Learn Office Jargon in 5 minutes!!!

• I need this by COP.
• Can you reply to me ASAP?
• We need to give 110% to make this success.

I am sure the above sentences are very common in your professional life.

Anyone working in the English-speaking business world may encounter terms and idioms that can be bewildering if you're not a native speaker (and sometimes even if you are), regardless of how proficient you are in the language.

These are called “Business Jargon”, commonly referred to as corporate speak; it is a collection of buzzwords and expressions that have both a literal and professional meaning.

Buzzwords are often used to communicate larger, more complicated ideas quickly and efficiently. Instead of saying, "Let's postpone this meeting and reschedule at a more mutually convenient, yet still-to-be-determined time," it is quicker and easier to say, "Let's take a rain check."

However, it is only obvious if everyone is aware of both the literal and corporate meanings of the phrase.

I'll be sharing some often-used business vocabulary in this article, but before that, let's do a brief evaluation.

Can you write the meaning of any one of the following jargon in the comments section?

B2B | CoP | TBC | PFA

Well did you write the meaning of one of the above jargons? If not, do it now honestly, and then continue reading further.

I GUARANTEE that by the time you finish reading this article, you will be familiar with the majority of business lingos and each of you will learn something new.

While some jargon is specialised to certain professions, such as the technical language used by plumbers, doctors, and lawyers, much of it is used often in the corporate world.?I'll discuss the terms used in IT workplaces in this article.

Common business abbreviations

• ASAP - As soon as possible
• BAU - Business as usual
• CoP / EoD - Close of the play / End of the day
• E.g. - Example
• EBITDA - Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization
• FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions
• N/A - Not Applicable
• PoC - Proof of Concept / Point of Contact
• SMB - Small Medium Business
• SME - Subject Matter Expert
• TBC - To be confirmed
• TBD - To be decided

The jargon used during conversations

1. Back Burner - Depriortizing something
2. Ballpark figure - A rough estimation of a number or cost
3. Blue-sky thinking - Coming up with ideas without worrying about practicalities or limitations
4. Circle Back - Pause discussion of the topic at hand, with a plan to return to it at a later point.
5. Code fat gaya - A situation when the application crashes. Often spoken by Hindi-speaking programmers
6. Drill down - To investigate thoroughly.
7. Ducks in a row - Getting things organized or set up well. A manager might tell a team: ‘We need to get all our ducks in a row’ before further action can be taken.
8. Gain traction - Become popular or credible
9. Hard Stop - A specific time when a meeting or discussion needs to end
10. Having bandwidth - Have enough time or resources?
11. Heads-up - Alerting you to how a situation or plan seems to be developing, which you need to be aware of.
12. In the loop - Involving in a discussion
13. Jumped on the bandwagon - To join an activity that has become very popular or to change your opinion to one that has become very popular so that you can share in its success
14. Jump-In - Join or interrupt (politely) a discussion.
15. Low-hanging fruit / Quick Wins - Describes easy wins – problems that are simple to solve or achievable targets that are likely to generate maximum success with minimal effort, making way for trickier tasks.
16. Move the goalposts - Change the objective or targets.
17. Move the needle - To make a change which is noticeable.
18. Moving Forward - To make progress.
19. On the same page - Checking if you both share the same understanding of, or position on, the situation in question.
20. Play it by ear - Wait to see how something develops.
21. Rain-Check - Postpone a proposed appointment or activity.
22. Raise the bar - Set higher expectations
23. Reach out - To communicate or contact
24. Silver Bullet - A simple and effective solution to the problem
25. Sweet spot - The perfect balance between two verticals like quality and timely delivery
26. Think outside of the box - Avoid obvious solutions – or the confines of tradition – and take a fresh or unheard-of approach to a problem
27. Win-Win - A situation in which each party benefits in some way.

Sentences with jargon and their meaning

I’m not sure I have the bandwidth for this, but it might be in Sachin’s wheelhouse.

Meaning: I’m not sure I have enough?time or resources?for this, but?Sachin is an expert in this area.

Shall we circle back to this tomorrow, to make sure we’re all on the same page?

Meaning: Shall we?review this again?tomorrow, to make sure we?all know what we are doing and agree?

Can you drill down into this report and get me a ballpark figure by COP?

Meaning: Can you?look in more detail at?this report and get me an?estimated figure?by the?end of the working day?

Let’s?play it by ear, but I think we really need to?raise the bar?for our team over the next month.

Meaning: Let’s wait and see what happens, but I think we really need to set higher expectations for our team over the next month.?

Let's check the knowledge

Fill in the blanks with one of the choices given below

1. Ballpark figure
2. Move the needle
3. Blue-sky thinking
4. Leverage
5. Best practice

a) This is not just ____________, this is a proposal that could work in the real world.

b) It’s essential to use company?_____________ in order to complete this task.

c) How can we ____________ this exposure to increase our market share?

d) I know it may vary, but could you give me a __________, so we can budget accordingly?

e) Here’s our plan to _____________ on our sales targets

Answers {a3, b5, c4, d1, e2}

Did you get the answers right??

I hope so, but if not, don’t feel bad. Practice makes perfect! Another way to improve your comprehension and use of these phrases is to try using them in a writing exercise.

Conclusion

Jargon has its place and time. Relying on it excessively may give the impression that you are more concerned with sounding spectacular than with accurately and clearly expressing yourself. However, if utilised properly, it can raise the bar for your business English.

And yes, if you know any office jargon which is not on the list, please do comment on it and I will answer, also tell me which is your favourite lingo.

If we are meeting for the first time, Hi, I am Shantanu Shukla and I work as a technical manager and e-commerce, FinTech, .NET, and Cybersecurity are my wheelhouses.