히세요. 이어서 기한이 있는 담당자, 측정 가능한 재검토 조건, 이의 제기 기한을 덧붙이세요.

“fewer”와 “less”는 어떻게 다른가요?

“fewer”는 복수 명사(“fewer complaints”), “less”는 불가산 명사(“less overtime”)와 씁니다. 말할 때는 복수 명사에 “less”를 쓰는 사람도 많지만, 보고서에서는 “fewer”가 안전합니다.

영어 회의에서 정중하게 반대하려면 어떻게 하나요?

사람이 아니라 근거를 문제 삼으세요: “I’m not convinced that the sample supports every day.” 그다음 자세한 설명을 요청하세요: “Could you give us some detail, please?”