Shadowing Practice: 20 Important Business English Phrases - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Hey, I'd love to pick your brains on some best practices. Do you have a minute to hop on a call? What in the world, pick your brains? Am I some kind of Frankenstein monster? No, absolutely not. These are some common business English expressions that if you work in English, if you speak with clients in English, if you speak with coworkers or colleagues in English, you need to know these phrases so that you can accurately convey what you want to say so you can understand what other people are saying, and so you're simply not embarrassed in the workplace.

Hi, I'm Vanessa from SpeakEnglishWithVanessa.com. And today I have some good news, you are going to learn 20 Essential Business English phrases, plus five bonus acronyms that you are likely to see in the workplace, and you need to know what they mean. Like always, I've created a free PDF worksheet for you with all 20 of these essential phrases plus the five acronyms. And at the bottom of the free worksheet, you can answer Vanessa's Challenge Question.

You can click on the link in the description to download that free PDF worksheet today and never forget what you are about to learn. Let's get started with the first Essential Business English phrase. It's kind of a two for one. It is a case of the Mondays, or you might hear some people say, "Mondays, am I right?" I got a question for you. Do you love waking up early on Monday morning and going to work? If you said no, well, you're not alone.

A lot of people really do not look forward to starting a new work week. They had a great time relaxing over the weekend and ugh, here comes Monday again. So sometimes we just simply blame Monday. You could say, "Ugh, I just don't have any motivation to do anything today. I guess, I have a case of the Mondays." Or you could say, "Ugh, this printer really isn't working. Mondays, am I right?" Of course, it's not Monday's fault that the printer isn't working, but it's kind of a silly way to blame Monday. Poor Monday. The second Essential Business English phrase is actually a question and it's extremely polite and you just heard me say it at the beginning of this lesson, when you have a minute or do you have a minute?

This is a great way to ask, do you have some time to help me? I see that you're in the middle of your work, but I'd like to ask you a favor. So you can use this really polite phrase, "When you have a minute, could you look at this report for me?" Or, "Do you have a minute to look at this report?" Wonderful, polite phrase. Essential Business English phrase number three is a fun one.

I'd like to bounce some ideas off of you. Do you get the idea here that there's a bouncy ball, the ideas, and one person shares an idea, the other person shares an idea. Your idea gets better and better and better as you bounce ideas off of each other. This is a wonderful phrase to use when you want to share an idea and you want the other person's opinion, but they don't have to give you solid answers. You just want to share your idea. Let's look at some sentences. Do you want to grab some coffee right now? I'd like to bounce some ideas off of you for this assignment. You just want their opinion. I've been thinking about this project and I'd like to bounce some ideas off of you. Do you have time?

And just a little note, sometimes we cut off the final of and we simply say, "I'd like to bounce some ideas off you." Both of these are equally acceptable, and it's just a personal preference.

Essential Business English phrase number four is, first thing in the morning. Notice that there is no the, in this phrase. Take a look at a sentence, "First thing in the morning, I make a pot of coffee." Or, "If I don't hear from her today, I'll call her first thing in the morning." This is a good fixed phrase to remember and you can add it when you're talking about something that you do right away. Sorry, I don't have time to finish the report today, but I will do it first thing in the morning. Essential Business English phrase number five is pick your brains. This is a fun one, and it means that you're asking for someone's input or advice when they have more experience than you. So you could say, "I know you've worked at this company for five years, so I'd love to pick your brains about what it's like to work here." Or you could say, "Could we hop on a call and I can pick your brains about what you're thinking about the next quarter?" This means you simply want to know what they're thinking about the next quarter. Phrase number six is one I just used, to hop on a call.

This could be a phone call or it could be a Zoom call, which are becoming more and more popular nowadays. And it means you're talking probably unexpectedly. It's not planned, it's spontaneous, and you want to discuss something. So you could say, "Do you have a minute to hop on a call?

Our client has some questions and I don't know exactly how to answer them." Or you could say, "I was going to send you an email, but it might be easier to talk.

Can we hop on a call?" Great phrase. Essential Business phrase number seven is kind of two for one. It is to shoot off an email or to fire off an email. Both of these verbs to shoot and to fire have the sense of it's quick, it's fast, it's organized, it's not long and drawn out. So this means that you are quickly sending an email. You could also shoot off a text on your phone, but it has this idea of something fast. So you could say, "I'm going to fire off an email with these questions before we meet with the client." Or you could say, "Shoot me an email and I'll get to it first thing in the morning." Oh, a good way to combine both of these phrases, shoot me an email and first thing in the morning, check. Check Essential Business phrase number eight is keep someone in the loop. If we have a loop, that means that no one is left out, everyone is included. So we often say, "Hey, I missed the meeting yesterday, so could you keep me in the loop and still send me the emails?" This means I don't want to be not included. Please send me the information I need to know. We can change that pronoun in the middle. You could say, "The boss wants you to keep her in the loop." That means you are going to need to tell her everything that's going on. You need to tell her everything, you need to keep her in the loop. Essential Business phrase number nine is brainstorm. This is commonly used to talk about generating new ideas. So you could say, "Hey, tomorrow during our meeting, we are going to brainstorm our new marketing ideas for the next quarter." Great.

Everyone's going to throw out ideas. Maybe some of them will be great, maybe some of them won't be great, but we're going to put all ideas on the table and just see what works. Or you could say, "Our team got together to brainstorm better ways to help our customers." Excellent. Essential Business phrase number 10 is debrief. This is when you're kind of summarizing or giving information after an event. So you could say, "After the project is complete, let's have a meeting to debrief." Maybe you're getting together and you're talking about what went well, what didn't go well, how can we do it better the next time. After the project is finished, we'll have a meeting to debrief. You can use this as a noun. So you could say, "We had a debrief and decided to make some changes the next time we do this project." This is a debrief versus to debrief, but they all mean the same thing. Essential Business phrase number 11 is one that you do not want to have to use. It is a slacker. Oh, no. This is someone who is lazy and does not do their part of the work. You might unfortunately say, "Ugh, he's such a slacker. He's always late with his projects and he expects me to work harder to keep up." No one wants to work with someone who's a slacker. Have you ever been part of a group project and said this? In every group project, there's always a slacker who expects other people to do the work for him. That's so frustrating, isn't it? But on the other hand, our next phrase is beautiful. Essential Business phrase number 12 is the opposite of a slacker, it is a workhorse.

This is someone who works really hard and diligently. So you might say, "He is a real workhorse. Whether it's in the office or at home, he always gets projects done." Or you could say, "She really deserves a promotion. She's a workhorse." We know that she is always on the ball. So I hope for you, you are more of a workhorse and less of a slacker. Essential Business phrase number 13 is all hands on deck. This used to come from boating and sailing.

The main part of a boat where you walk is called the deck, but here we're using this more figuratively to talk about a project that is really all consuming, so we need everyone to be active. We need all hands on deck. So you could say, "We need all hands on deck if we're going to finish this project on time." You might even hear this phrase twisted just a bit.

You might hear someone say, "The boss called for an all hands meeting on Thursday." That means everyone needs to be there. It sounds pretty urgent. Talking about manager's, Essential Business English phrase number 14 is really annoying. It is micromanage. Ugh. This is somebody, usually a boss or a manager, who tries to control every little detail that their employees do. If you've ever been micromanaged or you've had a micromanager watching you, ugh, that's so frustrating. You could say, "He tries to micromanage his team by telling everyone how to do their job." And if you have a boss who micromanages you, you might say, "No one likes to be micromanaged. Can't you just trust me to do my work?" Business English phrase number 15 is align. Notice that the G is silent align. And this is talking about being in agreement or supporting something. So you might say, "You know what?

That project does not align with the company's goals, so we're not going to do it." For example, I get contacted by companies all the time who want me to promote their products, but 99.99% of these products don't align with the Speak English With Vanessa goals, which are teaching you better English and helping you speak confidently. So I just tell these people, "No, I'm sorry.

Our goals don't align. This isn't a good fit for us." We can also use this to talk about supporting someone else or another company. So you could say, "The company aligns itself with other organizations that have similar goals." They're friends or allies with other companies. It aligns itself. This is a very beautiful business english expression.

Essential Business English phrase number 16 is to streamline. This is not going crazy all over the place. Nope, it is effective and efficient. So you could say, "If we take time to streamline this process, we will lower costs and be more efficient." So when you have a good system, when your system is streamlined, it's not an email here, a document here, a call here.

No, it's very streamlined. They know what to do at what time. You can lower costs and be more efficient. Or you might say, "The organization streamlined its company by reducing the number of managers." Great. Essential business English phrase number 17 is scalable. You'll especially hear this for small businesses that would like to grow.

This means that you are efficiently able to expand the business and grow profits at the same time.

So you could say, "This business is small, but it is scalable and has a lot of potential for growth." For example, if I were teaching English in a classroom, well, I can only fit maybe 30 people in the classroom, but teaching English on YouTube is scalable. I can teach millions of students around the world at the same time. Great. Or you could say, "She proved that her idea was scalable and it brought increased profits to the company." Essential Business English phrase number 18 is in the weeds. Sometimes we say lost in the weeds. This is the idea that you are too focused on unimportant details and you're not seeing the big picture. So you could say, "Let's not get lost in the weeds. We need to focus on the main goal." If you're having a meeting about an important topic and people start to go off topic and they're sharing ideas that maybe are too detailed or there's something that you should focus on later down the road in the process, you can use this expression, "All right, everyone, let's not get lost in the weeds. We can focus on those details later. Let's talk about the overall goals right now." Essential Business English phrase number 19 is to circle back. So if you start here and then you make a circle and you end that circle, where are you now? You're at the same place that you began. That's the idea here. It means you are going to come back to something or reconsider something later. So talking about a meeting that kind of gets out of hand. People are talking about things that are not so related to the main topic.

You might say, "Okay, can we circle back to those questions later in the meeting?

I want to make sure that we can finish the main reason for our meeting first." Okay.

Your questions are important, but we will circle back to those later. And maybe if someone forgot to circle back to your question, you could say, "To circle back to my question earlier, when do we need to get this done?" Great. That means, "Hey, I asked you this earlier.

You haven't answered it yet, but I want to politely and clearly tell you my question again." Beautiful. All right. Let's go to our 20th Essential Business English phrase before we get to some bonus acronyms. Our final Essential Business English phrase number 20, is to put a pin in it. This is somewhat similar to circling back to something. It means that, Hey, I think your idea's important. We don't have time to discuss it now, but let's put a pin in it, so a mental, or maybe you're writing it down, a little reminder to circle back to this later. Let's put a pin in it and we'll circle back to that later. Wonderful phrase. So you might say, "Let's put a pin in it and we'll discuss it at next week's meeting." Okay, you're saying, "I want to talk about it. We can't talk about it right now, but I made a mental note that we'll talk about it next time." Before we go today, I'd like to share with you five important Business English acronyms that are specific to work culture in English. I'm sure you'll see these in emails. You might even hear people say them, and hey, even if you don't use English in the workplace, you'll probably see these on TV shows and movies.

You might get an email that says, "We need this report by EOD on Wednesday." What in the world? EOD means end of day. But they maybe didn't want to type out that whole thing, so they might have written, "We need that report by EOD on Wednesday." You're not really likely to hear someone say this, but you will definitely see this in emails or in reports.

You might send someone an email, and then you get an auto reply back that says, "Sorry, I will be OOO until February 5th." What? This means out of office. I don't know why someone didn't just write out of office, but hey, you're going to see OOO to mean I'm not here, but I'll be back at this date.

The next business acronym you will hear people use in spoken conversation as well as written Business English, and that is this fun one, ASAP. That's how we would pronounce this. Or you can say each individual letter, A-S-A-P. And it means immediately. So you could say, "Hey, I didn't receive your reports that you sent me yesterday. Can you send them over ASAP?" Or, "Can you send them over ASAP?" This conveys extreme urgency, now. I need it now. So be careful using ASAP because it does mean this is really important and I need it absolutely without any delay.

You can use this in written English. For example, in an email, you might say, "I'm sorry, I didn't receive the reports yesterday. Can you send them over ASAP?" Make sure you capitalized ASAP. What if you got an email that said this, "FYI, the meeting time has changed to 1:30." FYI? For your information. If you're just adding a little extra bonus information, this is something that's pretty important though too. You might add FYI. It's just like saying, "Hey, just to let you know, the meeting time has changed to 1:30." But in business emails, you might see that written as FYI. Sometimes you'll hear people say this in spoken English, "Oh, FYI, I can't make it to the party tomorrow." You might hear people use that in spoken English, but it's more common in written English. Our final business acronym, and the last one to finish off this lesson is a fun one, TGIF. I can't wait for the weekend. If you have a company chat where you chat about different things throughout the day, at the end of the work week, you might see someone send you TGIF. Huh? This is thank God, or thank goodness it's Friday.

This is a expression of, "Yes, it's the weekend. We finished this week, and now I can go and have a relaxing or fun weekend." So this is a common thing to write. You might hear people say this in conversation, "TGIF, have a good weekend." But it's a little less common to say. Instead, you might write this in a business chat with someone or in a chat with a friend, TGIF.

Great. Well, congratulations on learning 20 Essential Business English phrases in English plus five bonus acronyms. I have a question for you. In the comments let me know, do you need to use English for your work? Or maybe you'd like to get a job where you need to use English? This can be a great motivating way to practice English if you have to use it for your job.

Let me know in the comments. And don't forget to download the free PDF worksheet for this lesson with all of the essential phrases, sample sentences, ideas, and concepts. You can download that free PDF with the link in the description and never forget what you've learned.

Well, thank you so much for learning English with me, and I'll see you again next Friday for a new lesson here on my YouTube channel. Bye. But wait, do you want more? I recommend watching this video next where you will learn some essential polite Business English phrases, including how to politely leave a conversation if someone's talking too much and you need to get out of there. Watch that video to find out, and I'll see you there.

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Who Is This Video For?

This video is perfect for intermediate to advanced English learners aiming to master workplace communication. Whether you’re collaborating with international colleagues, client-facing, or preparing for a global career, the 20 phrases and 5 acronyms cover everyday scenarios—from casual check-ins to urgent requests. It’s ideal for those using learn English with YouTube to bridge gaps in business vocabulary and sound more natural in professional settings.

Words & Idioms Worth Stealing

The video is a goldmine for practical expressions. Standouts include "a case of the Mondays" (feeling unmotivated on Mondays), "bounce ideas off" (share ideas for feedback), and "keep someone in the loop" (keep them updated). Acronyms like EOD (end of day) and FYI (for your information) are critical for email and chat fluency. These phrases aren’t just useful—they help you sound like a confident, native-like communicator. For learners practicing shadow speak, repeating these idioms aloud will build muscle memory for real-world use.

How to Get the Accent Right

To nail the pronunciation, focus on the speaker’s clear, conversational tone. Notice how "align" (silent "g") and "streamline" (stress on the first syllable) are enunciated. For phrases like "hop on a call" or "shoot off an email," mimic the casual rhythm—short, sharp verbs convey urgency. Use shadowing techniques: pause the video, repeat each phrase, and match the intonation. Pay attention to reduced forms, like "kinda" (for "kind of") and "gonna" (for "going to"), which are common in workplace speech. Platforms that offer shadowing site tools can help refine your delivery, ensuring you sound natural, not scripted. Improving pronunciation with these phrases will make you more understandable and confident in professional interactions.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've created · you've worked · you've ever been micromanaged
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	is left · is finished · is called
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	call, which are · someone who is · someone who works
Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain	might hear · might be · might unfortunately

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: 20 Important Business English Phrases - Learn English Speaking with Video

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