Important Business English Expressions to Sound Fluent (QUIZ AT END)

In this video, you're going to expand  your vocabulary with common business  

English expressions to help you sound very  professional, very fluent, and very advanced.

Make sure you watch right to the end because I'm  

going to quiz you on all of your  new business English expressions.

Welcome back to JForrest English.

I'm Jennifer.

Now let's get started.

Let's talk about due diligence, due diligence.

Have you heard this before?

Due diligence is the concept of  doing very thorough research or  

investigation before making a decision.

For example, before signing the contract, make  sure you do your due diligence and remember  

due diligence that simply the research and  investigation before signing the contract.

So that's the decision you're about to make,  

the decision to sign the  contract, do your due diligence.

Now don't be confused here because the verb  I just used is do you do due diligence?

Do is the casual verb.

You can also use a more formal  verb, such as conduct due diligence.

For example, before you accept the job offer,  

you should conduct extensive  due diligence on the company.

So you should research the company,  You should investigate the company,  

and you should do that thoroughly to make  sure you're making the right decision.

So you can do due diligence or  you can conduct due diligence.

Now let's talk about a win win situation.

This is a situation in which all parties benefit.

You win.

I win, it's a win win.

For example, subscribing to this  YouTube channel is a win win situation.

You win because you get to  watch all of this amazing  

content to help you improve your English for free.

And I win because by subscribing that tells  YouTube that this is a popular channel,  

a popular video, and YouTube  will recommend it to more people.

So it's a win win situation.

So make sure you subscribe, comment,  

like, share this video with your  friends for that win win situation.

In a business context, you should  also be asking yourself the question,  

how can I make this a win Win.

You don't have to add the word situation,  native speakers will commonly drop it.

How can I make this a win win?

If I ask my boss for a promotion,  how can I make that a win win.

If you can make it a win win, and you can  explain the reasons why your boss will  

win and you will win, well then they're  more likely to give you the promotion.

And if you think it's a win win,  then put that in the comments.

Jennifer, it's a win win.

Subscribing to this YouTube channel is a win win.

Jennifer, it's a win win.

Put that in the comments.

Let's talk about to break the ice.

When you break the ice, you initiate a  conversation and you do that for the first time.

This is used in both social settings,  like a party or a business setting,  

like before a meeting or a conference.

And when you break the ice is so you can  have that initial conversation and get rid  

of that awkwardness when you're at a party or a  meeting and you don't really know everyone there.

So that's why at the beginning  of a meeting or a conference,  

they'll often have some activities  planned simply to help you break the ice.

Or your boss might say make sure you break  the ice before you pitch them the product.

So you don't want to start the meeting by  saying this is my product, you should buy it.

You want to have some conversation first.

You want to break the ice.

Our next expression is to close the deal.

This is when you finalize and  secure a business agreement.

So it means everything is complete.

It's a done deal.

So your boss could ask you did you close the deal.

They want to know if they've signed the  contract and they're officially a customer,  

but maybe you reply and say not yet  they're still doing their due diligence.

Remember, you do due diligence and then you can  

question how can we make  this a win, win situation.

So they'll want to close the.

Now let's talk about cutting edge.

This is an adjective that's often used  to describe products or entire companies.

If something's cutting edge, it means it's at  the forefront of technology and innovation.

You might say I love working  for a cutting edge company,  

a company that's always at the forefront,  the very top of technology and innovation.

Or you could say the research team is known  for developing cutting edge technology.

So they develop technology, but it's cutting edge  is at the forefront of innovation and technology.

Our next expression is in the pipeline.

When something is in the pipeline, it  means it's being developed or planned.

So you might ask a company or a team or even a  person, do you have any projects in the pipeline  

and you're asking them if they have anything  that's currently being developed or planned?

Are you working on anything new?

Do you have anything in the pipeline?

Or you might say let's meet tomorrow to discuss  how to finalize everything in the pipeline.

Because remember the things that  are in the pipeline in progress,  

they're currently being developed.

They're not final yet and when they  are, hopefully they're cutting edge.

I love this next expression  to hit the ground running.

This is when you start a project or task  with a lot of energy and enthusiasm and  

I personally always hit the ground  running with new projects and tasks.

I also love when my my students  hit the ground running.

For example, Sherry just joined  the Finally Fluent Academy.

This is my premium program.

She just joined the Finally Fluent  Academy and she hit the ground running.

So she started the program with  a lot of energy and enthusiasm.

She already started reviewing the lessons.

She joined our private community.

She's submitting exercises for feedback.

She's interacting with the other students.

She hit the ground running.

Now let's talk about the idiom to  put all your eggs in one basket.

Have you heard this before?

This is when you rely on only  one strategy or one idea.

So if your eggs are in one basket and you drop  that basket, all your eggs will break, right?

Because of that, we commonly use  this expression in the negative.

You shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket.

So if a friend tells you they  want to invest all their money,  

not just some of their money, all their money  in one single stock or investment strategy,  

you might say you shouldn't put  all your eggs in one basket.

Or you could say it's always good to have multiple  projects in the pipeline so you don't have all  

your eggs in one basket, because if one of those  ideas in the pipeline fails, you have other ideas.

So that's always a great idea.

Let's talk about to be a team player.

This describes someone who works  well with others in a group.

What about you?

Are you a team player?

Put it in the comments if you are.

I know many people have difficulty with this.

They have difficulty working  with others in a group.

So be honest.

Are you a team player?

I could say I love working with Julio.

He's such a team player.

Or I could say Michelle's extremely smart and  well qualified, but she's not a team player,  

so I don't think she's ready  for a management position.

Because if you're in a management  position, you need to be a team player.

So don't forget this very valuable skill.

Let's talk about to raise the bar.

When you raise the bar, you take your  standards or your expectations and you  

raise them so you have higher  standards, higher expectations.

I could say that Apple raised the  bar on what a cell phone can do.

Before Apple, our expectations  for cell phones was about here.

Now, our standards and expectations are up  here, and that's because of Apple in my opinion.

Or you could say their products are cutting edge.

They've really raised the bar when  it comes to home security equipment.

So they've raised the expectation or standards,  but specific to home security equipment.

So Are you ready for your quiz to see how  well you know these business expressions?

Here are the questions.

Hey, pause, take as much time as you need.

And when you're ready to  see the answers, hit play.

How did you do on that quiz?

Well, let's find out.

Here are the answers.

Hit, pause.

Take as much time as you need to review them.

And when you're ready to continue, hit play.

How did you do with that quiz?

Make sure you share your  score in the comments below.

And do you think that I've raised  the bar on free English lessons?

Have I improved the quality?

The standard?

The expectation?

If so, put Jennifer you've raised the bar  or put raised the bar in the comments below.

I would love to hear you say that  and make sure you get this free  

speaking guide where I share 6 tips on how  to speak English fluently and confidently.

Is completely free.

So this is a win win.

You can click here to download it or  look for the link in the description.

And why don't you keep improving  your vocabulary with this video?