Hi and welcome back to Love English in today's lesson business expressions idiomatic expressions
and phrases today i want to share with you 30 of some of the most common expressions you're likely
to hear in a working professional environment now it's important to remember that these expressions
aren't exclusively used in a business environment you can use them in a general day-to-day english
too so whether you are looking to boost your business English or indeed just your English in
general all of these expressions are going to come in useful i'll be sharing with you the expression
the idiom and of course examples of how you might hear them being used both in a professional
business environment and in general day-to-day english now as with many of my 50 this and 30 that
lessons i like to leave the last one to you so i'll be sharing 29 expressions and i would like
you to share number 30. comment below and share your expression your idiom that you think we might
hear used in more professional environments so without further ado let's get down to
business
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business 29 expressions and idioms that you can use commonly in a business work environment but
also in day-to-day english number one you've just heard me use it and that is to get down
to business to get down to business essentially we use this expression when we want to focus
on a topic on the business at hand we want to avoid small talk and dealing with unnecessary
things and focus right now that everyone's here let's get down to business the best way
to market our new product number two if you give somebody a heads up you're informing them
or even warning them in advance essentially so that they can prepare themselves for something
heads up the vice president is coming in tomorrow to inspect the offices so make sure you get things
in order we can even use this expression in day to day english heads up sarah's in a right mood she
didn't pass her driving test so it might be worth avoiding her for a bit now these next expressions
all include the word ball so hopefully you'll be able to learn these a little quicker number three
to get the ball rolling to get the ball rolling essentially it means to begin to start something
in order to make progress often in advance of when you actually need to be doing something
to make progress before the implementation of a project right why don't we get the ball rolling
and have an early meeting tomorrow i really think it'll help us get our heads around the project
there's a nice extra expression to get your head around something meaning to understand it better
and even in general english this can be used come on we need to get the ball rolling why
don't we organize a meeting there's no sense waiting around for things to happen
right number four to be on the ball yes on the ball this is figurative it's not literal you don't
need to be standing on a ball but essentially if you describe a person as being on the ball you're
talking about them being aware of trends methods and new ideas essentially they are very aware of
what is going on so in a business environment it is very important to be on the ball to keep up
to date with the latest products news related to your industry maintaining contact with customers
is vital if you want to stay on the ball it's also a great expression when we use it to talk about
a person essentially when we say that someone is on the ball we're describing them as being
intelligent sabra a girl like that she's really on the ball now if you keep your eye on the ball then
you are keeping focus focus particularly on a goal keep your eye on the ball and you won't miss out
it's so important to keep your eye on the ball otherwise things can really go wrong right number
six to pull it off here we actually have a phrasal verb one that we can use in business or indeed
in day-to-day english if you pull something off then essentially you succeed in doing something
difficult or unexpected perhaps if you are asked a question that you weren't prepared for he wasn't
prepared to be quizzed on the subject but he pulled it off and managed to think on his feet
and answer correctly have you heard about the surprise party jack's planning for sophie
i'm really not sure if he's got enough time to pull it off now number seven to catch up on
something we all know that when we talk about catching up with someone we're referring to
meeting up with them and discussing what they've been doing recently in their lives however when
we talk about catching up on something we're referring to most often work a phrasal verb that
refers to doing something that you have not had time to do recently or not been able to do i have
been so busy with meetings today i really need to catch up on my emails meaning i need to answer
them sit down and read them carefully we can even use this in day-to-day english particularly
when talking about a television series that we regularly watch and perhaps have fallen behind
it's kind of the opposite here fallen behind in the number of episodes that we've watched
oh i really need to catch up on a lucifer brilliant television series on netflix i haven't
seen the recent episodes that they've shared so to catch up on your favorite television series or to
catch up on work now number eight if we describe something as being up in the air it is uncertain
we are not sure i'm planning on going on holiday but things are a little bit up in the air with
covet at the moment so i'm not sure exactly when or if we can definitely go in a work environment
in a business environment this expression is often used to talk about projects about things that have
not been secured confirmed or decisions that have not been made yet things are a little bit
up in the air at work at the moment we haven't signed the contract so we're not sure if we can
take on more staff number nine to get up to speed or for someone to get you up to speed or bring you
up to speed this is similar to catch up on something essentially it means to have
the latest information on a particular project a topic whatever it might be now that john's
joined our team we need to get him up to speed so that he can help us with the newest projects
likewise we can also use this when talking about netflix i really need to get up to speed on the
latest killing eve episode i've completely missed the last two number 10 when talking about figures
that could be referring to money or people a ballpark figure referring to a rough estimate
have you got a ballpark figure for how many guests we're expecting tomorrow so i can order the food
or in a business environment you might hear them refer to a ballpark figure in terms of money
we really need a ballpark figure for the costs otherwise we can't go ahead now when you don't
know how an activity a plan that you have will play out from a certain point essentially you'll
be thinking on your feet you'll be unsure of how things are going to go you might say
let's take it from there let's take it from there this is showing relative flexibility and the
ability to be spontaneous and not need everything to be fixed and planned for example let's complete
the initial analysis of the project and take it from there let's complete our market research and
we can take things from there number 12 you might hear put off used very frequently but we can also
use push back to delay something why don't we push back the launch of the new lipstick so that it
coincides with christmas so to push something back often a date a launch of a product is to delay it
number 13 to move forward or to push forward this is essentially when something is done
sooner than planned for example we've pushed forward the meeting so that sabre can attend
number 14 a common collocation to tackle to tackle a problem when we tackle a problem essentially we
face it head-on and try to resolve it to deal with to confront a problem it seems too many people are
taking sick days at work we really need to tackle the problem and find out why number 15 to get
the message across to get the message across basically to make yourself understood well i think
you've got your message across loud and clear in the meeting today it really went well now when you
want to ask someone's opinion of something you can use this brilliant expression both in a business
environment and of course in general day-to-day english what do you make of what do you make of
what do you make of her decision to sack him what do you make of our plans to expand the business
what do you make of her behavior at the party yesterday yes this is a great expression when
you want to ask somebody what do you think what do you make of number 17 to be to stay or to remain
on top of something very similar to be on the ball to remain or to be on top of something
is to be able to control to deal with a situation successfully you need to be on top of the project
to ensure it succeeds she was really on top of her studies she revised all week and passed the exam
number 18 a little bit more formal than some of these expressions to address an issue to address
a problem to address something here we're using address as a verb rather than address describing
a location where you live your offices whatever it might be no we're referring to address in terms
of dealing with confronting something i think it's time we address the issue of budget cuts
we're going to have to make some hard decisions about who to keep on who to keep employed now
number 19 to think outside of the box this is a great idiomatic expression that i'm sure
many of you have already come across you've heard of this expression before when we refer to
somebody thinking out of the box we're referring to creative thinking to think of ways solutions to
problems that perhaps others would not normally think of to be original we really need to start
thinking outside of the box if we want to increase profits number 20 to pull strings or to pull a few
strings this is a great idiomatic expression that we can use in all kinds of situations so if you
pull a few strings you're using your influence your contacts your connections in order to get
something done often it can be a little bit unfair she pulled a few strings and got me an
interview at the company and guess what i got the job number 21 to bite off more than you can chew
essentially an expression that means taking on too much more than you have time or the capacity
to actually complete to do for example at work if you really want to prove yourself if you're in a
new job you might say yes to everything your boss gives you and essentially you're biting off more
than you can chew you're not able to complete the work you're given this can be used in a business
situation and of course day-to-day english she really bit off more than she could chew when she
said she'd babysit the five kids number 22 to see the big picture essentially when you focus
on too many small details you don't see things from a bigger perspective looking at all these
things in such detail we've really lost sight of the bigger picture essentially we're trying to
improve customer service not scare them away 23 if you describe something as being above board
or not above board you're essentially referring to how legal how appropriate correct something
is i really want to keep things all above board and have a very clear record of funds coming in
i don't want anyone to accuse us of being bribed 24. to go the extra mile to go the extra mile if
you go the extra mile you are making a greater effort to do something to succeed in something
he went the extra mile and spent three evenings at work last week he really wanted to make sure
the project was completed she went the extra mile and made dessert as well what a lovely
meal we had 25. these are your knuckles and when you knuckle down to something
this is a wonderful colloquial informal expression saying essentially you're going to work hard
she knuckled down and got her revision done we really need to knuckle down and focus on the job
otherwise we're never going to complete the project now often when you start a new job it
can be quite overwhelming there's a lot to learn fast and when you hit the ground running you go
into that job with a great sense of motivation determination and essentially you want to get
up to speed with things as quickly as possible having full energy and focus wow she really hit
the ground running taking on those three new cases she's definitely ready to work hard now 27 to be
thrown in at the deep end implies a sense of not being prepared for the work that you have to do
if you are thrown in at the deep end referring to water essentially are you able to swim in
the deep end then you're starting a new difficult job without perhaps the help and support you need
i was really thrown in at the deep end when they didn't give me a handover period
how was i supposed to know what work needed to be prioritized 28 this is more american
a slice of the pie to have a slice of the pie or to share a slice of the pie in british english
we might actually use cake instead to share a slice of the cake essentially this is when we're
talking about the benefits of something the profit perhaps we were so successful last week that some
of the staff were expecting a slice of the pie but unfortunately their boss wasn't willing to give it
and finally number 29 the lion's share the lion's share of something referring to
how much work you do in this case the majority the bulk of the work my husband does the lion's
share of cooking at home well he is italian in a business environment you might say
sabra did the lion's share of the work for the presentation so she needs to take all the credit
so there we have it 29 expressions that you can use in business and in day to day english do
comment below try using some of those expressions and of course add your number 30. whether it's an
idiom a phrasal verb or an expression comment below and share your favorite expression to
be used in business and in general english and don't forget make sure you do subscribe and click
the notifications bell for more business english lessons thanks for watching bye