Business English is full of jargon, and reasonably insignificant phrases, which are used everyday. To help you decipher what they may mean, VanSight has collected a list of some of the most common of them. Here we will put in plain words so as you can apply them in business environment.

1. Business cliche and Phrases
By VanSight

2. COPYRIGHT 2009 VANSIGHT division of
Synbiz Solutions Pvt Ltd
 No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or for
any purpose without the express permission of VanSight Division of Synbiz
Solutions Pvt Ltd. The information contained herein may be changed without prior
notice.
 VanSight is trademark of Synbiz Solutions Pvt Ltd. All other product and service
names mentioned and associated logos displayed are the trademarks of their
respective companies.
 Data contained in this document serves informational and educational purposes
only. The information in this document is proprietary to Synbiz Solutions Pvt Ltd.
 This product contains training material for English or Soft Skills or Personality
Development. Synbiz assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in this
document. Synbiz does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of the
information, text, graphics, links, or other items contained within this material.
This document is provided without a warranty of any kind, either express or
implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability,
fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.
2

3. Introduction
 Business English is full of jargon, and reasonably
insignificant phrases, which are used everyday. To help you
decipher what they may mean, VanSight has collected a list
of some of the most common of them.
 Here we will put in plain words so as you can apply them in
business environment.
3

4. Best of Breed
Example: If we're going to survive in this market, we'll need to challenge the best of
breed
Meaning: Our service is awful compared to our biggest competitors. Similar: Best in
class.
4

5. Bespoke
Example: We'll develop you a bespoke solution
Meaning: We won't give you the mass market solution - we'll actually
develop something specifically for you.
5

6. Big Hitter
Example: I'm in awe of him- he's a really Big Hitter
Meaning: Someone powerful within the confines of the company.
Variant: hard hitter.
6

7. Blue Sky Thinking
Example: Let's start with a blank sheet of paper and do some blue sky
thinking and see what happens
Meaning: this is similar to thinking 'out of the box' and is supposed to
be a situation where you come up with ideas taking into account no
preconceptions and not dismissing ideas instantly
7

8. Brain Dump
Example: Have a brain dump and see what you come up with
Meaning: Brainstorm
8

9. Core Competencies
Example: We need to focus on our core competencies in order to
maintain our edge in the marketplace
Meaning: What you/your company does well
9

10. Customer Centric
Example: We need to be customer centric from now on
Meaning: Since ultimately we sell to the customer, we might as well
listen to what they're saying. Similar: customer driven.
10

11. Cutting Edge
Example: This is cutting edge technology we're using
Meaning: This is the most recent version. Slightly less bugs.
11

12. End to End
Example: Let's visualize the process end-to-end
Meaning: Let's work out the whole process
12

13. E.T.A
Example: What's the E.T.A. on this report?
Meaning: short for Expected time of arrival, ie how long will it take to
get it finished.
13

14. First Mover
Example: If we launch 3G now, we'll have first mover advantage
Meaning: If we pay massive advertising costs to educate customers about this new
development, we'll hopefully have the advantage of getting lots of customers. If not, we've
paid to educate people whilst other companies with no ad costs will reap the rewards.
14

15. Going Forward
Example: I think it's important that, going forward, you continue to
manage the project pro-actively.
Meaning: In the future
15

16. Go To Market
Example: We need to update our go-to-market strategy.
Meaning: Cross your fingers
16

17. High level
Example: Remember the more important you are, the more you're concerned with
high level thinking
Meaning: Similar to the big picture, this is taking an overall view rather than looking
at the nitty-gritty detail
17

18. Joined Up
Example: From now on this company will only engage in joined up thinking
Meaning: Looking at things from the wider point of view rather than with a
narrow focus
18

19. Purchase full presentation
consisting of 44 slides at
http://vansight.net/downloads/spoken-
english-skills-ppt.html
19