Greeting - Basic

here are many ways to greet someone.  We'll learn about the most common way to greet someone in this lesson.  I'll give a variety of example sentences.

Greeting someone you never met:

"Hi, my name is Steve.  It's nice to meet you."

You can respond to this by saying,

"It's a pleasure to meet you.  I'm Jack."

Another common question to ask is

"What do you do for a living?"

You can respond to this by saying, 

"I work at a restaurant."

"I work at a bank."

"I work in a software company."

"I'm a dentist."

Usually, you will not need to ask for a name.  It is implied that each person should say their name.  But in case they don't, you can ask, 

"What is your name?"

Many times, I don't hear the name.  If you would like for them to repeat their name, you can say,

"What was that again?"

"Excuse me?"

"Pardon me?"

Presentations

Preparation is essential for an effective presentation.

When giving a presentation, certain keywords are used to signpost the different stages.

It's a good idea to memorise them and practise using them, 

so that they come to mind easily during a presentation.

Starting the presentation	Good morning/Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen • The topic of my presentation today is ... • What I'm going to talk about today is ...
Why you are giving this presentation	• The purpose of this presentation is ... • This is important because ... • My objective is to ...
Stating the main points	• The main points I will be talking about are : ◊ Firstly, ◊ Secondly,  ◊ Next, ◊ Finally ... we're going to look at ...
Introducing the first point	• Let's start / begin with ...
Showing graphics, transparencies, slides, etc.	•  I'd like to illustrate this by showing you ...
Moving to the next point	• Now let's move on to ...
Giving more details	• I'd like to expand on this aspect/problem/point ... • Let me elaborate on that. • Would you like me to expand on/elaborate on that?
Changing to a different topic	• I'd like to turn to something completely different ...
Referring to something which is off the topic	• I'd like to digress here for a moment and just mention ...
Referring back to an earlier point	• Let me go back to what I said earlier about ...
Summing up or repeating the main points	• I'd like to recap the main points of my presentation: ◊ First I covered ...  ◊ Then we talked about ... ◊ Finally we looked at ...  • I'd now like to sum up the main points which were : ◊ First ...  ◊ Second,  ◊ Third,
Conclusion	• I'm going to conclude by ... ◊ First ...  ◊ Second,  ◊ Third,  • In conclusion, let me ... ◊ First ...  ◊ Second,  ◊ Third,
Questions	• Now I'd like to invite any questions you may have. • Do you have any questions?

Negotiations

Word	Meaning
agent	Person or company that acts for another and provides a specified service.
agreement	Arrangement between two or more people or companies.
bargain price	Reduced price
bedrock price	Lowest possible price.
commitment	Engagement or undertaking;  to commit oneself.
compromise	Each party gives up certain demands in order to reach an agreement.
condition	A stipulation or requirement which must be fulfilled.
contract	Written agreement between two or more parties.
counter-offer	Offer made in response to an offer by the other party.
counter-productive	Having the opposite effect to that intended.
deal	A business transaction.
discount	Reduction in price.
estimate	Approximate calculation of the cost.
facilities	Equipment (e.g. parking facilities).
feasible	Possible, something that can be done.
figure out	Find a solution;  estimate the cost.
know-how	Practical knowledge or skill.
joint venture	A way of entering a foreign market by joining with a foreign company to manufacture or market a product or service.
negotiate	Discuss a business deal  in order to reach an agreement.
point out	Draw attention to something (e.g. the advantages of your proposal).
proposal	Course of action, or plan, put forward for consideration; to make a proposal.
quote	Give an estimated price (a quotation).
range	A selection of products sold by a company.
rebate	Reduction or discount.
supply	Provide customers with goods or services.
supplier	Person or company that supplies goods or services.
tender	A written offer to execute work or supply goods at a fixed price
turnkey	Equipment ready for use or operation (e.g. a plant or factory).
underestimate	Make too low an estimate of something (cost, danger, difficulty).
work out	Calculate (e.g. price of something); find a solution.

Meetings

Word	Meaning
A.G.M.	Annual General Meeting
absentee	Person not at the meeting, not present.
agenda	Written list of points to be discussed at a meeting.
alternative	Choice of two or more possibilities.
attendee	Participant or person attending a meeting.
ballot	System of secret voting; voters place their ballot-papers in a ballot-box;
casting vote	Deciding vote, usually by the Chairman, when votes are in equal number.
chairman / chairperson	The person who conducts the meeting.
clarify	Make something clearer by giving more information.
conference	Formal meeting for discussion or exchange of views.
conference call	Telephone call between three or more people in different places.
consensus	General agreement.
deadline	Future date at which something must be done.
decision	Reach a conclusion or resolution concerning future action.
i-conference	A meeting or discussion between two or more people via the internet.
interrupt	Stop a person who is speaking in order to say or do something.
item	A separate point for discussion on an agenda.
main point	What is most essential.
minutes	A written summary of the proceedings at a meeting.
objective	What is aimed at, what one wants to achieve or obtain.
point out	Draw attention to something e.g. point out an increase in demand.
proposal	A course of action put forward for consideration; to make a proposal.
proxy vote	A vote cast by one person for another.
recommend	Advise a course of action;  make a recommendation.
show of hands	Raised hands to express agreement or disagreement in a vote.
summary	A brief statement of the main points.
task	A piece of work to be done;  to assign a task to someone.
unanimous	In complete agreement.
video conference	Conference linking people in different locations by satellite, TV, etc.
vote	Express one's agreement or disagreement;  to cast a vote.

Marketing - Sales

Word	Meaning
after sales service	Service that continues after the sale of a product (maintenance, etc.)
agent	Person or company that acts for another and provides a specified service.
B2B e-commerce	Business to business e-commerce : use of commercial networks, online product catalogues and other online resources to obtain better prices and reach new customers.
B2C e-commerce	Business to consumer e-commerce : online sale of goods and services directly to consumers.
benchmarking	Comparing one's products to those of  competitors in order to improve quality and performance.
buyer	1) Any person who makes a purchase. 2) A person employed to choose and buy stock for a company.
cash refund offer	Offer to pay back part of the purchase price of a product to customers who send a "proof of purchase" to the manufacturer.
chain store	Two or more shops or outlets that have the same owner and sell similar lines of merchandise.
client	A person who buys services or advice from a lawyer, an accountant or other professional.
close	Finalize a sale or deal.
convenience store	Small shop located near a residential area that opens long hours, seven days a week.
coupon	Certificate that gives customers a saving when they purchase a specific product.
deal	A business transaction.
department store	A large shop or store that carries a wide variety of product lines.
direct investment	Entering a foreign market by setting up assembly or manufacturing facilities in that country.
discount	A reduction in price.
e-commerce	Buying and selling by electronic means, primarily on the internet.
e-marketing	Promotion of products and services over the internet.
extranet	Network that connects a company with its suppliers and distributors
follow-up	Maintain contact after the sale to ensure customer satisfaction.
franchise	Association between a manufacturer or wholesaler (franchiser) and an independent business person (franchisee) who buys the right to own and operate a unit in the franchise system.
guarantee	A promise that product will be repaired or replaced if faulty.
intranet	A network that connects people to each other within a company.
joint venture	A way of entering a foreign market by joining with a foreign company to manufacture or market a product or service.
market leader	The company with the largest market share in an industry.
mark up	Percentage of the price added to the cost to reach a selling price.
opinion leader	Person with a reference, who, because of competence, knowledge, or other characteristics, exerts influence on others.
packaging	Designing and producing the container or wrapper for a product.
product line	A group of products that are closely related.
prospect	A potential customer.
representative	A person who represents and sells for a company.
retail	To sell in small quantities, as in a shop, directly to customers.
shopping centre	Group of shops developed and managed as a unit.
telephone marketing	Using the telephone to sell directly to customers.
trade fair	An exhibition at which companies in a specific industry can show or demonstrate their products.
viral marketing	The internet version of word-of-mouth marketing - email messages that customers pass on to friends.
wholesale	To sell goods and services to those buying for resale (e.g. a shop) or for business use.

Investments - Stock Market

Bid	The price a buyer is willing to offer for shares in a company.
Blue Chip Stocks	Stocks of leading companies with a reputation for stable growth and earnings.
Bond	Certificate issued by companies and governments to their lenders.
Capital	Money and other property of companies used in transacting the business.
Capital stock	All shares representing ownership of a company.
Commodities	Products such as agricultural products and natural resources (wood, oil and metals) that are traded on a separate, authorized commodities exchange.
Dividend	A portion of a  company's earnings which is paid to the shareholders/stockholders on a quarterly or annual basis.
Equity	The value of stocks and shares;  the net value of mortgaged property.
Equities	Stocks and shares which represent a portion of the capital of a company.
Futures	Contracts to buy or sell securities at a future date.
Insider	All those who have access to inside information concerning the company.
Insider dealing / trading	Buying or selling with the help of information known only to those connected with the business.
IPO	Initial Public Offering - selling part of a company on the stock market.
Issue	Put into circulation a number of a company's shares for sale.
Liabilities	The debts and obligations of a company or an individual.
Mortgage	Agreement by which a bank or building society lends money for the purchase of property, such as a  house or apartment.  The property is the security for the loan.
Mutual fund	Savings fund that uses cash from a pool of savers to buy securities such as stock, bonds or real estate.
Option	The right to buy and sell certain securities at a specified price and period of time.
Par value	Nominal face value.
Penny stock	Shares selling at less than $1 a share.
Portfolio	Various types of securities held by an individual or institution.
Securities	Transferable certificates showing ownership of stocks, bonds, shares, options, etc.
Share	The capital of a company is divided into shares which entitle the owner, or shareholder, to a proportion of the profits.
Share certificate	Certificate representing the number of shares owned by an investor.
Shareholder	Owner of shares.
Speculator	Someone who buys and sells stocks and shares in the hope of making a profit through changes in their value.
Stock	Shares (portion of the capital of a business company) held by an investor.
Stockbroker	A licensed professional who buys and sells stocks and shares for clients in exchange for a fee called a 'commission'.
Stockholder	Person who owns stocks and shares.
Trader	Investor who holds stocks and securities for a short time (minutes, hours or days) with the objective of making profit from short-term gains in the market.  Investment is generally based on stock price rather than on an evaluation of the company.
Trading session	Period during which the Stock Exchange is open for trading.
Venture capital	Money raised by companies to finance new ventures in exchange for percentage ownership.
Yield	Return on investment shown as a percentage.

words and expressions

Word	Meaning
Cage sandals	A type of sandal with a lot of thin straps.
Captcha	Completely Automated Public Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart. A distorted image of letters and numbers used to ensure that a response is not generated by a computer, in order to prevent spamming.
Carjacking	Blend of 'car' and 'hijacking'. When a car driver is forced to give up his vehicle or drive to a destination designated by the attacker.
Carnapper	A person who steals a car.
Catfish	A person who sets up a false profile on a social networking site in order to deceive others or for fraudulent purposes.
Charticle	Blend of ‘chart’ and ‘article’. A news article that is composed primarily of a chart, image or graphics with just a brief text for additional information.
Chatroom	Areas on the internet where people can communicate by exchanging typed messages
Chick lit	Books, usually featuring female characters, written by women on contemporary themes and issues that appeal more to women than to men.
Chillaxing	Blend of 'chilling' and relaxing'. Taking a break from stressful activities to rest or relax.
Citizen journalism	News collected and reported by ordinary people, especially through the use of blog software.
Click and collect	A shopping facility which enables customers to order and pay for goods online, then collect them from a local branch of the store.
Click bait	Put something on a website that will encourage visitors to click on a link.
Clickjack Clickjacking	Tricking Internet users into clicking on hidden links.
Cloud computing	A computing service which enables access to a shared pool of resources (servers, data storage, applications, etc.) over the Internet. Users can access and use tools or applications through a web browser without having to install them on their computers.
Coatigan	Blend of 'coat' and 'cardigan'. A long cardigan or knitted jacket which from a distance looks more like a coat. Designed as transitional wear for autumn weather before a heavier coat is necessary.
Content farm	A website that publishes large amounts of low-quality content, or content copied from elsewhere, in order to attract visitors and improve its search-engine rankings.

British English spelling

Word	Meaning
Baggravation	Blend of the words 'bag' and 'aggravation'. A feeling of annoyance and frustration at the airport when your baggage has not arrived but the other passengers' bags have.
Bashtag	A bashtag is a hashtag (#) that is used to make critical or abusive comments on social networking services such as Twitter.
Binge drinking	Drinking excessive amounts of alcohol in a short space of time, or drinking to get drunk.
Binge thinking	Thinking excessively about a problem in a short period of time.
Binge-watch	Watch multiple episodes of a TV programme in rapid succession.
Bitcoin	Digital currency which allows payments to be sent from one party to another without going through a financial institution.
Black Swan	An extremely rare and unexpected event of large magnitude and consequence.
Bloatware/fatware	Pre-installed software that occupies a lot of space, leaving little memory for storing personal data.
Blook	A blend of 'book' and 'blog' :  a book written by a blogger.
Bookaholic	A compulsive book buyer or a prolific reader.
Brain waste	The problem of skilled immigrants who are forced to accept positions far below their educational level in their new country is known as "brain waste".
Breadcrumbing	A navigation technique which helps users by displaying a list of links to the pages they have visited when exploring a website, for example:  home >>vocabulary>>transport.
Brexit	Blend of 'Britain' and 'exit'. The departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union.
Brick	1) An early model of a mobile phone with limited functionality. 2) A smartphone or other electronic device that is broken or has  ceased to function.
Brinner	Blend of 'breakfast' and 'dinner'. A meal served in the evening consisting of food usually eaten at  breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausages, pancakes, etc.).
Bromance	Blend of 'brother' and 'romance'. A close non-sexual relationship between two men.
Bureaucratese	A derogatory term for language used in businesses and bureaucracies which contains long sentences and complex words that are obscure or difficult to understand.
Burkini or Burquini	Blend of 'burqa' and 'bikini' A swimsuit worn by Muslim women which covers the whole body i.e. the arms to the wrist, the legs to the ankle, with a hood to cover the hair and neck.
Buzz	Excited interest or attention surrounding, for example, a new invention, a recent event or something that has become fashionable.
Buzzkill	Something or someone spoiling an event that people are enjoying.
Buzzword	A new word or expression that is commonly used in specialized work environments or age-groups, and has become fashionable. Terms used in advertising can often convert into buzzwords and become widely used
Buzzworthy	Describes what is likely to arouse the interest and attention of the public.
Cage sandals	A type of sandal with a lot of thin straps.
Captcha	Completely Automated Public Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart. A distorted image of letters and numbers used to ensure that a response is not generated by a computer, in order  to prevent spamming.
Carjacking	Blend of 'car' and 'hijacking'.  When a car driver is forced to give up his vehicle or drive to a destination designated by the attacker.
Carnapper	A person who steals a car.
Catfish	A person who sets up a false profile on a social networking site  in order to deceive others or for fraudulent purposes.
Charticle	Blend of ‘chart’ and ‘article’. A news article that is composed primarily of a chart, image or graphics with just a brief text for additional information.
Chatroom	Areas on the internet where people can communicate by exchanging typed messages
Chick lit	Books, usually featuring female characters, written by women on contemporary themes and issues that appeal more to women than to men.
Chillaxing	Blend of 'chilling' and relaxing'.  Taking a break from stressful activities to rest or relax.
Citizen journalism	News collected and reported by ordinary people, especially through the use of blog software.
Click and collect	A shopping facility which enables customers to order and pay for goods online, then collect them from a local branch of the store.
Click bait	Put something on a website that will encourage visitors to click on a link.
Clickjack Clickjacking	Tricking Internet users into clicking on hidden links.
Cloud computing	A computing service which enables access to a shared pool of resources (servers, data storage, applications, etc.) over the Internet. Users can access and use tools or applications through  a web browser without having to install them on their computers.
Coatigan	Blend of 'coat' and 'cardigan'. A long cardigan or knitted jacket which from a distance looks more like a coat. Designed as transitional wear for autumn weather before a heavier coat is necessary.
Content farm	A website that publishes large amounts of low-quality content, or content copied from elsewhere, in order to attract visitors and improve its search-engine rankings.