Essential Core Vocabulary

Bandwidth The capacity to handle a task or workload. "I'm sorry, I don't have the bandwidth to take on another project this week."

Stakeholder Any person or group that has an interest in a company's success. "We need to keep our internal stakeholders updated on the merger."

Synergy Combined power of a group when they work together effectively. "The synergy between our tech and design teams is excellent."

Bottleneck A situation that causes delay in a process or system. "The approval process is the main bottleneck in our workflow."

Professional Idioms

Touch base To briefly make contact with someone to check progress. "Let’s touch base after the meeting to finalize the numbers."

Circle back To discuss a topic again at a later time. "Let's circle back to the budget once we have the vendor's quote."

Get the ball rolling To set an activity or process in motion. "We’ve paid the deposit to get the ball rolling on the renovations."

On the same page To have the same understanding or agreement. "I want to make sure we are all on the same page regarding the deadline."

Low-hanging fruit Easy tasks that provide quick wins. "Improving the email subject lines is low-hanging fruit for the marketing team."

Cut to the chase To skip unnecessary details and get to the point. "Stop the presentation and cut to the chase: how much will this cost?"

Marketing & Acronyms

KPI (Key Performance Indicator) A quantifiable measure used to evaluate success. "Our primary KPI this quarter is increasing website traffic by 20%."

ROI (Return on Investment) A measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment. "The ROI on our latest ad campaign was much higher than expected."

B2B / B2C Business-to-Business / Business-to-Consumer. "We are primarily a B2B company, selling software to other corporations."

Professional Etiquette

Email Best Practices

1. Direct Subject Lines: Be specific. Use "Action Required: Quarterly Report" instead of "Quick Question".

2. The "Cc" Rule: Use 'Carbon Copy' for people who need the info for situational awareness, not for action.

3. Professional Closings: Use "Best regards," "Sincerely," or "Kind regards."

Grammar for Professionals

Polite Modal Verbs

Use Could, Would, or Might to soften requests and sound more professional.

"Could you please send that report?" sounds better than "Send that report."

Active vs Passive Voice

Active: "We made a mistake." (Clear, takes responsibility)

Passive: "A mistake was made." (Neutral, avoids blaming individuals)

Finance & Operations

Due Diligence The process of checking facts before a purchase or merger. "The legal team is performing due diligence on the acquisition."

Scalability The ability to grow without being limited by the business structure. "Our cloud infrastructure provides great scalability for the app."