The difference between “okay English” and “professional English” is often just phrasing. Here are twelve upgrades our Business English mentors teach in week one.
In meetings
Instead of “I don’t understand” → say “Could you walk me through that once more?”
Instead of “That’s wrong” → say “I see it a little differently — may I share my view?”
Instead of “Wait, I’m not done” → say “Just to finish my thought…”
In emails
Instead of “Reply fast” → say “I’d appreciate your response by Thursday.”
Instead of “I told you before” → say “As mentioned in my previous email…”
Instead of “Sorry for disturbing” → say “Thank you for your time.”
With clients
Instead of “No, we can’t do that” → say “What we can do is…”
Instead of “It’s not my fault” → say “Let me find out what happened and get back to you.”
Instead of “You didn’t explain properly” → say “I may have misunderstood — could we align on the requirements?”
When you need time
Instead of “I don’t know” → say “Let me confirm that and revert by end of day.”
Instead of “Maybe” → say “I’ll need to check before I commit.”
Instead of “I’m busy” → say “My schedule is full this week — how about Monday?”
Practise these with a mentor until they come out automatically. Book a free Business English trial session today.
