Read the first pages of Business Vocabulary in Real Life C1–C2

Before you start

Welcome

At this level, you rarely struggle to say something. You struggle to say it exactly. You know what you mean, but the word that comes out is a little too strong, a little too vague or a little too plain. Meanwhile, the people around you say “Can we pin that down?”, “Let’s take this offline” or “That’s a bit of a grey area”, and every phrase does precise, quiet work.

This book is about that precision. It gives you 240 words and phrases that senior professionals use in boardrooms, strategy sessions, negotiations, reports and difficult conversations. Some are formal, some are idiomatic, and all of them are in daily use. They are the words that make you sound not just fluent, but credible.

It’s written for learners at C1 and C2 level. Work through it in order, or go straight to the chapter you need before next week’s board meeting. Both work.

How each chapter works

Every chapter takes about an hour, and it always follows the same seven steps. After a chapter or two, you won’t need the instructions.

Step	What you do
1 · Word set	Meet the 10 new words and phrases. Each one has its level (C1 or C2), a precise meaning and an example from senior working life.
2 · Words that go together	See the partners each word prefers (pin down a date, gloss over a problem) and the other forms of some of the words (conflate → conflation).
3 · In real life	Read a realistic text that uses all 10 new items: an email, a team chat, a briefing note, a talk.
4 · Check the meaning	Three short exercises to make sure the meanings are clear, including the fine differences between near-synonyms.
5 · Use the right word	Four exercises to practise using the items in context.
6 · Say this, not that	Four mistakes that even very advanced speakers make with these items, and what to say instead.
7 · Your turn and quick check	Write a short text of your own, then see how many of the 10 items you remember.

Keeping score. The last exercise in each chapter is a quick check with ten sentences, one for each new item. Give yourself a point for each correct answer. Got 7 or less? Come back in a few days and try again. That second visit is when words really stay.

Answers. All the answers are in the key at the back of the book. When there’s more than one good answer, a slash (/) shows them all. For the writing task, the key gives a model answer and an Even better tip. The model is one good answer, not the only one.

Part reviews. After every six chapters there’s a short review that mixes words from the whole part. Each review has 41 points. Scored 30 or less? Look again at the chapters where you lost the most points.

Using this book with C1 and C2

This book works on its own. It also works very well next to Learn Real Business English C1, C2 or the C1–C2 Collection. Nineteen chapters cover the same topics as units of those books, and each chapter starts with a Goes with line, so you can see at a glance which unit it matches. The other five chapters cover topics that C1 and C2 don’t have: finance and investment, governance and compliance, change, innovation and technology, and ethics and sustainability.

Chapter	Goes with
1 · Precision and Clarity	C1 Unit 1 · C2 Unit 1
2 · Tone and Register	C2 Unit 2
3 · Hedging and Nuance	C2 Unit 3
4 · Executive Meetings	C1 Unit 2 · C2 Unit 4
5 · Strategic Discussions	C1 Unit 3
6 · Leadership	C1 Units 7 and 15 · C2 Unit 13
7 · Presenting Complex Ideas	C1 Unit 4 · C2 Unit 5
8 · Persuasion and Argument	C1 Unit 5 · C2 Unit 6
9 · Negotiation	C1 Unit 6 · C2 Unit 7
10 · Conflict and Difficult Conversations	C1 Unit 8 · C2 Unit 8
11 · Diplomacy and Stakeholders	C1 Unit 9 · C2 Unit 9
12 · Networking and Relationships	C1 Unit 12
13 · Executive Emails	C1 Unit 10 · C2 Unit 10
14 · Reports and Executive Summaries	C1 Unit 11 · C2 Unit 11
15 · Data and Evidence	C2 Unit 12
16 · Competition and Markets	C2 Unit 16
17 · Finance and Investment	new topic
18 · Governance, Law and Compliance	new topic
19 · Crisis and Reputation	C2 Unit 15
20 · Change and Transformation	new topic
21 · Innovation and Technology	new topic
22 · Cross-Cultural Communication	C1 Unit 14 · C2 Unit 14
23 · Careers and Executive Presence	C1 Unit 13 · C2 Unit 17
24 · Ethics and Sustainability	new topic

Words you already know. Under each word set, a You already know box lists words from C1 and C2 (and sometimes from earlier chapters of this book) that come back in the chapter. They aren’t taught again here. If one of them is new to you, look it up in the C1 or C2 book, or in a good dictionary.

A few things to know

Word types. n. = noun · n. pl. = plural noun · v. = verb · adj. = adjective · adv. = adverb · phr. v. = phrasal verb · abbr. = abbreviation · prep. = preposition · phrase = a group of words · idiom = a phrase whose meaning isn’t clear from its words

C1 or C2? Every new item has a small level tag. C1 items are the ones you’ll use most, in meetings, emails and reports. C2 items are sharper, rarer or more idiomatic: the ones that make a listener think this person really knows the language. Learn the C1 items first, and add the C2 items as you meet them.

British or American? This book uses British spelling and vocabulary: organise, prioritise, galvanise, grey area. When American English uses a different word or spelling, the word list at the back shows it (grey area = US gray area). Both are fine at work. Just choose one and stay with it.

Register matters. At this level, choosing the right word is often about choosing the right register. Where an item is informal, formal or a little risky, the meaning column says so. Treat those notes as seriously as the meanings.

The people in this book. You’ll meet directors, analysts and founders from Oslo to Singapore. They’re all fictional, and so are their companies and email addresses (they all end in example.com).

Want to go further? Some chapters end with a Read next note. It points you to a book in our Learn Real English: Professional Communication series that teaches the whole skill, such as leading a negotiation or handling a difficult conversation. This book gives you the words. Those books show you how to use them from start to finish.

Ready? Let’s start with the most important skill of all: saying exactly what you mean.

Part 1 · Precision, Tone and Meetings

Chapter 1 · Precision and Clarity

Goes with C1 Unit 1 · C2 Unit 1 · Your goal: You can make a message more exact, fix a vague one, and say clearly how certain or detailed you are being.

At senior level, vague language is expensive. A small delay becomes a missed launch. Roughly on budget becomes a board-level surprise. The words in this chapter help you move between the big picture and the fine detail, and show your reader exactly which one you’re giving them.

1.1 Word set

Word or phrase	Type	Level	Meaning	Example
ballpark figure	n.	C1	a rough number, useful for planning but not exact (informal)	Can you give me a ballpark figure for the rollout cost?
pin down	phr. v.	C1	to find out or fix something exactly (a date, a cause, a person’s position)	We still need to pin down the launch date.
in a nutshell	phrase	C1	in very few words; as a short summary	In a nutshell, the pilot worked, but it cost too much.
clear-cut	adj.	C1	simple and certain, with no room for doubt	The legal position is not as clear-cut as we hoped.
to be precise	phrase	C1	used to give the exact detail after a less exact one	Sales fell last quarter: by 6.2%, to be precise.
unequivocal	adj.	C2	totally clear, with no possible doubt about the meaning (formal)	The board’s answer was an unequivocal no.
conflate	v.	C2	to treat two different things as if they were the same	Don’t conflate revenue with profit: they tell different stories.
gloss over	phr. v.	C2	to mention a problem only briefly, so it seems smaller than it is	The report glosses over the delays in Asia.
verbatim	adj. / adv.	C2	using exactly the same words	I’m quoting the client verbatim here.
granular	adj.	C2	very detailed; broken into small parts	We need a more granular view of costs by region.

You already know: ambiguity, substantiate, quantify, discrepancy, underlying, implication, shortfall, anomaly, flag, at this stage

1.2 Words that go together

Item	Words that go with it
ballpark figure	give / get / need a ballpark figure · just a ballpark figure · in the right ballpark (= roughly correct)
pin down	pin down a date / the cause / the details · pin someone down (on something) · hard to pin down
in a nutshell	So, in a nutshell, … · put it in a nutshell
clear-cut	a clear-cut case / decision / answer · not entirely clear-cut · far from clear-cut
to be precise	…, to be precise. · More precisely, …
unequivocal	an unequivocal answer / commitment / statement · unequivocal support for
conflate	conflate X with Y · conflate two issues
gloss over	gloss over a problem / the risks / the details
verbatim	quote someone verbatim · a verbatim record / transcript · repeat something verbatim
granular	a granular view / breakdown / level · at a granular level · more granular

Word forms: precise (adj.) → precisely (adv.) → precision (n.) · conflate (v.) → conflation (n.) · equivocal (adj., = unclear, often on purpose) → unequivocal → unequivocally (adv.) · granular → granularity (n.)

1.3 In real life

Ingeborg Sæther is Chief Operating Officer of Skarvik Systems, a software company in Oslo. After a confusing project update, she writes to her leadership team.

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Status updates · what I need from now on

Dear all,

Last week’s update on the Atlas migration said the project was “slightly behind, nothing serious”. That was not true, although nobody meant it to mislead. We were three weeks behind, to be precise, and the board heard about it from the client first.

I don’t think anyone tried to gloss over the problem. I think we conflated two things: a short delay in testing, which really was minor, and a staffing gap at this stage of the project, which wasn’t. So I’d like to agree three simple rules.

First, if you don’t know an exact number yet, give a ballpark figure and say so. “Around €200k, to be confirmed by Friday” is far more useful than “a bit over budget”.

Second, when a decision is not clear-cut, say that too, and flag what we would need to pin down to make it clear.

Third, when you report what a client said, quote them verbatim. Their words matter more than our interpretation of them.

For the board pack, I’d also like a more granular breakdown of the delay: which workstream, how many days, and the underlying cause.

In a nutshell, my message to the board will be unequivocal: we know where we are, and here is our plan.

Thanks, all.
Ingeborg

Tip · “Ballpark” is honest, not lazy. At senior level, nobody expects you to know every number. They do expect you to say how exact your number is. A ballpark figure signals “rough, but useful”. Add when you’ll have the exact number, and you sound both honest and in control.

1.4 Check the meaning

Exercise 1 · Match. Match each item (1–5) with its meaning (a–e).

1. gloss over
2. conflate
3. pin down
4. verbatim
5. granular

1. find out or fix something exactly
2. in exactly the same words
3. very detailed, broken into small parts
4. treat two different things as one
5. make a problem seem smaller by mentioning it only briefly

Exercise 2 · True or false? Read Ingeborg’s email again. Is each sentence true or false?

1. Ingeborg thinks someone deliberately hid the delay.
2. The project was three weeks behind.
3. Ingeborg prefers no number at all to a rough number.
4. She wants client comments reported in the client’s own words.

Exercise 3 · Choose the right word. Pick the item that fits best.

1. I don’t need the exact cost yet. A ballpark figure / verbatim figure is fine.
2. It isn’t a clear-cut / granular decision. There are good arguments on both sides.
3. The CEO’s support was unequivocal / equivocal: she said yes without any conditions.
4. The project was late: 17 days late, in a nutshell / to be precise.