If you know these 15 phrases, your professional English is EXCELLENT!

Hello, lovely students, and welcome back to English with Lucy.

If you know these 15 business English phrases, your professional English is

amazing, no question!

These are 15 advanced professional phrases!

As always, I've created a free PDF that you can download, and I've included 15

bonus business English phrases as an extra boost to your vocabulary!

I've also included an interactive vocabulary exercise to test you on what

you've learnt.

If you'd like to download that PDF, just

click on the link in the description box or scan that little QR code there.

Enter your name and your email address, and the PDF will arrive directly in your inbox.

After that you've joined my PDF club, you will automatically receive my free weekly

lesson PDFs alongside all of my news, course updates and offers.

It's a free service, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

There are 15 professional English phrases in total.

I want to know how many you know out of 15?

Let me know in the comments, and let me

know which ones were new to you.

Okay, let's get down to business.

Phrase number 1, 'touch base,' 'touch base.'

'To touch base' means to make contact with

someone, usually to share updates or information.

We usually say 'base' with a bit more

energy, 'touch base.'

You might also hear people say 'check in'

or 'catch up,' which have similar meanings.

For example—'Let's touch base next week

to discuss the progress of  the marketing campaign.'

Moving on to phrase 2, 'get the ball rolling'.

'Get the ball rolling'.

When you 'get the ball rolling', you start

or initiate something, like  a project or a meeting.

This phrase comes from the idea of

pushing a ball to start it moving.

Another similar phrase is 'kick off'.

An example for 'get the ball rolling'—'I've scheduled a team meeting for Monday to

get the ball rolling on the new product launch'.

Next up, phrase 3, 'on the same page,'

'on the same page.'

Being 'on the same page' means that

everyone agrees and understands a situation in the same way.

'Before we move forward, we need to get on the same page and figure out the next steps.'

Phrase 4, this is a good one.

'In the loop,' 'in the loop.'

Informed about what is going on.

We normally stress the word 'loop,' 'in the loop.'

The opposite phrase is 'out of the loop,' meaning someone isn't fully informed.

An example—'I'll send a weekly update email to keep all stakeholders in the loop.'

Or—'I've been feeling a bit out of the loop ever since I got back from maternity leave.'

And number 5, we have 'win-win.'

'Win-win.'

Business professionals love to use this phrase!

'A win-win situation' is one that benefits

everyone involved.

We say both syllables clearly, but the

main stress is on the second 'win.'

'Win-win.'

'Win-win.'

An example—'If we collaborate with their

team, it could be a win-win for both companies.'

Now, you get a bonus point if you can

come up with the opposite of 'win-win.'

No trick questions here.

We do say a 'lose-lose,' I promise.

Phrase 6 is 'think out of the box.'

'Think out of the box,' or  'think outside of the box.'

'To think out of the box' is to think creatively and innovatively, coming up

with entirely new solutions.

If someone tells you 'to think out of the

box,' they are basically saying—think creatively.

You will also hear people shorten 'out of

the' to /ˈaʊtə ðə/ or /ˈaʊt̬ə ðə/.

That's in fast speech.

As I mentioned, we also say 'think outside the box' or 'think outside of the box.'

They're both very common, just choose the one you like best.

An example—'We really need to think outside the box if we're going to beat

our competitors on this.'

Lucky number 7 is 'bottom line.'

'Bottom line.'

'The bottom line' has two main meanings in

business contexts.

First, it refers to the essential point

or final outcome.

It's the most important part of the

matter, the deciding factor.

This could be meeting a deadline,

satisfying customer needs, or achieving a specific goal.

For example—'The bottom line is that we need to ensure customer satisfaction

above all else.'

In addition to this more general meaning,

'the bottom line' also has a specific financial definition.

In a business English setting, your 'bottom line' can refer to the final

financial outcome, whether it's a profit or a loss, after all expenses and

revenues have been accounted for.

An example—'Our bottom line has improved

since implementing the new cost-saving measures.'

For phrase 8, we have 'action point.'

'Action point.'

'An action point' is a task that needs to

be completed, usually assigned during a meeting.

Stress 'action.'

You might also hear 'action item,' which has the same meaning.

An example—'Let's review the action points from last week's meeting.'

Phrase 9, 'learning curve.'

'Learning curve.'

'The learning curve' is the time it takes to learn a new skill or understand a new process.

We often use the strong collocation— 'steep learning curve' to talk about

something that's quite difficult to learn.

For example—'We went through a steep

learning curve when switching to the new software but it was worth it in the end.'

Number 10, 'game plan.'

'Game plan.'

Notice how there's no pause between the two words and I blend the 'm' and 'p' together.

'Game plan.'

'A game plan' is a strategy or plan for

achieving a goal.

And this phrase likely comes from sports

where teams have a strategic plan for winning.

For example—'Let's develop a game plan

for expanding into international markets.'

Phrase 11, 'to give the green light.'

'To give the green light.'

When someone 'gives the green light,' they

approve or give permission for something to happen.

The emphasis is on 'green light,' which comes from traffic signals where green

means go.

You might also hear the verb 'to green-light

something,' which has a similar meaning.

An example—'Once the budget is approved,

we'll give the green light to start the project.'

At 12, we have 'at stake,' 'at stake.'

If something is 'at stake,' it means it's at risk or there's something to be lost

or gained, and it often implies high importance or urgency.

For example—'There's a lot at stake with this big client pitch, so let's bring our

A-game!'

'A-game' is another great expression,

meaning giving your best performance or effort.

Moving on to 13, 'pain point,' 'pain point.'

'A pain point' is a problem or challenge that a customer or business is facing,

but the emphasis is on pain.

Identifying 'pain points' helps businesses

create solutions that customers need.

For example—'Our new service addresses a

major pain point for small business owners.'

Our penultimate phrase—phrase 14—is 'up

to speed,' 'up to speed.'

When you're 'up to speed,' it means you

have the latest information and are fully informed about a particular topic or situation.

We often use this phrase with 'on' to specify the subject.

For example—'I need to get up to speed on the new project guidelines.'

Once you're comfortable with this usage, you'll also often hear it combined with

verbs like 'get' or 'be.'

For example—'Let's schedule a call to get

the new team members up to speed on the project.'

And finally, our last one, number 15, we

have 'ballpark figure.'

'Ballpark figure.'

I remember being so confused when I heard this for the first time.

'A ballpark figure' is a rough estimate, not an exact number.

'Ballpark' likely comes from baseball stadiums, implying a large general area.

For example—'Can you give me a ballpark figure for the cost of the event?'

And there you have it: 15 essential, quite advanced business English phrases to help

you sound professional. How many did you know? Let me know in the comments! You can

practice using these in your work conversations and emails, and you'll sound

like a seasoned pro in no time.

Also, this is the first time I'm

mentioning it on this channel, but in the next few months, I will release my new

Professional English Programme, Level 2.

This caters to the B2 level of English in

a professional context.

If you would like to sign up to the

waiting list, I have added a link in the description box, or you can scan the QR

code right here.

This means that you'll be the first to

know about all updates on the release of this Programme.

I've also left a link to Level 1, which you could take now, and then you could do

Level 2 later.

Don't forget to download the free PDF for

this lesson, where you have 15 bonus phrases. I will see you soon for the next one.

Muah!