Vocabulary

To be open to an idea: To be willing to try or consider something. “He is open to

the idea of trying something different.”

To be a stumbling block to sth.: To be an obstacle to sth. “Delivery time was a

stumbling block to agreement.”

To have/to be a great fit (with sth. or s/o): To have/be a good match with sth.

or s/o. “I think our two companies are a really good fit with each other.”

Overall strategy: The larger plan; the general approach. “Our overall strategy is

to get customer’s to buy more products.”

Consolidation: Merging of smaller units to form a larger entity. “The trend in

many markets is consolidation of smaller companies into larger corporations.”

To be a question of survival: To be a critical issue; to be a question of life or

death. “At this point, how we react to this crisis is a question of survival.”

Big players: Companies, people, etc. that play a large role in a situation. “Their

company is a big player in the global steel market.”

To drive at sth.: To imply sth. “I’m not exactly sure what you are driving at.”

Just for argument’s sake: Used to put something up for consideration without

necessarily meaning it completely seriously; this is often a non-threatening way

of making a comment or a statement. “Just for argument’s sake, what would you

do if I quit my job?”

To flip sth. around: To reverse the contents of sth.; to look at sth. from a

different point of view. “Let’s just flip this around for a second.”

To be something like: To be approximately. “He owes me something like

$10,000."

To be on to sth.: To be close to finding a solution or to reaching a goal. “I like

this new approach – I think we really may be on to something here.”

To do footwork (for sth.): To do the hard, detailed work of preparation for

something. “Before you propose a business plan to an investor, you need to do

all the footwork first.”

To be convinced of the value of sth.: To be persuaded by the worth of sth. “He is

totally convinced of the value of our proposal.”

To run sth. by s/o: To mention sth. to s/o for their review or reaction. “Can you

run my idea by your boss – I’d be very curious to hear what he thinks about it.”

To come up with a different angle on sth.: To look at sth. from a different point

of view. “I don’t really see any way forward, so I think it’s important we start

coming up with a different angle on this.”

To see/put things in a new/different light.: To look at something from a different

point of view. “Why don’t we try to put things in a different light.”

To beat around the bush: To avoid talking about the main issue. “Please stop

beating around the bush. What are you driving at?”

Upshot: The main details or main point. “What was the upshot of the

discussion.”

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business englishpod

Dialog

On the telephone…

Maxine: Hello, Maxine speaking.

Peter: Hi Maxine, it’s Peter.

Maxine: Peter – How are you doing?

Peter: Fine, thanks. Look, I’ve been thinking about our companies, and if you’re

still open to the ideaI was wondering if we could get together to talk briefly

about some other possibilities.

Maxine:Uh… sure. How about next Wednesday?

Peter:That’d be fine. What time would be convenient for you?