Professional vocabulary
Speak and write professionally: stakeholders, deliverables, follow up, touch base, bottleneck, deadline, budget, ROI — and when jargon hurts.
In this lesson you will
- Learn common workplace vocabulary
- Use professional phrases in meetings and emails
- Avoid unclear jargon
Learn
Projects: deadline, milestone, deliverable, scope, budget, stakeholder, timeline, bottleneck (point that slows everything), workload, priority.
Actions: follow up (on), touch base (make brief contact), delegate, prioritise, allocate (resources), implement, escalate (pass to someone senior), streamline (make more efficient).
Business: revenue, profit margin, return on investment (ROI), market share, overheads, forecast, turnover, KPI (key performance indicator).
Clarity: some buzzwords (synergy, circle back, move the needle) can sound vague. In international teams, prefer plain words: work together, talk again, improve.
Examples
- Let’s touch base next week to review the timeline.
- The approval process is a major bottleneck.
- We need to prioritise the client’s deliverables.
- I’ll follow up on this with the finance team.
Vocabulary
stakeholder
a person with an interest in a project
deliverable
something a project must produce
bottleneck
a point where progress slows
escalate
pass a problem to a higher level
overheads
regular business costs like rent
Practice
A point that slows the whole process is a…
Speaking
Give a two-minute project update: progress, milestones, bottlenecks, budget and next steps, using at least eight workplace terms.
Writing
Write a project status email (120–150 words) to stakeholders, with a clear update, one risk and next steps.
Lesson quiz
ROI stands for…
Review
Key points
- Projects: deadline, milestone, deliverable, bottleneck.
- Actions: follow up, delegate, escalate, streamline.
- Business: revenue, ROI, overheads, KPI.
- Prefer clarity over buzzwords.
What you learned
- ✓ I know key workplace vocabulary.
- ✓ I can give professional updates.
- ✓ I avoid vague jargon.