7: Hello! I'm Emma from mmmEnglish.

11: English in the workplace.

14: At work, in the office.

18: Knowing the idioms, phrasal verbs

21: and unique vocabulary that's

23: used in these professional contexts is so important!

28: I'll admit that there is a lot to learn there.

31: But today I want to focus on some really common,

35: very useful expressions that you'll hear often at work

39: and in these professional contexts.

42: At the office. With your colleagues.

45: With your boss. With your clients, your customers.

50: In interviews, speaking exams, with your teacher

54: or your university professor.

57: If you haven't already noticed, you'll soon realise

61: that the office is where idioms and English expressions

65: go wild.

67: At times it feels like people only speak

70: using idioms and slang.

72: So whether you're flat out, getting off-track,

76: losing your train of thought or banking on an early finish,

82: these 10 essential business English expressions

85: will help you to sound more natural and confident

89: at work.

91: Learning these expressions is essential

93: and a fantastic way to hear them being used in context

97: is by listening to audiobooks.

100: I use Audible to listen to books all the time

104: and I've teamed up with them to offer you a free trial,

108: a free audiobook for 30 days,

111: so that you can try it out yourself!

114: I've been using Audible for years now

117: but while I don't often have time to sit and read a book,

120: I can listen while I'm driving

123: or while I'm going for a run or I'm waiting for the train.

127: So they offer a really fantastic solution

130: to keep practising your English and for this lesson,

134: I've listed some fantastic books relating to business

138: in the description box below.

140: So you can check out my recommendations for Audible

143: right there.

145: So let's start with "flat out".

149: If you're "flat out", you're incredibly busy,

152: you have lots to do,

154: so much that you can't stop to have a break.

158: I'll be flat out next week

160: because there's a new shipment arriving.

164: I've been flat out all week, I'm exhausted!

169: In Australia where I'm from, we might also use

172: "flat chat".

174: It's used in exactly the same way

176: to mean that someone is very busy.

180: Train of thought.

182: Have you ever been talking about something and then

186: completely forgotten what you're talking about

189: and why you're talking about it.

192: It happens to me more often than I'd like to admit

196: but this happens when your train of thought

200: gets distracted by something else.

203: The clear progression of your thoughts are stopped

206: by something.

208: So the expression that you'll most commonly hear is

213: "Oh! I've lost my train of thought!

215: What was I talking about?"

218: I've lost my train of thought.

221: My mum called and

223: completely disrupted my train of thought.

228: Can I ask you a question?

230: Just give me a minute,

231: I don't want to disrupt my train of thought.

236: Now if you lose your train of thought you'll need to

239: get back on track.

242: If something is on track, it's happening as it should be

246: there's no problem at all.

249: If something is not happening as you planned and

253: you want to change it, you want to get back on track.

260: We missed the deadline last week,

262: but we've just submitted the report now,

264: so we're getting back on track.

268: Are you on track to complete the report

270: by the end of the week?

273: So logically, if something is not on track it's not

277: happening as it should be, then you're off track.

282: Imagine this, you're busy, you're flat out,

285: and you have to attend a meeting about a project

288: that you're working on.

290: But the people at the meeting are not prepared

293: and the conversation is just going everywhere!

295: People are talking about their kids, what they had for

299: dinner last night, any other issue

302: except what you should be talking about.

305: So you decide to interrupt the conversation and say:

309: We're getting off track here guys.

311: We've only got ten more minutes left

313: and we need to confirm the marketing budget.

318: It's used to say that a person or a group of people

322: have become distracted from their main purpose.

325: They've lost their focus.

328: That's just like my aunt Mary actually,

331: she does it all the time!

333: She lives on her own which is probably why

337: but her house is beautiful and she's got

339: the dogs to keep her company.

342: Sorry, I'm getting off track!

345: Here are a few more examples.

348: It's difficult to stay on track with so many disruptions,

352: perhaps we should move to the conference room.

357: I don't want to get off track, but we can all agree that the

361: new marketing manager is difficult to get along with.

366: We should have completed the work by now,

368: but the team got off track with some technical issues.

374: This idiom also has a literal meaning.

377: To get lost or lose your direction.

381: To literally get off the track and here,

387: a track means a path or a road.

389: So if you're off the track, you're not on the road,

392: on the path that you need to be on.

396: To bank on.

399: To bank on something means to bet

401: that something will happen in a certain way.

405: To be really sure

407: or confident that something will happen

410: So for example.

412: I'm banking on Sarah to get a promotion,

414: so that I can apply for her position.

419: Since it's a public holiday on Monday,

421: we're banking on an early finish tonight.

426: It can also be used in a negative sentence,

429: often advising someone against something.

434: I wouldn't bank on it.

436: That means it's not a good idea

438: to assume that it will happen.

442: To brush up on.

445: This is a phrasal verb, but one that's idiomatic

450: and it means to update or to improve your skills

453: in some way.

455: It can be used in any context really, formal or informal,

459: but this expression is

461: so useful in a professional context

465: because sometimes it can be a little awkward or

469: embarrassing to say that you don't have fantastic skills

474: in one area.

475: Right?

476: But by saying that you need to brush up on those skills

480: is a much softer way of saying that you're

484: not that good at something but you are willing to

488: practise or study to improve those skills.

493: I'm brushing up on my Italian

495: because I've got a business trip in July.

498: I got the job at the publishing company!

500: But I really need to brush up on my editing skills.

504: I'm out of practice!

507: To bring something to the table.

511: So this idiom means to provide something

515: that will be of benefit. Something useful.

519: And it's often used in a professional context

522: to describe the skills or experience that someone

526: brings to a team or to a company.

529: The great thing about Sam is that she brings

532: years of management experience to the table.

538: See how the "something" in our structure is

542: a noun phrase here.

544: This is really common with this expression.

547: He brings excellent communication skills and

550: award-winning design experience to the table.

556: But during a meeting you might also hear

558: someone use this expression.

561: What have you brought to the table?

565: And that means what suggestions or ideas did you

570: bring to the meeting, can you offer to the people

572: in the meeting.

574: To bring up.

576: Now this is a very common phrasal verb.

579: You've probably heard it before.

581: It means to mention or introduce a topic.

586: Someone can bring something up during a meeting,

590: a call or a casual conversation.

595: I'll bring it up with Stephanie when I see her next week.

600: Our presentation is missing some of the key points.

604: So I'm going to bring it up with the team tomorrow,

607: we can spend some more time on it.

611: To turn down.

613: Again, this is another common phrasal verb

616: but it's also idiomatic.

619: It means to say no to something or refuse something.

624: They offered me tickets to the conference,

626: but I had to turn them down

628: because it's my son's birthday.

632: He turned it down

633: because they offered him the promotion,

635: but told him that they couldn't increase his salary.

639: I applied for the position but then I found out

642: I had to spend six months of the year

644: living in New Zealand. So I had to turn them down.

649: Now when you do something without planning

653: or preparing for it,

654: there are a couple of useful expressions

657: that you can use.

659: You can say that you'll "wing it".

662: My presentation's on my laptop,

665: which I left at home, I'll just have to wing it.

670: If you haven't received the notes,

672: you'll just have to wing it.

676: Usually this idiom suggests that you didn't really plan it

679: to be that way but for some reason,

682: you're under-prepared.

685: If you do something that's off-the-cuff,

689: you're doing something without preparing for it

691: but you're kind of comfortable with that

694: you're cool with that.

697: I wish that I was confident enough to make

700: presentations off-the-cuff,

701: I spend so much time

703: planning for our monthly board meetings.

706: Paul won an award last night

708: and made a fantastic speech totally

710: totally off-the-cuff!

714: Well that's it for this lesson,

717: I hope you learnt some new expressions.

719: Remember that these expressions are often used in a

723: professional context

724: but not only in a professional context.

727: You'll often hear them used in casual, informal contexts

731: as well, so they're good ones to learn and practise.

736: You guys know that I release new lessons every week,

739: so make sure you subscribe by clicking that red button

743: down there so you never miss one of my lessons!

747: There are plenty of other video lessons

750: right here on the mmmEnglish Youtube Channel

753: for you to check out.

754: Like this playlist here of English idioms

758: and this one right here.

761: Thanks for watching and I'll see you next week.

764: Bye for now!