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