60 Office Phrases to Get You Through in any Colleague Interaction

Did you know How Important Connecting with your Colleagues & Your Manager?

Here's a look at the phrases that you should know in order to escape any sort of embarrassment at workplace.

Office vocabulary comes to zero when you actually need it. I mean we all maintain a mind dictionary, but when we want to use it, we do not have words to express our thoughts or plan. Moreover, words play a great role in leaving an impression in our professional space. Therefore, here a look at some necessary list of expressions that you should know.

Therefore, it is crucial to understand the meaning of these idioms and jargon used at work place. Please make use of the right phrases at the right places effectively with your common sense!!

The most common phrases in Work Environment:

1. Win-win:?A situation or result that is beneficial/good for everyone (involved).
2. Think outside the box:?Thinking differently, creatively, outside of normal possibilities.?
3. Going forward:?From now on. In the future.
4. Reach out:?Attempt to communicate.?Metaphorically to move forward or upward in order to touch.
5. Touch base :?Briefly make or renew contact with someone.
6. Give 110% :?To give beyond the standard, to exceed expectations.?Mathematically, irrational expression!
7. Paradigm Shift:?An overused term since last century, to mean “fundamental change”, “critical adjustment”.
8. At the end of the day:?Unless it is really the end of the day, say ”Finally”, “Ultimately”.
9. Raise the bar:?To expand the limits and reach for the top.
10. Ball is in your court:?It is up to you to make the next decision or step, (it took a while to realize that we were playing a game).?
11. Synergy:?Basically just a buzz word for team work.?The combined effort and result of two or more organizations or people is greater than the sum of their separate effects.
12. Best of breed:?Used to describe the best representative of a breed, a category, a product.
13. Take it to the next level:?to make something better.
14. It is what it is:?To mean, “It is not going to change”.
15. The bottom line:?Meaning, the essential point, inference from something,?(also, Bottom line refers to a company’s net earnings, net income or earnings per share (EPS).
16. Scalable:?The capability of a process to handle a growing amount of work. Or a potential to be enlarged to accommodate that growth.
17. Down the Road:?At a further, later, or unspecified point. Similar to?Down the line.
18. Learn the ropes:?Learning the basics of something.
19. Let’s hit the ground running: To be immediately ready to work when a new activity starts.
20. Ball-park figure:?A rough numerical estimate or approximation
21. Downsizing:?make (a company or organization) smaller by eliminating staff positions.
22. No-brainer:?Something that is obvious and easy to comprehend with no effort.
23. Open the kimono:?A Japanese term for accurately sharing all the necessary and relevant and information.
24. The elephant in the room (or corner):?A large obvious issue, everyone is aware of, but no one wants to talk about it (a sore spot).
25. Benchmark:?is a standard measure or point of reference against which things are compared or assessed.
26. Let’s take it offline:?Instead of randomly saying that, mention specifically, “After the meeting, during the break”.
27. Let’s circle back:?Is an expression for “Let’s discuss this issue at a later time”.
28. In the pipeline:?Something being in process, in queue.
29. Bite the bullet:?An expression for “ Make the tough decision” “take a difficult step”’.
30. I have a lot on my plate:?Having more work or responsibilities beyond one’s capability. Then please take a bigger plate next time.
31. Drastic times call for drastic measures:?When you are extremely desperate you need to take extreme actions.
32. Low-hanging fruit:To pick an easy task or anything that is easily attainable (with little effort). I wish you could pick the low hanging fruit and try to make your speech simple and less complicate
33. Back to the drawing board:To start something all over again from the planning process/stage.
34. The 80-20 rule:?It is a rule of thumb that states, “80% of outcomes can be attributed to 20% of all causes for a given event”. In business, the 80-20 is often used to point out that 80% of a company’s revenue is generated by 20% of its total customers.Therefore, the rule is used to help managers identify and determine which operating factors are most important and should receive the most attention, based on an efficient use of resources.
35. Net–net:?is a value investing technique developed by Benjamin Graham in which a company is valued based solely on its?net?current assets.
36. Feel a bit under the weather:?Slightly ill. 2 words are more comprehensible and time-saving than the 6-word phrase and there you are speaking all about being productive.
37. Read between the lines:?To understand something that is not obvious or something that is not directly communicated. I read between the lines and all I see is empty white space.
38. My hands are tied:?The inability to take any action. You can still run your mouth I guess!
39. Bite off more than you can chew:?Undertake a task that is way too big. I was just improving my productivity in eating.
40. Curiosity killed the cat?Being inquisitive can lead you into an unpleasant situation.
41. The fact of the matter is?This basically says, “What you’ve presented until now was not fact and I’m about to correct you.”
42. Beat around the bush:?Avoiding the main topic. Not speaking directly about the issue. That’s what happens when I ask for a raise or promotion.
43. Back to square one:?To go “back to square one” means to start something over again. This is the reason, I’ve never been able to get out of the box and (think outside the box)
44. Let the cat out of the bag:?To reveal information that was previously concealed. I never knew pets were allowed here.
45. Push the envelope:?To push something to the limit or extend the limits of what is possible.
46. Move the needle:?Make noticeable difference or significant progress in something. Everybody wants to “move the needle,” but without direction this is a waste.
47. Take with a grain of salt:?This means not to take what someone says too seriously. Would you mind a sugar cube? Cos that’s what is best for my coffee.
48. It takes two to tango?Actions or communications need more than one person
49. Hit the nail on the head?Do something exactly right, hitting the right target.
50. We can’t boil the ocean:?Is to express an unreasonable task, or an impossible situation.
51. Throw him/her under the bus:?“to betray or sacrifice a person, particularly for the sake of one’s own advancement, or as a means of safeguarding one’s own interests”.?
52. Let’s take a deep dive:?to understand in depth to find the inner sense or hidden (not so obvious) information.
53. 360-degree thinking:?Itis a way to maximize success and minimize failure. Thinking from all perspectives and people (public, customers, clients) with empathy. Considering the effects and repercussions of your actions before committing to them.
54. Hit the nail on the head:Being 100% accurate in saying or doing something.
55. Power to the elbow:Getting additional backup information to make your case stronger.
56. Golden parachute:It is an agreement between a company and an employee (usually upper executive) specifying that the employee will receive certain significant benefits if employment is terminated.
57. Barking up the wrong tree:?Looking in the wrong place. Accusing the wrong persons
58. Best thing since sliced bread:?A good invention or innovation. A good idea or plan..Wait what, didn’t you ask us to think outside the box and be creative?
59. Don’t count your chickens before the eggs have hatched:?Do not make plans for something that might not happen.
60. Let sleeping dogs lie:?Let a situation be as it is – since any disturbance would result in trouble or complications.