How to Say 'Let's Look at It Differently' Professionally: 6 Alternative Phrases for Work and Meetings

Erin West
Jul 5
2 min read

Updated: Jul 7

Business meeting with a diverse team sitting around a table discussing strategy, used for an article on professional ways to say "let’s look at it differently" in business English.

In meetings and presentations, you might want to suggest a new perspective without sounding negative or pushy. Instead of saying "let’s look at it differently," here are 6 professional alternative phrases you can use to guide your team or clients effectively.

1. Have we thought about it from the client’s perspective?

Sales are down. Have we thought about it from the client's perspective? What might be causing them to hesitate?

2. Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way.

The marketing campaign isn't working as we expected. Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way—perhaps it's the audience segment, not the message.

3. Have we considered it from another angle?

The budget seems tight. Have we considered it from another angle? Maybe reallocating resources would help.

4. Let’s look at it another way.

We didn't meet our quarterly goals. Let’s look at it another way: what lessons did we learn from the challenges we faced?

5. Let’s take a step back.

This discussion is getting complicated. Let’s take a step back and revisit our core objectives first.

6. Let’s reframe the problem.

We're stuck on this tech issue. Let’s reframe the problem—perhaps we should be looking at user experience rather than technical specs alone.

Download the PDF and keep these phrases handy for your next meeting:

Download the PDF - How to Say 'Let's Look at It Differently' Professionally: 6 Alternative Phrases for Work. Business English Vocabulary PDFs

How to Say 'Let's Look at It Differently' Professionally: Practice Section

Now that you've learned these professional ways to suggest a new perspective, it's time to put them into practice.

Listen to the dialogues below and note which phrases the speakers use to suggest a new perspective.

Conversation 1

Listen to the conversation between Mark and Sophie and say which phrase they use to suggest a new perspective.

ANSWER KEY

Have we thought about it from the client’s perspective?

Person interacting with Shopify app on a desk, dragging image with "ellye" text. Message reads "DRAG. DROP. DONE." Button: "Start free trial".

Conversation 2

Listen to Alex and Nina discussing their marketing strategy. Say which phrase they use to suggest a new perspective.

ANSWER KEY

Let's reframe the problem.

Learning to suggest new perspectives clearly and politely is a key business skill. By using these phrases, you can lead discussions confidently and build stronger professional relationships.