TOP 97 BUSINESS WORDS

YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT

Leonie Tillman

www.EnglishForBusiness.com.au
 TOP 97 BUSINESS WORDS

YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT

When language learners think “vocabulary”, they often think

“nouns” and I would argue that you are going to be a more
dynamic and effective communicator if you spend more time
on other words. That’s why I have left nouns off this list.

I have also left out technical vocabulary, not only because it is

very specific to your industry, but because you are probably
already using them in your working life.

Communication mastery is about finding your gaps and

working hard to make them an automation and easily
accessible in your daily life.

Leonie Tillman - www.EnglishForBusiness.com.au

 TOP 97 BUSINESS WORDS
YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT

WORDS TO AVOID!

Good vocabulary usage is also about avoiding words that

reduce your effectiveness in communication. Try avoiding
these words and phrases.

I think – get rid of it and get into the content of what you
want to say – it’s redundant because almost all of what
you say is what you think – it’s assumed.
I’m sorry – delete it and you’ll find you sound stronger. If
you need to apologies, that is, you feel you’ve wronged the
other person, put it at the end of your email.
just – simply delete this word and your writing will be
punchier and less apologetic
thing – find the name of the ‘thing’ and you will increase
your level of articulation profoundly
there is/are – find the real subject of the sentence and start
there, tip: it might be a pronoun of ‘you’, ‘I’, etc.
it is important to – again, find the real subject of the
sentence and start there because I would assume you are
writing the text because the information is important
otherwise you wouldn’t have bothered writing it in the first
place.

Leonie Tillman - www.EnglishForBusiness.com.au 1

 TOP 97 BUSINESS WORDS
YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT

TOP 97!

1. VERBS

To adjust
To assess
To authorise
To determine
To devise
To distribute
To eliminate
To implement
To monitor
To revise

2. VERBS FOR NUMBERS AND GRAPHS

To climb
To collapse
To crash
To jump
To plummet
To rise
To rocket
To slump
To soar
To take off

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 TOP 97 BUSINESS WORDS
YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT

TOP 97!

3. VERBS IN EXPRESSIONS

To be a blessing in disguise / to dodge a bullet

To beat around the bush
To call a spade a spade
To go through something with a fine toothcomb
To hear it on the grapevine
To let something get the better of you
To look on the bright side
To plant a seed in someone’s mind
To speak off the cuff
To wipe the slate clean

4. PHRASAL VERBS and ADJECTIVAL PHRASES

According to
In contrast to
In relation to
Something has come up
To deal with something
To fill in for somebody
To get back to somebody
To look forward to
To look into something
With reference to

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 TOP 97 BUSINESS WORDS
YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT

TOP 97!

5. ADJECTIVES

Adaptable
Balanced
Dramatic
Efficient
Excited
Productive
Strategic
Strong
Succinct
Unparalleled

6. ADVERBS

Admittedly
Consequently / As a consequence
Considerably
Especially
Essentially
Particularly
Predominantly
Significantly
Specifically
Undoubtedly

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 TOP 97 BUSINESS WORDS
YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT

TOP 97!

7. LINKING WORDS

Although
Despite
Even so
Even though (or even)
On the contrary
On the other hand
In comparison with
Nevertheless
Whereas
While

8. EXPRESSIONS WITH MAKE

Make an exception
Make an excuse
Make an offer
Make a mistake
Make a phone call
Make plans
Make a point
Make a profit
Make progress
Make a suggestion

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 TOP 97 BUSINESS WORDS
YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT

TOP 97!

9. THE CONJUNCTIONS – NEUMONIC =>FANBOYS

For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So

10. PHRASES

From a financial / technical / commercial /

administrative / ethical point of view,…
What I will do first is…
What companies really need is…
What we want from you is…
The thing that impressed me the most is…
Never before has…
Under no circumstances can we…
Only in some respects do I…
Only on rare occasions have we…
The one thing that worries me is…

Leonie Tillman - www.EnglishForBusiness.com.au 6