1.

ASAP (As Soon As Possible):

To do something ASAP means to do it fast, with urgency. Ex.: "I need to submit the report ASAP so we can review it before the
meeting tomorrow."

2. Backburner:

To put something on the backburner means to set aside tasks or projects for a while. Ex.: "We’ve put this project on the backburner
for now."

3. Balls in the air:

No, it’s not what you think it is. If you have multiple tasks or responsibilities to handle at the same time, you have many "balls in the
air." Ex.: "With the upcoming deadline and client meetings, I have a lot of balls in the air right now."

4. Too much on my plate:

When you feel overwhelmed or have too many tasks or responsibilities, you have "too much on your plate." Ex.: "I can't take on any
more projects at the moment; I already have too much on my plate."

5. Bandwidth:

We’re not referring to a radio. Bandwidth is a person's capacity or availability to take on additional tasks or projects. Ex.: "I’d love to
help, but I don't have the bandwidth right now."

6. Boil the ocean:

If we “boiled the ocean,” we just took on an overly ambitious task that’s unlikely to succeed. Ex.: "Let's focus on smaller goals
instead of trying to boil the ocean with this project."
7. Brain dump:

In other words, putting lots of ideas on paper. Ex.: "I did a quick brain dump and came up with an awesome idea."

8. Deliverables:

These are the tangible results or outputs that are expected from a project or task. Ex.: "What are our deliverables for this month?"

9. Game changer:

A game changer means something that has the potential to impact or transform a situation significantly. Ex.: "This new organization
tool I’m using is a game changer for me!"

10. Good to go:

When something is “good to go,” it’s ready. Ex.: "The proposal I’ve been working on is good to go for today’s presentation."

11. Herding cats:

This expression doesn’t mean that someone is literally herding dozens of cats in their apartment. It’s just a weird way to say you’re
trying to manage people or tasks that are difficult to manage. Ex.: "Coordinating the different departments' schedules for this
project feels like herding cats."

12. Run up the flagpole:

Running something up the flagpole means presenting an idea, proposal, or plan to gather feedback. Ex.: "I haven’t finished the
project yet, because I still need to run it up the flagpole.”
13. Throw under the bus:

This is a common expression you might have heard in another context. It means to unfairly blame or sacrifice someone for your own
benefit or to avoid responsibility. Ex.: "John tried to throw me under the bus by blaming me for the mistake during the
presentation."

14. Micromanage:

Micromanaging can be the most annoying thing in the workplace! It’s the practice of excessive or unnecessary control over small
details of tasks or projects. Ex.: "I’m so annoyed with Susan! She micromanages everything I do.”

15. Let go:

These are probably the two scariest words in the office! When someone has been “let go,” they were fired. Ex.: “Have you heard?
Jack was let go yesterday!”

16. Keep me in the loop:

When you ask someone to “keep you in the loop,” you ask them to keep you informed and included in the conversation. Ex.:
“Keep me in the loop! I want to know what’s going on between John and Susan!”

17. Workflow:

Workflow refers to the sequence of steps or tasks involved in completing a specific process or project. Ex.: “The workflow for this
project is insane… I don’t know how I’ll finish it on time!”
 Business meetings vocabulary

1. Meeting agenda:

It’s a structured plan that outlines the topics, objectives, and order of discussion for a meeting.

2. Opening remarks:

These are the comments or statements your team members make at the beginning of a meeting. They are meant to provide the
context and introduce the rest of the team to the topic of the meeting.

3. Action plan:

It’s a detailed plan that specifies what needs to be done. It outlines the tasks and the timeline to achieve set goals.

4. Touch base:

If someone wants to touch base with you, it doesn’t mean they want to play hockey. They just want to discuss something with you.

5. Break the ice:

It’s a common expression used in everyday situations. It means starting a conversion and can be used during a meeting to kick
things off.

6. Get the ball rolling:

It means starting something. In this case, the meeting.

7. Circle back:

When someone says, “Let’s circle back,” they want to discuss something again, or they’ll want to discuss it with you later.

8. Going forward:

It’s an expression used to move from one topic to another during a team meeting.

9. Think outside the box:

This is a popular idiom. But in the corporate setting, it simply means coming up with innovative ideas.

10. Win-win situation:

If something is a win-win situation, it’s an outcome or solution that benefits everyone involved. Everybody wins!

11. Move the needle:

If someone moved the needle, they made significant progress or achieved something that positively impacted the situation.

12. Take it offline:

I initially thought it meant to take the online conversation face-to-face. But no, it means to discuss something outside the current
meeting so as not to go over the planned meeting time.

13. Back to the drawing board:

When someone wants to go back to the drawing board, they feel the need to start over. Mainly because something didn’t go as
planned or they want to reevaluate the plan.
14. Trim the fat:

This funny expression means removing unnecessary elements to make something more streamlined or efficient.

15. On the same page:

When someone says, “Let’s make sure we’re on the same page,” they want to know whether you’re thinking alike.

16. Deep dive:

When someone wants to “deep dive” into something, they just want to explore the topic in detail.

17. Ducks in a row:

If your boss says, “Let’s get our ducks in a row,” it means they want to start getting organized to handle a task.

18. On board:

If you’re on board with something, you agree with it. If you don’t, you can always move the goalposts.

19. Move the goalposts:

If your manager wants to move the goalposts, they want to change something: the objectives, the scope, or the project
requirements.

20. Park it:

If you’re parking it, you’re holding off on a project or milestone until you get approval from whoever is in charge.
21. Push the envelope:

If your boss asks you to push the envelope, they just want you to give your best.

22. Drill down into:

To drill down into something means to examine or analyze it in detail.

23. Forward planning:

As you may have intuitively assumed, forward planning is the process of anticipating future needs or events and preparing
accordingly.

24. Silver bullet:

A silver bullet is a simple or quick solution that solves a complex problem or achieves significant results.

25. Cut corners:

This is a popular idiom in everyday English, which means taking shortcuts. It’s usually done to save resources (like money or time),
but it’s not always the best way.

26. Call it a day:

The phrase you’re looking forward to during the entire meeting! “Let’s call it a day” means the meeting is over. Hooray!

27. Follow-up questions:

Follow-up questions are additional questions you or your teammates might have after discussing something. They aim to clarify
things or gather more information.
28. Closing remarks:

The opposite of opening remarks. Closing remarks are the comments or statements made at the end of a meeting, usually to
summarize what was discussed.

29. Wrap up:

When you’re wrapping things up, you’re finishing something - a task, a project, or a meeting.

Marketing vocabulary

Term/phrase Meaning Used in a sentence

B2B (Business to It's business between two companies, rather We’re a B2B brand. We sell software to marketing
business) than a company and an individual. companies.

Spreading the word about your brand as far

Increasing brand awareness is the primary goal of our
Brand awareness and wide as you can. Usually via social
social media strategy.
media or Google.
 Creating a unique and recognizable identity
Branding (both visual and non-visual) for a product or This company's branding is unique.
a company.

The button on a website that encourages The CTA on our landing page says, "Sign up for
Call to action (CTA)
action, like making a purchase. free."

A story about someone's experience with

You need solid case studies if you want your
Case study your product or service and how it
customers to trust you more.
benefitted them.

Sneaky headlines that trick you into clicking.

The title of this blog article was clickbait! It was a
Clickbait Once you do, it turns out it's not what you
waste of time.
expected.

Calling people who have never heard about

Cold calling can be an effective marketing strategy if
Cold calling your brand to sell them your products or
done well.
services
 Marketing your brand via any written, audio, Our content marketing strategy includes publishing
Content marketing
or video content. informative blog posts to build brand credibility.

The percentage of visitors who take the

We implemented a new checkout process that
Conversion rate desired action on your website (like making a
increased our conversion rate by 10%.
purchase or signing up for your email list).

The process your customers go through

Customer journey The customer journey typically has a few stages.
before they buy your stuff.

Customer Dividing your customers into groups based We implement customer segmentation to personalize
segmentation on shared characteristics. our email campaigns.

You go viral when one of your social media

One of my Instagram reels went viral, and I became a
Going viral posts receives skyrocketing amounts of
travel influencer.
engagement you previously didn't have.
 Getting someone famous on social media to
Influencer We've got a fashion influencer promoting our clothing
market your product or talk about your
marketing line on Instagram!
brand to their followers.

A page designed to promote one specific

product or offer and get visitors to do one Our landing page isn't converting. We should
Landing page
thing, like download a freebie or buy redesign it.
something.

Collecting data to understand your

We conducted market research to know what
Market research audience's preferences and find out what
customers want.
your competitors are doing.

Getting new employees up to speed so they

don't feel like confused puppies. Or setting
Onboarding everything us for new customers so they can Let’s get our new employees onboarded quickly.
use your product or service without feeling
confused (like puppies).
 The metric we calculate to see if the money
ROI (Return on Let’s calculate our ROI to know if we made a profit
we invested into something made us more
investment) from our investment.
money.

Optimizing a website or content to improve

SEO (Search Engine We need to hire an SEO expert to help us appear on
its visibility and ranking in search engine
Optimization) the first page of Google.
results.

It measures how people interact with your

Social media Our social media engagement is too low. We need to
social media content via likes, comments,
engagement post better content!
shares, and saves.

The group of people who share similar

Our target audience is young moms who want to get
Target audience characteristics and are most likely to be
in shape with quick home workouts.
interested in your product or service.

The written or recorded opinions people How many testimonials should we put on our
Testimonials
have about your products or services. website?
 Unique selling It's the trait that makes your product or Our USP is our eco-friendly packaging, which appeals
proposition (USP) service different from your competitors. to environmentally conscious consumers.

Sales vocabulary

Term/phrase Meaning Used in a sentence

This new dress was a total

Bargain Getting a great deal or discount on a purchase.
bargain!

When I go shopping for office

Buy in bulk To buy large quantities of the same product.
supplies, I buy them in bulk.

The buyer didn't agree to the

Buyer The person or company that buys something.
proposed fee for the service.

Our clients are happy with our

Client The person that buys our services.
web design service.
 After overcoming the
To successfully convince someone to make a
Close the sale customer's objections, I
purchase.
managed to close the sale.

Our customers are satisfied

Customer The person that buys our products.
with our beauty products.

This hotel was good value for

Good value for money A fair and worthwhile return on the amount spent.
money. I'll stay there again.

A document that shows the details and cost of a I sent the customer an invoice
Invoice
product or service. for my copywriting services.

We negotiated with the

To attempt to reach a fair agreement between the
Negotiate supplier to get a better price
buyer and seller on terms and price.
for the materials.

When a product is temporarily unavailable for I'm sorry, but our T-shirts are
Out of stock
purchase, it's out of stock. currently out of stock.
 The customer decided to pay
To pay the entire price of a product or service at
Pay in full in full, so we gave him a
once.
discount.

You can buy the car with a

The practice of paying for a purchase in smaller,
Payment by installments convenient payment plan in
regular amounts over a period of time.
monthly installments.

We offer a flexible payment

An arrangement to pay for something in a
Payment plan plan on our consulting
structured and scheduled manner.
packages.

A potential customer who fits the compaby's

target market and shows interest or is likely to We have a long list of
Prospect
show interest in the company's products or prospects we need to call.
services.

Purchase To buy something I recently purchased a new car.

 I sent the customer a quote for
Quote Providing a price estimate for a product or service. our web design service this
morning.

The money that a business gives back to a We issued a refund to the

Refund customer for returning a product or canceling a customer who wasn't happy
service. with our service.

A store or business that sells products directly to Our retailer partners are
Retailer
customers. selling our merchandise.

I delivered an epic sales pitch

A persuasive presentation to convince someone to that left the customer
Sales pitch
buy your product or service. speechless. He immediately
bought our service!

The seller is asking for a high

Seller The person or company that sells something.
price for their product.
 When a product is sold out, the store has no more The tickets to the Beyoncé
Sold out
left. concert are already sold out.

Our clothing supplier didn't

A company that provides another company with
Supplier deliver the T-shirts we ordered
the products they will later sell to their customers.
on time.

Testing out a product or service before committing I signed up for a free trial to
Trial
to a purchase. see what this app offers.

Please call the wholesaler and

A company that sells products in large quantities
Wholesaler order the usual amount of
to retailers.
Coca-Cola cans.
 Finance and accounting vocabulary

Term/phrase Meaning Used in a sentence

Our assets include property, equipment,

Assets Things a business owns that have value.
and inventory.

We need to update the balance sheet for

Balance sheet A financial statement showing assets, liabilities, and equity.
the year-end report.

Break-even The sales level at which a business neither makes a profit We need to sell 500 units to reach the
point nor a loss. break-even point.

A plan for how much money a business can spend and Let's create a budget for our marketing
Budget
where it will go. campaign.

Money invested in a business to get it started or help it We raised capital from investors to
Capital
grow. expand our operations.
 Good cash flow means we can pay our
Cash flow Money coming in and going out of a business.
bills on time.

We need to account for depreciation

Depreciation The decrease in the value of assets over time.
when calculating the asset's value.

Our equity increased as our business

Equity The value of the business after subtracting liabilities.
grew.

The money a business spend on stuff they need to run the Our expenses include rent, salaries, and
Expenses
company. office supplies.

Our gross profit margin increased due to

Gross profit Money left after subtracting the cost of goods sold.
cost-saving measures.

Income The income statement revealed our strong

A financial report showing revenue, expenses, and profit.
statement sales growth.
 All the products or items the business has in stock that it's We need to manage our inventory to
Inventory
planning to sell. avoid overstocking or shortages.

The money a business owes to other people (like investors The loan from the bank is a liability we
Liabilities
or stakeholders). need to pay back.

When a company spends more than they make, they have a We had a loss last quarter due to
Loss
loss. unexpected expenses.

We had a net profit of $100,000 this

Net profit Money left after subtracting all expenses.
quarter.

The money a business makes from selling products or Our revenue skyrocketed after launching
Revenue
services. the new product.
 Human resources vocabulary

Term/phrase Meaning Used in a sentence

Our ATS saves recruiters a lot of

Applicant tracking A system that helps recruiters keep track of all the job
time on manually tracking job
system (ATS) applications they receive.
applications.

Some of the behavioral

The skills and qualities that contribute to effective job competencies we evaluate as
Behavioral competency
performance. leadership and decision-making
skills.

We're benchmarking our

Comparing your performance to industry best practices to
Benchmarking customer service response time
identify areas for improvement.
against our main competitor's.

Our broadbanding approach

Broadbanding Consolidating multiple job levels into broader pay ranges.
allows us to cut employee costs.
 It's an agreement that employees sign that prevents them The company made me sign a
Confidentiality
from using the confidential information they handle as part confidentiality agreement to be
agreement
of their job outside of their responsibilities. approved for the position.

During the exit interview, we

A conversation held when an employee is leaving to gather asked departing employees to
Exit interview
feedback and insights. rate their overall experience with
us on a scale of 1 to 10.

Did you hear that John

An action that is unacceptable at the workplace and needs
Gross misconduct committed gross misconduct?
to be punished by immediate dismissal.
He got immediately fired!

My job description says I'm

A description that lists everything you're supposed to do at
Job description responsible for handling
a particular job, usually part of a job advertisement.
customer queries 24/7.

The average interviewing cost is

Key performance HR KPIs are the metrics used to measure how HR
one of our main KPIs to measure
indicators (KPIs) contributes to the company's success.
HR's success.
 Our onboarding process involves
The process of educating new employees and turning them
Onboarding a 3-week training under the team
into fully functioning team members.
leader's supervision.

The first day of work for new employees that includes a tour During orientation, we gave new
Orientation of the office and a couple of meetings that explain the hires a crash course on office
nature of the job. culture.

We're recruiting a team of expert

The process of finding new employees to work at a
Recruitment web developers for our new
company.
project.

We're training our interns to

Identifying and preparing potential candidates for key roles
Succession planning become future employees as
in the future.
part of our succession planning.

Thanks to our talent

management efforts, our
Talent management Nurturing and developing employees' skills and potential.
employees stay at our company
longer.
 Legal terms and meanings

Term/phrase Meaning Used in a sentence

An understanding between two or more parties, usually A satisfactory agreement between

Agreement
documented in a contract. the two parties was finally reached.

The project proposal includes an

An additional section of a contract that provides additional
Appendix appendix detailing the project
information.
deliverables.

This happens when one of the two parties doesn’t comply The supplier's failure to deliver goods
Breach of contract
with the terms agreed upon in the contract they signed. constituted a breach of contract.

The non-compete clause prohibits

Clause A section in a contract that addresses a specific issue. our employees from working for our
competitors.

A document where the agreement between two parties is

Contract The client finally signed the contract.
outlined in detail.
 The exclusive legal right granted to the creator of an original The author obtained copyright
Copyright
work, protecting it from unauthorized use. protection for their novel.

Not to adhere to the requirements or terms outlined in a The contractor failed to comply with
Fail to comply
signed contract. safety regulations.

The tiny text, usually at the bottom of a document or Carefully reading the fine print can
Fine print
contract, that contains important information. help you avoid unpleasant surprises.

The company filed a patent

Intellectual Intangible creations of the mind, such as inventions, designs,
application to protect its intellectual
property or artistic works, protected by law.
property.

A conflict between two parties that requires legal The company entered into a legal
Legal dispute
intervention. dispute with a former employee.

A person who knows the ins and outs of legal matters and can The company contacted a legal
Legal expert
advise those with no idea. expert to review the contract.
 The contract you signed is legally
Legally binding When something is legally binding, it is enforceable by law.
binding.

The court declared the contract null

It means that a contract is considered invalid and has no legal
Null and void and void due to misrepresentation by
effect.
one of the parties.

An individual or a company involved in a contract or a legal Both parties agreed to the terms of
Party
dispute. the employment contract.

Terminate a The parties mutually agreed to

To end the contract before its completion date.
contract terminate the contract.

The terms of the contract are clear:

Terms The requirements you agree to when signing a contract.
you cannot end it without a reason.

A legally registered symbol, word, phrase, or logo used to The company registered its logo as a
Trademark
identify a brand or a product. trademark.
 Common business terms to avoid confusing

Client vs. customer

No, they’re not the same thing. There’s a subtle yet significant difference. A client is a person that buys a service. A customer is a
person that buys a product.

Collaboration vs. Cooperation

Although used interchangeably by most people, there’s a not-so-subtle difference between these terms.

Cooperation is when you work with other people to achieve your own goals. Collaboration, however, is when you work with others
to accomplish a shared goal.

Market share vs. Market penetration

Unless you’re a marketing pro, these terms can be very confusing! They both talk about the percentage of the market the company
claims, but by measuring different things.

Market penetration is the percentage of the overall target audience the company sells to. Market share is more detailed and refers
to the portion of the target market that buys the company’s products.

Revenue vs. Profit

Contrary to what many people think, these two terms aren’t interchangeable. Revenue is the total income a business generates
through its operations. Profit is the income left after deducting the expenses the company has to incur to make revenue in the first
place.
Marketing vs. Advertising

These two terms are often confused because they overlap. Advertising is part of marketing.

Marketing is the practice of promoting your brand or products to your audience. Advertising, however, is the practice of paying to
have your content placed in specific locations (such as social media platforms or Google) to reach your target audience.