Vocabulary for Business Communication

Vocabulary for Business Communication (Useful for FCE, CAE & Workplace English)

Clear, confident communication is the heart of every successful business — whether you’re writing emails, giving presentations, or collaborating with colleagues. In today’s lesson, we’ll explore essential vocabulary, collocations, phrasal verbs, and expressions used in professional communication. These will help you sound more natural, organised, and persuasive in any workplace situation. Vocabulary for Business Communication

Essential Business Communication Verbs

These verbs appear constantly in professional emails, meetings, reports, and phone calls. Learning how to use them naturally will make your business communication sound clear, confident, and polite.

Address (a problem / an issue / a concern / a question)

Meaning: To deal with, think about, or discuss something important – especially a problem, question, or concern.

How we use it:

We usually address + issue / problem / concern / question / topic.

It is common in formal emails, reports, and meetings.

Examples:

• We need to address the customer’s complaint as soon as possible.
• The manager promised to address the issue in tomorrow’s meeting.
• This report addresses the main challenges we faced last year.
• The training session will address common communication problems in the team.

Why it’s useful:

Instead of saying “talk about” or “deal with”, address sounds more professional and is very common in business English.

Clarify

Meaning: To make something clearer or easier to understand, often by giving more detail or explaining it in a different way.

How we use it:

clarify + a point / a question / details / the situation / what you mean

Often used when something is confusing or could be misunderstood.

Examples:

• Could you clarify your main point before we continue?
• I’d like to clarify a few details about the contract.
• Let me clarify what I meant in my last email.
• The HR department sent an email to clarify the new policy.

Typical phrases:

“Just to clarify, do you mean…?”

“I’m writing to clarify the arrangements for…”

Why it’s useful:

Cambridge examiners love this verb. It shows you can manage misunderstandings politely and professionally.

Outline

Meaning: To describe something in a general way, giving only the main points and not all the details.

How we use it:

outline + a plan / proposal / idea / process / strategy / agenda

Often used at the beginning of a meeting or presentation.

Examples:

• Let me outline the agenda for today’s meeting.
• She outlined her proposal during the presentation.
• The report outlines our goals for the next quarter.
• In this email, I’ll briefly outline the next steps.

Useful patterns:

“I’d like to outline three main points.”

“The document outlines how the new system will work.”

Why it’s useful: Vocabulary for Business Communication

It’s perfect when you want to sound organised and structured without going into too much detail.

Follow up

Meaning: To take further action after an initial contact or task – for example, to check progress, ask for an update, or continue a conversation.

Form:

As a verb: to follow up (on something / with someone)

As a noun: a follow-up email / a follow-up call

How we use it:

follow up with someone (the person)

• I’ll follow up with the client tomorrow.
• follow up on something (the topic / issue)
• We need to follow up on the customer’s complaint.

Examples:

• I’ll follow up with the client after lunch.
• Did you follow up on the invoice we sent last week?
• She sent a follow-up email to confirm the details.
• We should follow up on this issue if we don’t hear back.

Why it’s useful:

In business, things rarely end after one email. Follow up is the verb you need for polite persistence.

Propose

Meaning: To suggest something, especially in a formal or semi-formal context – such as a plan, idea, change, or solution.

How we use it:

propose + a plan / an idea / a solution / a change / a strategy / a meeting time

Often used in meetings, emails, and written reports.

Examples:

• They proposed a new marketing strategy at the meeting.
• I’d like to propose a small change to the schedule.
• The committee proposed several solutions to the problem.
• May I propose that we start with the most urgent tasks?

Useful phrases:

“I would like to propose that we…” Vocabulary for Business Communication

“We propose introducing flexible working hours.”

Why it’s useful:

Instead of simply “suggest”, propose sounds more formal and decisive – ideal for business and exam writing.

Business Communication Collocations

These collocations are widely used in professional environments — emails, meetings, presentations, and team discussions. Learning them will help you sound natural, accurate, and confident when speaking or writing about work.

Reach a consensus

Meaning: To come to an agreement as a group, especially after discussion or negotiation. This is typically used in formal meetings, decision-making situations, and collaborative projects.

How we use it:

Often used in meetings, teamwork, and project management

Usually refers to group agreement, not individual opinion

Examples:

• After a long discussion, we finally reached a consensus.
• The team couldn’t reach a consensus on the new strategy, so they decided to vote.
• It’s difficult to reach consensus when the group has very different priorities.
• The committee worked hard to reach a consensus before the deadline.

Why it’s useful:

It sounds far more professional than simply saying “everyone agreed.”

Raise a concern / raise an issue / raise a question

Meaning: To express a worry, problem, or question that needs attention. This collocation is common in meetings, emails, and workplace discussions.

How we use it:

raise + concern / issue / question / point

Often used politely when something needs to be discussed or fixed

Examples:

• Several employees raised concerns about the new policy.
• I’d like to raise an issue regarding the updated schedule.
• She raised a question about the budget during the meeting.
• If you want to raise a concern, please contact HR directly.

Typical polite phrases:

“I’d like to raise a concern about…”

“May I raise an issue?”

Why it’s useful: Vocabulary for Business Communication

It allows you to talk about problems professionally — without sounding negative or confrontational.

Give feedback / receive feedback / provide feedback

Meaning: To share your opinion or evaluation of someone’s work, performance, ideas, or behaviour.

How we use it:

give feedback to someone

receive feedback from someone

provide constructive / detailed feedback

Examples:

• I appreciate the feedback you gave on my report.
• She received useful feedback after her presentation.
• The manager gave clear and constructive feedback to the team.
• Could you provide feedback on this draft before Friday?
• Students often feel nervous about receiving feedback, but it helps them improve.

Why it’s useful:

Feedback is central to business communication — these collocations work in both formal and informal contexts.

Hold a meeting / hold a discussion / hold a workshop

Meaning: To organise or run a formal meeting, discussion, or event.

How we use it:

Very common in workplace communication

Often used by managers, organisers, and team leaders

Examples:

• We will hold a meeting tomorrow to review the results.
• The HR department held a discussion about remote-working guidelines.
• They are planning to hold a workshop on customer communication skills.
• The board held an emergency meeting to address the situation.

Typical variations:

hold a conference

hold a briefing

hold interviews

Why it’s useful:

It sounds more professional than simply saying “have a meeting.” Vocabulary for Business Communication

Meet a deadline / miss a deadline

Meaning: To finish work on time (or fail to do so).

How we use it:

meet a deadline → finish before or on the required date

miss a deadline → finish late or fail to submit on time

Examples:

• We must work quickly if we want to meet the deadline.
• Unfortunately, the team missed the deadline due to technical problems.
• She always meets her deadlines, even when the workload is heavy.
• The project manager asked everyone to focus so they could meet the final deadline.

Why it’s useful:

Deadlines are a big part of workplace life — this is a core collocation your learners will use frequently.

Phrasal Verbs for Business English

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
Look into (something)	investigate.	The IT team is looking into the problem.
Run through (something)	explain briefly.	Let me run through the main points before we start.
Bring up (a topic)	mention something.	She brought up an interesting idea during the call.
Carry out (research / a task)	perform or conduct.	We carried out a survey among our customers.
Turn down (an offer)	reject.	He turned down the job offer because the salary was too low.

Vocabulary for Business Communication

 

Polite Business Expressions for Emails

Using polite, formal language shows respect and professionalism — something Cambridge examiners love.

“I am writing to enquire about…”

“Could you please provide further details?”

“I would appreciate it if you could…”

“Thank you for your prompt response.”

“Please do not hesitate to contact me.”

Language for Presentations & Meetings

Using clear, signposting language in presentations and meetings helps you guide your audience, stay organised, and communicate with confidence. These expressions are especially useful in Cambridge exams (FCE/CAE oral parts), business presentations, and team discussions.

“Let’s move on to the next point.”

Use this when you want to smoothly transition from one part of your talk to another. It helps keep the structure clear and signals that you are progressing.

Example:

• We’ve discussed the budget, so let’s move on to the next point — our marketing plan.

“As you can see on the slide…”

A helpful phrase when referring to graphs, charts, images, or text in a presentation. It directs the audience’s attention and helps you introduce or explain visual information.

Example:

• As you can see on the slide, sales increased significantly in the second quarter.

“To summarise…” / “To sum up…”

Use this when you want to wrap up a section or highlight the main points. It shows good organisation and keeps your audience focused.

Example: Vocabulary for Business Communication

• To summarise, our research shows three key trends for the upcoming year.

“Does anyone have any questions?”

A polite and professional way to invite participation or clarify anything your audience may not understand. It can be used at the end of a section or at the end of your presentation.

Example:

• That concludes the first part of my presentation. Does anyone have any questions?

Business communication isn’t just about using fancy vocabulary — it’s about being clear, respectful, and effective. With these expressions, your learners will feel more confident writing emails, participating in meetings, and speaking professionally.

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