Clear communication is essential in the workplace. Whether you are writing an email, taking part in a meeting, giving a presentation or discussing a problem with colleagues, choosing the right words can make you sound more confident and professional. In this lesson, you’ll learn useful vocabulary for business communication, including verbs, collocations, phrasal verbs and practical expressions that you can use in real workplace situations.
Essential Business Communication Verbs
These verbs are particularly useful in emails, meetings, reports and presentations.
| address | deal with or discuss something important | address a problem / issue / concern / question | We need to address the customer’s complaint as soon as possible. |
| clarify | make something clearer or easier to understand | clarify a point / situation / detail | Could you clarify what you mean by the final deadline? |
| outline | give the main points without all the details | outline a plan / proposal / strategy | Let me briefly outline our plans for the next quarter. |
| propose | formally suggest an idea, plan or change | propose a solution / change / strategy | I’d like to propose a small change to the schedule. |
| confirm | state that something is correct, definite or agreed | confirm an appointment / booking / arrangement | Could you confirm the meeting time by Friday? |
| highlight | draw attention to something important | highlight a problem / benefit / difference | The report highlights several areas for improvement. |
| resolve | find a solution to a problem | resolve an issue / dispute / problem | We hope to resolve the matter by the end of the week. |
| summarise | give the main information in a shorter form | summarise findings / results / discussion | Could you summarise the main points before we finish? |
Address vs deal with
Both expressions can mean take action concerning a problem, but address often sounds more formal.
- We need to deal with this problem quickly.
- We need to address this issue before the next meeting.
In business emails, reports and presentations, address an issue is especially common.
Useful Phrases with Clarify
Clarify is one of the most useful verbs when something is unclear or could be misunderstood.
| Checking your understanding | Just to clarify, do you mean…? |
| Asking for more information | Could you clarify what you mean by…? |
| Explaining your own message | Let me clarify what I meant. |
| Writing an email | I’m writing to clarify the arrangements for… |
| Confirming a detail | Could I just clarify one point? |
Using expressions like these allows you to ask questions without sounding abrupt.
Business Communication Collocations
Learning individual words is useful, but learning collocations is even more important. These combinations occur naturally together in professional English.
| reach a consensus | come to an agreement as a group | After a long discussion, we finally reached a consensus. |
| raise a concern | mention something that worries you | Several employees raised concerns about the new policy. |
| raise an issue | introduce a problem for discussion | I’d like to raise an issue regarding the project schedule. |
| raise a question | ask or introduce a question | She raised an important question about the budget. |
| give feedback | tell someone what you think about their work | The manager gave constructive feedback after the presentation. |
| receive feedback | be given comments or an evaluation | We received useful feedback from several clients. |
| provide feedback | give comments, usually in a more formal context | Please provide feedback on the proposal by Friday. |
| hold a meeting | organise or conduct a meeting | We’ll hold a meeting tomorrow to discuss the results. |
| meet a deadline | complete something on time | We’re working hard to meet the deadline. |
| miss a deadline | fail to complete something on time | The team missed the deadline because of technical problems. |
| make a decision | decide something | We need to make a decision before the end of the week. |
| take responsibility | accept responsibility for something | She took responsibility for coordinating the project. |
Reach a Consensus
Reach a consensus means that a group manages to agree after discussing different opinions.
Compare:
- Everyone agreed.
- After discussing the different options, the team reached a consensus.
The second version is particularly useful when talking about meetings, negotiations and group decisions.
Useful patterns
- We need to reach a consensus on the final proposal.
- It may be difficult to reach a consensus.
- Have we reached a consensus?
- The committee failed to reach a consensus.
Raising Problems Professionally
In professional communication, we often need to mention a problem without sounding aggressive.
Instead of:
❌ There is a problem with your proposal.
you could say:
✅ I’d like to raise a concern about one aspect of the proposal.
Or:
✅ There is one issue I’d like to address before we proceed.
Here are some useful expressions:
| There’s a problem with… | I’d like to raise a concern about… |
| This won’t work. | There may be an issue with… |
| You haven’t explained this. | Could you clarify…? |
| We disagree. | I’m not sure we’re in complete agreement on this point. |
| We need to change it. | Perhaps we could consider an alternative approach. |
This kind of diplomatic language is particularly useful in international workplaces.
Vocabulary for Business Communication
Phrasal Verbs for Business Communication
Phrasal verbs are common in spoken business English and less formal emails.
| bring up | introduce a topic | She brought up an interesting point during the meeting. |
| carry out | perform or conduct something | We carried out a customer satisfaction survey. |
| follow up | take further action after previous contact | I’ll follow up with the client tomorrow. |
| look into | investigate | The IT department is looking into the problem. |
| run through | explain or review something quickly | Let me run through the main points before we begin. |
| turn down | reject an offer or proposal | She turned down the job offer. |
| set up | organise or arrange something | Could you set up a meeting with the marketing team? |
| put forward | suggest an idea for consideration | He put forward an interesting proposal. |
| sort out | solve or organise something | We need to sort out the payment issue. |
| get back to | contact someone again later | I’ll check the figures and get back to you tomorrow. |
Follow Up
Follow up deserves special attention because it appears constantly in professional communication.
As a verb
follow up with + person
- I’ll follow up with the supplier tomorrow.
follow up on + subject
- Could you follow up on the invoice we sent last week?
As an adjective
We can also use follow-up before a noun:
- a follow-up email
- a follow-up call
- a follow-up meeting
- a follow-up question
For example:
I sent a follow-up email because I hadn’t received a reply.
Useful Vocabulary for Business Communication Expressions
Good professional communication is not only about vocabulary. Certain phrases help you organise conversations, disagree politely and move discussions forward.
Starting a discussion
- Shall we get started?
- The main purpose of today’s meeting is to…
- I’d like to begin by outlining…
- There are three main points we need to discuss.
Asking for clarification
- Could you clarify that point?
- What exactly do you mean by…?
- Just to clarify, are you saying that…?
- Could you give us a little more detail?
Giving your opinion
- From my point of view,…
- As I see it,…
- I would suggest that…
- One option might be to…
Agreeing
- I completely agree.
- That makes sense.
- I think we’re on the same page.
- I’d agree with that.
Disagreeing politely
- I see your point, but…
- I’m not sure I completely agree.
- That’s one way of looking at it, but…
- Perhaps we should consider another option.
Moving the discussion forward
- Shall we move on to the next point?
- What are the next steps?
- Where do we go from here?
- Can we reach a decision on this today?
Ending a meeting
- Let me briefly summarise what we’ve agreed.
- So, the next step is to…
- I’ll follow up with an email this afternoon.
- Thank you everyone for your input.
Formal and Neutral Alternatives
Sometimes your choice of vocabulary depends on the situation.
| talk about | discuss / address |
| check | verify / confirm |
| suggest | propose |
| show | demonstrate / indicate |
| find out | determine / establish |
| fix a problem | resolve an issue |
| look at | review / examine |
| tell someone | inform someone |
| ask for | request |
| help | assist / support |
Formal vocabulary is useful, but don’t make every sentence unnecessarily formal. Natural business English usually combines straightforward language with a few well-chosen professional expressions.
Build Your Business Communication Vocabulary
You don’t need complicated language to sound professional. In fact, the best business communication is usually clear, concise and polite.
Instead of trying to memorise hundreds of isolated words, learn useful combinations such as:
address an issue · raise a concern · reach a consensus · provide feedback · meet a deadline · carry out research · follow up with a client
These are the expressions you are likely to hear and use again and again in emails, meetings, presentations and everyday workplace communication.
English at Work Complete Collection
Want to feel more confident using English at work? The English at Work Complete Collection includes four practical ebooks covering business idioms, phrasal verbs, collocations, workplace communication and real emails.
Perfect for intermediate and advanced learners who want to use more natural, professional English in real working situations.
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