One of the trickier parts of English is the large number of idioms used in everyday speech. Most people use idioms so frequently, they don’t even realize they’re using them. Knowing some common idioms used in business settings will help you to better understand what others are saying and will help you to actively participate in conversations. Once you’re comfortable enough, you may even want to try using some idioms in your own speech. Check out the five common business idioms below, each with an explanation and an example of how it’s used.
- ASAP: An acronym that stands for “as soon as possible”; pronounced as a word, like “a sap”.
- “I can’t take a break right now. My boss needs this finished ASAP.”
- To call it a day: To stop working for the day
- “We’ve been working on this presentation for hours. Why don’t we call it a day?”
- To get the ball rolling: To get something started
- “The deadline for this proposal is coming up. We should really get the ball rolling.”
- Back to the drawing board: To start over and go back to the planning stage of something
- “The committee rejected the project, so I guess it’s back to the drawing board.”
- A ballpark figure: a very rough estimate of something
- “I need to do more research to determine the costs of the project, but to give you a ballpark figure, I’d guess around 2.5 million dollars.”
If your communication skills are holding you back from professional success and you want to make your communication skills your most powerful professional tool, make sure to pick up a free copy of my e-book “Communicate with Clarity and Confidence!” by subscribing to our newsletter community on our website. In this free resource, I break down the myriad factors that contribute to confident communication and guide you through how to use each aspect to your advantage.
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