Business Communication Archives

From “double-click” to “RTO,” here’s 20 terms to make you fluent in business jargon. (Credit: Courtesy of Pexels) It’s a new year. And while many Americans are still working remotely, an increasing number of companies are telling their employees to come back in-person full time in 2025. So perhaps it’s a good time for a refresher course on office slang and corporate vernacular. Just as Gen Z and Gen Alpha have their slang, so too does the corporate office. Whether you’re chit chatting about work load in the breakroom, or gossiping about difficult clients at happy hour drinks, here’s 20 terms you should know. 1. Circle Back Definition: To discuss at a later date. Typically because there isn’t an answer presently available. In a sentence: Let’s circle back about new marketing strategies after the holidays. 2. Double-Click Definition: To examine something more closely, like double-clicking on a computer folder to see the contents. In a sentence: Let’s double-click on the points she made about acceleration yesterday during the presentation. 3. Quiet Quitting Definition: Limiting effort at work, especially when you’ve had it. In a sentence: He is totally quiet quitting – he’s always zoning out on Zoom calls, I swear I saw him watching Seinfeld reruns yesterday at his desk, and he hasn’t responded to a single Slack in weeks. 4. Bandwidth Definition: The amount of mental space someone has to take on a task. In a sentence: Do you have the bandwidth to take on processing these reports right now? Or are you totally swamped? 5. Low-Hanging Fruit Definition: Tasks that are easy to complete and knock off your to-do list. Or easy solutions to bigger problems. In a sentence: Switching to generic coffee pods in the breakroom was low-hanging fruit for company-wide budget cuts. 6. Deep dive Definition: Looking into a topic or project in great detail, getting into the weeds of research. In a sentence: We’re going to need the interns to do a deep dive on what exactly is going on over at Bluesky. 7. Lots of moving parts Definition: If a situation has a lot of moving parts, that means it has a lot of variables or components that could change. In a sentence: Launching five new products in one month is going to involve a lot of moving parts. 8. Out of pocket Definition: When someone is unavailable to take calls or respond to emails for a specific period of time. In a sentence: I’ll be out of pocket this morning while I run to CityMD to get this never-ending cough checked out. 9. Core values Definition: An organization’s stated beliefs, ideals or practices that guide how they function and practice business. In a sentence: Our CEO feels strongly that all new hires should align with the firm’s core values. 10. Feedforward Definition: Feedback is apparently dated, now it’s all about feedforward. In a sentence: Stacy gave the interns some valuable feedforward advice on their 2025 TikTok strategy. 11. Move the needle Definition: Making noticeable progress and change. In a sentence: Our team has decided to focus on campaigns that are going to move the needle in terms of gaining more followers, not just views. 12. Touch base Definition: Making contact or checking in. In a sentence: She said she would touch base and Slack the general channel once she arrived at the conference. 13. Deliverable Definition: A good or service that results from the completion of a project. In a sentence: Our team submitted all deliverables to the client last week, and then promptly logged off and went for happy hour drinks. 14. WFH (Work From Home) Definition: Self-explanatory. To do your job from home.In a sentence: She said she likes to come into the office on the days when everyone else is working from home because she gets more work done – but I think she’s just trying to avoid going out to lunch with Garry. 15. RTO (Return to Office) Definition: The post-pandemic return to the office.In a sentence: The company RTO policy says two days a week – but if you want to impress the boss it’s a good idea to be in office at least three to four. 16. Ecosystem Definition: The overall environment of the workplace. In a sentence: Their office ecosystem is totally toxic after all the layoffs. 17. Take this offline Definition: To redirect a conversation to a more appropriate time or place. In a sentence: Let’s take this conversation about the weird IG reels Jack keeps posting offline. 18. Pandemic Pivot Definition: To change direction when the current strategy is not working. In a sentence: HQ decided to pivot the social media strategy when videos weren’t receiving enough likes. 19. On one's plate Definition: Nothing to do with lunch. A task on someone’s to do list. In a sentence: She’s got a lot on her plate right now, so she probably won’t circle back with you until next week. 20. New Normal Definition: The state of the world since the Covid-19 pandemic. In a sentence: The whole team used to have lunch together on Fridays, but the reality of the new normal means we usually just see each other on Teams.

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