another phrase for business plan

What Is Another Way to Say “Business Plan”?

March 12, 2024

Linda Brown

Looking for synonyms for business plan ? We’ve got you covered!

Here’s a list of other ways to say business plan .

• Business strategy
• Business model
• Strategic plan
• Market strategy
• Business blueprint
• Operational plan
• Business proposal
• Corporate plan
• Growth plan
• Business roadmap
• Financial plan
• Investment strategy
• Marketing plan
• Expansion plan
• Revenue model
• Business scheme
• Company strategy
• Business outline
• Business framework
• Strategic business plan

Want to learn how to say business plan professionally? Keep reading for examples and use cases.

1. Business Strategy

Used to describe the overarching approach a business will take to achieve its goals. Example: “Our business strategy focuses on digital transformation to enhance customer experiences.”

2. Business Model

Refers to the plan for the successful operation of a business, identifying revenue sources, customer base, products, and details of financing. Example: “The start-up’s business model is based on a subscription service that provides exclusive access to premium content.”

3. Strategic Plan

A document that outlines how a company will achieve its objectives, typically over a three- to five-year period. Example: “The board reviewed the strategic plan to ensure alignment with the company’s long-term vision.”

4. Market Strategy

Focuses specifically on the actions a business will take to attract customers and maintain a competitive advantage in the market. Example: “Our market strategy includes a mix of online advertising and community engagement to build brand awareness.”

5. Business Blueprint

A detailed plan outlining the company’s structure, products, marketing strategy, and more, acting as a roadmap for business operations. Example: “The entrepreneur drafted a business blueprint to secure funding from investors.”

6. Operational Plan

Details the day-to-day operations required to run a company, including production, inventory, and staffing requirements. Example: “The operational plan was updated to improve efficiency in the manufacturing process.”

7. Business Proposal

A document designed to persuade an organization or individual to buy a product or service or to make a partnership or investment. Example: “The business proposal was submitted to the city council to outline the benefits of the new public transportation initiative.”

8. Corporate Plan

A comprehensive document that outlines an organization’s objectives and the strategies it will use to achieve them, usually in a corporate context. Example: “The annual corporate plan lays out the company’s priorities for increasing market share and enhancing shareholder value.”

9. Growth Plan

A strategy for how a business will scale its operations and increase its size and customer base. Example: “The growth plan includes entering two new international markets within the next year.”

10. Business Roadmap

A visual representation of the strategic direction and key objectives of a company over time. Example: “The business roadmap presented to the team highlighted milestones for product development and market expansion.”

11. Financial Plan

Outlines the business’s financial goals and how it plans to achieve them, including projections for income, expenses, and funding. Example: “The financial plan projects a 20% increase in revenue over the next fiscal year through diversification of our service offerings.”

12. Investment Strategy

A plan for how a business will allocate its resources to achieve financial growth and sustainability. Example: “Our investment strategy includes a mix of short-term stocks and long-term bonds to finance future expansion.”

13. Marketing Plan

Details a business’s strategy for promoting its products or services to reach its target market. Example: “The marketing plan focuses on digital channels to engage with our younger demographic more effectively.”

14. Expansion Plan

Outlines how a business intends to grow, including entering new markets, increasing product lines, or acquiring other businesses. Example: “The expansion plan details the steps for opening additional retail locations in three new states.”

15. Revenue Model

Describes how a business generates income, including the specifics of pricing, sales, and marketing strategies. Example: “Our revenue model relies on a combination of direct sales and membership fees to ensure steady cash flow.”

16. Business Scheme

A structured plan of business objectives and the means to achieve them, often used in contexts where the plan involves complex or innovative ideas. Example: “The business scheme was developed to revolutionize the way we approach renewable energy solutions.”

17. Company Strategy

The overall plan for a company that includes goals, principles, and tactics for achieving growth and success. Example: “The company strategy was revised to focus more on sustainability and eco-friendly practices.”

18. Business Outline

A brief overview of the business’s objectives, strategies, and operations. Example: “The business outline was used in the pitch to potential investors to summarize the company’s direction and goals.”

19. Business Framework

A structure that provides an organized way to think about how a business operates and achieves its objectives. Example: “We’re implementing a new business framework to improve cross-departmental collaboration and efficiency.”

20. Strategic Business Plan

A detailed document that integrates strategic planning with business planning, focusing on achieving long-term objectives. Example: “The strategic business plan was developed to guide the company through its next phase of growth, emphasizing innovation and global expansion.”

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What Is a Business Plan?

Understanding business plans, how to write a business plan, common elements of a business plan, how often should a business plan be updated, the bottom line, business plan: what it is, what's included, and how to write one.

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master's in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

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A business plan is a document that details a company's goals and how it intends to achieve them. Business plans can be of benefit to both startups and well-established companies. For startups, a business plan can be essential for winning over potential lenders and investors. Established businesses can find one useful for staying on track and not losing sight of their goals. This article explains what an effective business plan needs to include and how to write one.

Key Takeaways

• A business plan is a document describing a company's business activities and how it plans to achieve its goals.
• Startup companies use business plans to get off the ground and attract outside investors.
• For established companies, a business plan can help keep the executive team focused on and working toward the company's short- and long-term objectives.
• There is no single format that a business plan must follow, but there are certain key elements that most companies will want to include.

Investopedia / Ryan Oakley

Any new business should have a business plan in place prior to beginning operations. In fact, banks and venture capital firms often want to see a business plan before they'll consider making a loan or providing capital to new businesses.

Even if a business isn't looking to raise additional money, a business plan can help it focus on its goals. A 2017 Harvard Business Review article reported that, "Entrepreneurs who write formal plans are 16% more likely to achieve viability than the otherwise identical nonplanning entrepreneurs."

Ideally, a business plan should be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect any goals that have been achieved or that may have changed. An established business that has decided to move in a new direction might create an entirely new business plan for itself.

There are numerous benefits to creating (and sticking to) a well-conceived business plan. These include being able to think through ideas before investing too much money in them and highlighting any potential obstacles to success. A company might also share its business plan with trusted outsiders to get their objective feedback. In addition, a business plan can help keep a company's executive team on the same page about strategic action items and priorities.

Business plans, even among competitors in the same industry, are rarely identical. However, they often have some of the same basic elements, as we describe below.

While it's a good idea to provide as much detail as necessary, it's also important that a business plan be concise enough to hold a reader's attention to the end.

While there are any number of templates that you can use to write a business plan, it's best to try to avoid producing a generic-looking one. Let your plan reflect the unique personality of your business.

Many business plans use some combination of the sections below, with varying levels of detail, depending on the company.

The length of a business plan can vary greatly from business to business. Regardless, it's best to fit the basic information into a 15- to 25-page document. Other crucial elements that take up a lot of space—such as applications for patents—can be referenced in the main document and attached as appendices.

These are some of the most common elements in many business plans:

• Executive summary: This section introduces the company and includes its mission statement along with relevant information about the company's leadership, employees, operations, and locations.
• Products and services: Here, the company should describe the products and services it offers or plans to introduce. That might include details on pricing, product lifespan, and unique benefits to the consumer. Other factors that could go into this section include production and manufacturing processes, any relevant patents the company may have, as well as proprietary technology . Information about research and development (R&D) can also be included here.
• Market analysis: A company needs to have a good handle on the current state of its industry and the existing competition. This section should explain where the company fits in, what types of customers it plans to target, and how easy or difficult it may be to take market share from incumbents.
• Marketing strategy: This section can describe how the company plans to attract and keep customers, including any anticipated advertising and marketing campaigns. It should also describe the distribution channel or channels it will use to get its products or services to consumers.
• Financial plans and projections: Established businesses can include financial statements, balance sheets, and other relevant financial information. New businesses can provide financial targets and estimates for the first few years. Your plan might also include any funding requests you're making.

The best business plans aren't generic ones created from easily accessed templates. A company should aim to entice readers with a plan that demonstrates its uniqueness and potential for success.

2 Types of Business Plans

Business plans can take many forms, but they are sometimes divided into two basic categories: traditional and lean startup. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) , the traditional business plan is the more common of the two.

• Traditional business plans : These plans tend to be much longer than lean startup plans and contain considerably more detail. As a result they require more work on the part of the business, but they can also be more persuasive (and reassuring) to potential investors.
• Lean startup business plans : These use an abbreviated structure that highlights key elements. These business plans are short—as short as one page—and provide only the most basic detail. If a company wants to use this kind of plan, it should be prepared to provide more detail if an investor or a lender requests it.

Why Do Business Plans Fail?

A business plan is not a surefire recipe for success. The plan may have been unrealistic in its assumptions and projections to begin with. Markets and the overall economy might change in ways that couldn't have been foreseen. A competitor might introduce a revolutionary new product or service. All of this calls for building some flexibility into your plan, so you can pivot to a new course if needed.

How frequently a business plan needs to be revised will depend on the nature of the business. A well-established business might want to review its plan once a year and make changes if necessary. A new or fast-growing business in a fiercely competitive market might want to revise it more often, such as quarterly.

What Does a Lean Startup Business Plan Include?

The lean startup business plan is an option when a company prefers to give a quick explanation of its business. For example, a brand-new company may feel that it doesn't have a lot of information to provide yet.

Sections can include: a value proposition ; the company's major activities and advantages; resources such as staff, intellectual property, and capital; a list of partnerships; customer segments; and revenue sources.

A business plan can be useful to companies of all kinds. But as a company grows and the world around it changes, so too should its business plan. So don't think of your business plan as carved in granite but as a living document designed to evolve with your business.

Harvard Business Review. " Research: Writing a Business Plan Makes Your Startup More Likely to Succeed ."

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Write Your Business Plan ."

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What Is a Business Plan? Definition and Planning Essentials Explained

Posted february 21, 2022 by kody wirth.

What is a business plan? It’s the roadmap for your business. The outline of your goals, objectives, and the steps you’ll take to get there. It describes the structure of your organization, how it operates, as well as the financial expectations and actual performance. 

A business plan can help you explore ideas, successfully start a business, manage operations, and pursue growth. In short, a business plan is a lot of different things. It’s more than just a stack of paper and can be one of your most effective tools as a business owner. 

Let’s explore the basics of business planning, the structure of a traditional plan, your planning options, and how you can use your plan to succeed. 

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a document that explains how your business operates. It summarizes your business structure, objectives, milestones, and financial performance. Again, it’s a guide that helps you, and anyone else, better understand how your business will succeed.  

Why do you need a business plan?

The primary purpose of a business plan is to help you understand the direction of your business and the steps it will take to get there. Having a solid business plan can help you grow up to 30% faster and according to our own 2021 Small Business research working on a business plan increases confidence regarding business health—even in the midst of a crisis. 

These benefits are directly connected to how writing a business plan makes you more informed and better prepares you for entrepreneurship. It helps you reduce risk and avoid pursuing potentially poor ideas. You’ll also be able to more easily uncover your business’s potential. By regularly returning to your plan you can understand what parts of your strategy are working and those that are not.

That just scratches the surface for why having a plan is valuable. Check out our full write-up for fifteen more reasons why you need a business plan .  

What can you do with your plan?

So what can you do with a business plan once you’ve created it? It can be all too easy to write a plan and just let it be. Here are just a few ways you can leverage your plan to benefit your business.

Test an idea

Writing a plan isn’t just for those that are ready to start a business. It’s just as valuable for those that have an idea and want to determine if it’s actually possible or not. By writing a plan to explore the validity of an idea, you are working through the process of understanding what it would take to be successful. 

The market and competitive research alone can tell you a lot about your idea. Is the marketplace too crowded? Is the solution you have in mind not really needed? Add in the exploration of milestones, potential expenses, and the sales needed to attain profitability and you can paint a pretty clear picture of the potential of your business.

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For those starting or managing a business understanding where you’re going and how you’re going to get there are vital. Writing your plan helps you do that. It ensures that you are considering all aspects of your business, know what milestones you need to hit, and can effectively make adjustments if that doesn’t happen. 

With a plan in place, you’ll have an idea of where you want your business to go as well as how you’ve performed in the past. This alone better prepares you to take on challenges, review what you’ve done before, and make the right adjustments.

Pursue funding

Even if you do not intend to pursue funding right away, having a business plan will prepare you for it. It will ensure that you have all of the information necessary to submit a loan application and pitch to investors. So, rather than scrambling to gather documentation and write a cohesive plan once it’s relevant, you can instead keep your plan up-to-date and attempt to attain funding. Just add a use of funds report to your financial plan and you’ll be ready to go.

The benefits of having a plan don’t stop there. You can then use your business plan to help you manage the funding you receive. You’ll not only be able to easily track and forecast how you’ll use your funds but easily report on how it’s been used. 

Better manage your business

A solid business plan isn’t meant to be something you do once and forget about. Instead, it should be a useful tool that you can regularly use to analyze performance, make strategic decisions, and anticipate future scenarios. It’s a document that you should regularly update and adjust as you go to better fit the actual state of your business.

Doing so makes it easier to understand what’s working and what’s not. It helps you understand if you’re truly reaching your goals or if you need to make further adjustments. Having your plan in place makes that process quicker, more informative, and leaves you with far more time to actually spend running your business.

What should your business plan include?

The content and structure of your business plan should include anything that will help you use it effectively. That being said, there are some key elements that you should cover and that investors will expect to see. 

Executive summary

The executive summary is a simple overview of your business and your overall plan. It should serve as a standalone document that provides enough detail for anyone—including yourself, team members, or investors—to fully understand your business strategy. Make sure to cover the problem you’re solving, a description of your product or service, your target market, organizational structure, a financial summary, and any necessary funding requirements.

This will be the first part of your plan but it’s easiest to write it after you’ve created your full plan.

Products & Services

When describing your products or services, you need to start by outlining the problem you’re solving and why what you offer is valuable. This is where you’ll also address current competition in the market and any competitive advantages your products or services bring to the table. Lastly, be sure to outline the steps or milestones that you’ll need to hit to successfully launch your business. If you’ve already hit some initial milestones, like taking pre-orders or early funding, be sure to include it here to further prove the validity of your business. 

Market analysis

A market analysis is a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the current market you’re entering or competing in. It helps you understand the overall state and potential of the industry, who your ideal customers are, the positioning of your competition, and how you intend to position your own business. This helps you better explore the long-term trends of the market, what challenges to expect, and how you will need to initially introduce and even price your products or services.

Check out our full guide for how to conduct a market analysis in just four easy steps .  

Marketing & sales

Here you detail how you intend to reach your target market. This includes your sales activities, general pricing plan, and the beginnings of your marketing strategy. If you have any branding elements, sample marketing campaigns, or messaging available—this is the place to add it. 

Additionally, it may be wise to include a SWOT analysis that demonstrates your business or specific product/service position. This will showcase how you intend to leverage sales and marketing channels to deal with competitive threats and take advantage of any opportunities.

Check out our full write-up to learn how to create a cohesive marketing strategy for your business. 

Organization & management

This section addresses the legal structure of your business, your current team, and any gaps that need to be filled. Depending on your business type and longevity, you’ll also need to include your location, ownership information, and business history. Basically, add any information that helps explain your organizational structure and how you operate. This section is particularly important for pitching to investors but should be included even if attempted funding is not in your immediate future.

Financial projections

Possibly the most important piece of your plan, your financials section is vital for showcasing the viability of your business. It also helps you establish a baseline to measure against and makes it easier to make ongoing strategic decisions as your business grows. This may seem complex on the surface, but it can be far easier than you think. 

Focus on building solid forecasts, keep your categories simple, and lean on assumptions. You can always return to this section to add more details and refine your financial statements as you operate. 

Here are the statements you should include in your financial plan:

• Sales and revenue projections
• Profit and loss statement
• Cash flow statement
• Balance sheet

The appendix is where you add additional detail, documentation, or extended notes that support the other sections of your plan. Don’t worry about adding this section at first and only add documentation that you think will be beneficial for anyone reading your plan.

Types of business plans explained

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. So, to get the most out of your plan, it’s best to find a format that suits your needs. Here are a few common business plan types worth considering. 

Traditional business plan

The tried-and-true traditional business plan is a formal document meant to be used for external purposes. Typically this is the type of plan you’ll need when applying for funding or pitching to investors. It can also be used when training or hiring employees, working with vendors, or any other situation where the full details of your business must be understood by another individual. 

This type of business plan follows the outline above and can be anywhere from 10-50 pages depending on the amount of detail included, the complexity of your business, and what you include in your appendix. We recommend only starting with this business plan format if you plan to immediately pursue funding and already have a solid handle on your business information. 

Business model canvas

The business model canvas is a one-page template designed to demystify the business planning process. It removes the need for a traditional, copy-heavy business plan, in favor of a single-page outline that can help you and outside parties better explore your business idea. 

The structure ditches a linear structure in favor of a cell-based template. It encourages you to build connections between every element of your business. It’s faster to write out and update, and much easier for you, your team, and anyone else to visualize your business operations. This is really best for those exploring their business idea for the first time, but keep in mind that it can be difficult to actually validate your idea this way as well as adapt it into a full plan.

One-page business plan

The true middle ground between the business model canvas and a traditional business plan is the one-page business plan. This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business. It basically serves as a beefed-up pitch document and can be finished as quickly as the business model canvas.

By starting with a one-page plan, you give yourself a minimal document to build from. You’ll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences making it much easier to elaborate or expand sections into a longer-form business plan. This plan type is useful for those exploring ideas, needing to validate their business model, or who need an internal plan to help them run and manage their business.

Now, the option that we here at LivePlan recommend is the Lean Plan . This is less of a specific document type and more of a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, test, review, refine, and take action based on performance.

It holds all of the benefits of the single-page plan, including the potential to complete it in as little as 27-minutes . However, it’s even easier to convert into a full plan thanks to how heavily it’s tied to your financials. The overall goal of Lean Planning isn’t to just produce documents that you use once and shelve. Instead, the Lean Planning process helps you build a healthier company that thrives in times of growth and stable through times of crisis.

It’s faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

Try the LivePlan Method for Lean Business Planning

Now that you know the basics of business planning, it’s time to get started. Again we recommend leveraging a Lean Plan for a faster, easier, and far more useful planning process. 

To get familiar with the Lean Plan format, you can download our free Lean Plan template . However, if you want to elevate your ability to create and use your lean plan even further, you may want to explore LivePlan. 

It features step-by-step guidance that ensures you cover everything necessary while reducing the time spent on formatting and presenting. You’ll also gain access to financial forecasting tools that propel you through the process. Finally, it will transform your plan into a management tool that will help you easily compare your forecasts to your actual results. 

Check out how LivePlan streamlines Lean Planning by downloading our Kickstart Your Business ebook .

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10 Business Plan Words Every Manager Needs to Know By Heart If you're starting or running a business, you'll need to know this list of essential business planning words.

By Tim Berry Edited by Dan Bova Jan 30, 2012

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

So I've changed my mind -- again -- and come up with this list of essential business planning words every manager should know:

1. Business plan: An organized collection of milestones, tasks, assumptions and basic business numbers. It covers strategy and details what's supposed to happen when, who's in charge of what, how progress is measured, when money is to be spent and from where, and when money is expected to come in. It isn't a document; it's a plan. If it isn't reviewed and revised monthly, then it won't be very useful. So it has to be practical and just big enough to serve the business need.

Related: To Make Business Planning Less Daunting, Let's Call It Something Else 2. Business planning: Steering a company using a cyclical process. Plan, review and revise as necessary to optimize. Business planning is management.

3. Business strategy: A combination of strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, target market, business offering and product-market fit. Focus is vital. Who isn't in your market and what you're not offering can be more useful information than who is and what you are offering. All of this can be expressed in bullets, slides, a few key paragraphs or any other way that keeps strategy and focus top of mind.

4. Business forecast: A simplified, manageable set of assumptions about future cash flow, including sales, cost of sales, expenses, assets, liabilities and capital. It isn't about predicting the future; it's about connecting the dots on assumptions and drivers in your monthly projections over the next year and your annual forecasts for the subsequent two years. It focuses on what drives the key components, expressed as money. Those drivers include factors like capacity, sales and marketing activities, management compensation, direct costs, and so forth. The goal is to lay out connections between key assumptions in projections spread month by month as expected amounts. For example, you would project how direct costs look as a percentage of sales. Usually the relationships are more important than the actual numbers. So, to follow the example, if your actual sales are higher than expected, you can tell from your forecast that direct costs also will be higher than expected. Companies with a good forecasting process rarely get through a month without some change in the forecast.

5. Strategic plan: A business plan that leaves out the nuts and bolts.

6. Operations plan: A business plan that leaves out the strategy.

7. Marketing plan: A business plan that leaves out the overall company financial strategy.

Related: The Top 10 Business Plan Mistakes

8. Annual plan: A business plan that leaves out plans for the second and third year.

9. Bank-ready business plan:

a. A document created as output from a business plan, formatted for easy reading and highlighting past financial performance and current financial position. Bankers look for payment history and assets backing the loan.

b. When used to describe a canned boilerplate document somebody is selling, as in turnkey or ready-made, it is just sleazy sales hype for a bad product. Buyer beware: A ready-made business plan is always a waste of money.

10. Investor-ready or funding-ready business plan:

a. A document or pitch created as output from a business plan, describing a business investors will be interested in based on the specifics of that business. The most common and essential highlights are management team, product-market fit, potential market, potential growth, defensibility (some hard-to-copy elements like technology or knowhow), scalability and potential return for investors. No matter how brilliant, beautiful or creative it might be, it isn't investor ready -- and never will be -- if it doesn't describe a business with real prospects for investors.

b. See 9b above.

Related: Three Financial Guesstimates Every Business Plan Needs

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Synonyms of plan

• as in strategy
• as in to prepare
• as in to intend
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Thesaurus Definition of plan

 (Entry 1 of 2)

Synonyms & Similar Words

• arrangement
• master plan
• ground plan
• counterplan
• counterstrategy
• contrivance
• specific(s)
• specification(s)
• name of the game
• destination

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Thesaurus Definition of plan  (Entry 2 of 2)

• scheme (out)
• choreograph
• strategize (about)
• contemplate
• premeditate
• mull (over)

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun plan contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of plan are design , plot , project , and scheme . While all these words mean "a method devised for making or doing something or achieving an end," plan always implies mental formulation and sometimes graphic representation.

When is design a more appropriate choice than plan ?

While in some cases nearly identical to plan , design often suggests a particular pattern and some degree of achieved order or harmony.

When could plot be used to replace plan ?

While the synonyms plot and plan are close in meaning, plot implies a laying out in clearly distinguished sections with attention to their relations and proportions.

When is it sensible to use project instead of plan ?

In some situations, the words project and plan are roughly equivalent. However, project often stresses imaginative scope and vision.

Where would scheme be a reasonable alternative to plan ?

The synonyms scheme and plan are sometimes interchangeable, but scheme stresses calculation of the end in view and may apply to a plan motivated by craftiness and self-interest.

Phrases Containing plan

• installment plan

Thesaurus Entries Near plan

Cite this entry.

“Plan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plan. Accessed 4 Jun. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on plan

Nglish: Translation of plan for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of plan for Arabic Speakers

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Definition of business plan noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

business plan

• The company has put together a comprehensive business plan for the next five years.

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200+ Essential Business English Phrases and Idioms

If you want to succeed in the world of business, English is a very important language to know, especially in today’s connected world.

To get you started in the global English language, it is a good idea to know some important business English phrases and idioms. 

And you can learn 200+ of them in this post!

Sounding Authentic: 22 Business English Phrases and Idioms for All Occasions

Business conversations: 7 phrases related to communication, working together: 7 expressions about teamwork, time management: 15 phrases about time and deadlines, talking about money: 15 expressions about money and finances, doing the work: 30 phrases related to business projects, online meetings: 49 phrases for conference calls and zoom calls, giving a presentation: 22 expressions for an excellent presentation, negotiating successfully: 4 phrases to get the best deal, brainstorming: 30 phrases for suggesting ideas and solutions, tips for speaking in business conference calls, how to improve business english speaking skills, and one more thing....

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

1. Get a business off the ground

The business has been registered with its own name, the employees are hired and the product or service is ready to be offered to the public. In other words, the owner got his or her business off the ground.

For example:

• “After finding the right investors and securing enough capital (money to start with), we finally got our business off the ground and opened our first store in Toronto.”

2. From the ground up

Similar to the last one, if you build a business or project from zero or from the bottom, you’re starting from the ground up .

• “Have you read the news about the enterprising 12-year-old who’s building her business from the ground up ?”

3. Long shot

Imagine you’re throwing a dart from a long distance. What are the chances of it hitting the bullseye (the exact center of the target)?

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A long shot  is an idiom that’s usually used to describe something that has a very small chance of happening or succeeding.

• “Landing such a high-paying job is a long shot but I’m still going to give it a try.”

4. Bring to the table

To  bring  [something]  to the table  means to bring something of use or benefit (skills, experience, etc.) to a job or business activity (project, meeting, etc.).

• “We need someone on the team who can bring  project management experience  to the table .”

5. Learning the ropes

Imagine that you’re on a sailboat. The first thing you would learn is how to tie knots and work the sails. In other words, you would learn how all the ropes work!

To learn the ropes means to learn how to do your job or a particular task, especially if you have no prior experience. Because of this, it is commonly used when referring to new employees in training.

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If you change it to say “to teach someone the ropes,” you can use it to describe a boss or more senior person helping a new employee understand their role and responsibilities.

• “Hey Paul, how’s your new job?” “It’s great but I’ve only been there for two weeks so I’m still learning the ropes .”
• “I’ve got a great manager who’s been teaching me the ropes, so I’m learning quickly!”

6. Learning curve

A  learning curve is used to describe the progress someone has to make to gain experience or learn a new skill set. A steep learning curve indicates the task may be difficult and therefore take more effort.

• “She is welcome to join our team, but there will be a steep learning curve .”

7. Go the extra mile

To  go the extra mile  means to give more effort or do more than what’s expected of you.

• “Anyone would be glad to have Pam on their team. She’s a great team player and is always willing to go the extra mile .”

8. A win-win situation

You might hear that something is a win-win situation, or that something is win-win in both business and regular English. The phrase describes a situation where everybody involved in the event or deal benefits from the outcome.

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In business, it is often used during negotiations or trades, where both parties receive something that they need from the other.

• “The deal is simple, we give them office space and they give us the new equipment that we need.” “It sounds like a win-win situation to me!” 

9. Overplay your hand

Be careful that you don’t  overplay your hand . Being overly-confident about your work and your chance of success may actually disadvantage you.

• “My cousin overplayed his hand and ended up losing his job.”

10. Get down to business

Business meetings usually begin with some small talk while waiting for everyone to arrive. When it’s time to start seriously focusing on the actual work, it’s time to  get down to business .

• “We’ve got plenty of topics to cover in today’s meeting so let’s get down to business .”

11. Get down to brass tacks

Again: let’s get on with the business at hand. You might hear this at the start of a business meeting, after some brief introductions or socializing.

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• “Now that everyone’s here, let’s get down to brass tacks .”

12. A ballpark number / figure / estimate

This phrase, like many other business expressions, is related to sports. The ballpark is the sports ground or stadium where baseball is played.

Giving a ballpark figure means giving an estimate of the value, time or number of something. It is used when the specific amount or number is not yet known or agreed upon but an estimate is required.

A ballpark is very large! So, this expression is specifically used for giving a very rough estimate or a large range in value.

• “To give you a ballpark figure, the new project will take between one and three months to complete.”

13. The bottom line

You may know that the last or bottom line on a financial statement is the most important. It shows the total profit or loss. So the phrase the bottom line  is used in general to refer to the final outcome, or the most important point to consider.

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• “It’s true that we’re very short-handed, but the bottom line is we must still deliver the project on time.”

14. Smooth sailing

Think of the business as a sailboat. The skies are blue and the water is calm. When everything is going well and without any problems, we call it smooth sailing . 

• “Once the company overcame the country’s bureaucracy, it was  smooth sailing from then on.”

15. The big picture

The big picture means to look at the overall view of something, or the situation as a whole and not the details.

• “I think his presentation was too long and detailed. He should’ve just given us the big picture .”

16. In a nutshell

Have you seen a nutshell? Think of how small it is and how little it can hold. So,  in a nutshell  means in summary, or in as few words as possible.

• “This book is about successful businesspeople and how they reached the top. In a nutshell , it’s about how to grow a successful business.”

17. Gray area

The color gray is between black and white. When something is in a  gray area , it means the situation isn’t certain. In a gray area there are no clear rules and it’s difficult to say if it’s right or wrong.

• “You have many good points in your proposal but there’s one gray area we need to discuss.”

18. Red tape

Nobody likes to encounter red tape when they’re trying to do their work.  Red tape  refers to excessive regulations and rules that you need to comply with before you can get your work done.

• “Our project is stalled because we ran into some red tape .”

19. The wrong end of the stick

To succeed in business, it’s helpful to have good knowledge of business phrases and idioms.

So hopefully these business expressions will prevent you from getting  the wrong end of the stick . This phrase refers to a total misunderstanding of a situation, plan or idea.

• “Jackie’s not in charge of this project… Mark is. Seems like you got the wrong end of the stick .”

20. Walking papers

If you are given your  walking papers , it means you have received a notice that you are being fired or laid off from your job.

• “Did you hear? The boss just gave Brett his walking papers !”

21. Back to square one

Back to square one  simply means to start over, or to go back to the beginning.

• “I wish I’d saved my spreadsheet before the server crashed. Now I have to go back to square one .”

22. Call it a day

When your work has been completed for the day, or when you decide to stop working on an activity, you can call it a day .

• “Now that we’ve completed the outline for the new project, let’s call it a day .” 

1. Word of mouth

Word of mouth refers to the spread of information verbally. In regards to business, it usually refers to people telling other people about your business, product or service.

Note that this expression is commonly used to talk positively about something.

If someone has a good experience with your product, then they may tell their friend about it, and that friend might tell another friend and so on—and before long, everyone is talking about your product! This is known as word-of-mouth marketing.

• “Hi, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you find out about our shop?” “I heard about it through word of mouth . Everybody kept telling me how great your products are!”

2. Touch base

This is another business phrase that comes from a sport. In baseball, the bases are where the batter runs to after striking the ball. In business English, to touch base means to briefly connect with or re-contact someone.

This contact is often short and just used to check in with somebody. For example, if you are working with a colleague on a project, you can touch base with them about their progress, or about a part of the project that you are waiting for them to finish.

You will find that this expression is often used in emails.

• “Hi Sarah, I just wanted to touch base with you to see if we’re still scheduled to complete the first phase of the project by next Monday.”

3. On the same page

To be on the same page means to be in agreement or to hold the same views about something with others.

This is a very common English expression and is used frequently in both everyday English and business English.

You might also hear this expression formed as a question: “Are we on the same page?” This is the same as asking, “Do we agree?”

• “Next month we need to cut spending by 20%. Are we all on the same page about this?”

4. Play hardball

Anyone who  plays hardball  is tough, ruthless and will not take “no” for an answer.  Negotiating with these types  can be a real challenge!

• “Joe’s the nicest guy I know, but he can play hardball when he needs to.”

5. Generate buzz

When a company uses clever marketing strategies and gets potential customers talking about a product, possibly even before it’s released, it’s called to generate buzz . 

When thousands of people talk about a company, they are buzzing like bees. When people talk, there’s a better chance that they will go check out what all the buzz is about.

• “Before its summer release, the movie was already generating a lot of buzz in the media.”

To meet up means to come together to talk. Meet up  is usually used for  short, informal meetings with a small group of people .

It is often used with prepositions such as “in,” “at” and “with” to tell where, at what time or with whom you will meet up.

• “Since we have a few problems to discuss, let’s  meet up  in my office.”

7. Schedule a meeting

A schedule is a plan of times and events, but it can also be used as a verb. The verb to schedule means to plan a date and time for a certain event.

To schedule a meeting means to choose a date, time and place to meet with another person or a group of people.

• “Let’s schedule a meeting for this Tuesday to discuss any problems.”

1. There’s no “I” in team

There’s no “I” in team means that no one particular person takes all the credit for the achievements of a group effort. It’s kind of a cute phrase because the word “team” is truly not spelled using the letter “I.”

• “ There’s no “I” in team ; we failed at this project together.”

2. Team player

Lots of companies look for strong  team players  when they are hiring. They want someone who gets along well with others and supports a collaborative work environment.

• “I love doing projects with Kate because she’s such a great team player .”

3. Step up to the plate

Yep, here’s another of those baseball-themed business English expressions!

If you  step up to the plate , you take on a role or responsibility—usually a difficult one that others don’t want. This is a quality that companies look for in strong leaders.

• “After the sales numbers dropped last quarter, David really stepped up to the plate and turned things around for the company.”

4. Pass the buck

Someone who passes the buck probably isn’t a great team player, and they’re definitely not a good leader.

When you  pass the buck , you make excuses and pass blame to someone else if things don’t go as planned.

• “Josh lost us that client, but he tried to pass the buck to Samuel.”

5. Form a team

It means gathering a group of people to work on the project.

• “The first thing a project manager does is  form a team of staff who are best for the project.”

6. Team up with

Similarly to the above, it means joining together to work as a team.

• “Sometimes on a big project, you may need to  team up with other companies.”

7. Pitch in 

To pitch in means to join in to help with a job or project.

• “Everyone will have to  pitch in their ideas. We need each team member to share five ideas at the meeting on Monday.”

1. From day one

This means “since the beginning.” You often hear the phrase  from day one  used in the workplace to talk about something that has been true since the very first day a project or business began.

• “I hope management realizes that our deadlines are very tight. We need to hire more people immediately. We’ve been short-handed from day one .”

2. The eleventh hour

The eleventh hour  is used to describe something that’s done or happens at the last minute.

• “The project manager won’t be pleased about them changing the design at the eleventh hour .”

3. Need it yesterday

If your manager says, “I need it yesterday,” they don’t expect you to construct a time machine.

Sure, it would be great fun to fly around in “The Tardis” catching up on a seemingly never-ending to-do list, but your manager really means, “This should have been done sooner. I need it right now.”

• “Where is that report? I need it yesterday . I’m going to be late for the meeting now.”

Here’s a business English acronym you might be familiar with:  ASAP stands for “as soon as possible.” Unsurprisingly, in business contexts, you’ll hear ASAP quite often—it’s as common in administrative vocabulary as in marketing and everywhere else! 

• “Please tell Mr. Huang to call his client back ASAP .”

When under pressure, many employees say they are working 24/7 : 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This doesn’t mean they are actually working all day, every day, of course.

The term  24/7 is used to express hard work and long hours, usually in the hopes of avoiding finishing projects at the eleventh hour.

• “This marketing project is killing me. I’ve been working 24/7 and it just won’t end!”

6. To pencil it in

This expression is used to talk about setting a date for an upcoming event—like a meeting, presentation or lunch—that might not happen on the scheduled time or date.

Since you are only using a pencil (and not something more permanent like a pen), you are leaving open the possibility of canceling or rescheduling the event.

• “Hi Maria, can we meet next Tuesday at 1 p.m. to chat about the upcoming campaign?” “I’m not too sure about my schedule. Let’s pencil it in  and see closer to the date, ok?”

7. Start from scratch

This term is used when you need to start something new from nothing. 

• “Since we will be  starting from scratch  on this project, we will make the plan as we go along.”

8. Define the phases

This expression means to break down the project into smaller parts, or phases.

A  phase  is one part in a series of actions or events. For example, in a library project, the design phase comes before the building phase.

• “We must wait for the project team to define the phases before we can start work.”

9. Set deadlines

It’s used when you need to set the dates when a job must be finished. A  deadline  is a date or time when a completed job is due, and  set  means “to make” in this phrase.

• “We have set deadlines for each phase except the design phase. Does anyone know how long the design will take?”

10. Meet the deadline

To meet a deadline  means that you finish the task by the deadline. For example, say you need to send in your job application by Friday at 3:00.

To meet the deadline, you send in your job application on Friday at noon. If you send in your job application on Friday at 4:00, you did not meet the deadline (because you were too late).

• “We may have to work longer hours to  meet the deadline .”

11. Behind schedule

It means that something is overdue or will be done later than planned

If your project was due on Monday, but it is now Thursday, you are  behind schedule . The project was supposed to be finished by now, but you’re still working on it.

• “When the project manager hears that the project is behind schedule , she will want to know the reason why.”

12. Ahead of schedule

To be completed earlier than planned. 

Imagine that today is Monday and your project is due on Friday. If you finish it tomorrow, on Tuesday, then you’ve finished it early and are ahead of schedule.

• “The project manager is happy that the project is ahead of schedule and thanked the team for their hard work.”

13. According to schedule

It means that everything is going as planned. 

You are doing a good job, there are no delays and everything is going as planned.

• “If the project goes according to schedule , you can expect a nice bonus this year.”

14. On schedule

This phrase means that you are finishing each task on time and not expecting any delays.

• “If we can solve all these problems quickly, we will still be on schedule to finish the project by the end of this month.”

15. Target date

It means to have a date to complete something by that time.

• “If we keep missing the  target dates , this project will not be completed on time.”

1. On a shoestring

When you do something  on a shoestring , you’re working on a tight budget or with very little money.

• “It’s going to be a challenge doing such a big project on a shoestring but we’ll try our best.”

2. Sleeping partner

You certainly don’t want to get the wrong end of the stick when your boss introduces you to a sleeping partner. This is a person closely connected to the company who may even be financing it, but there is no—I repeat,  no —romance going on.

A  sleeping partner  gets this term because they’re not actively helping to manage the company, though they are invested in it.

Another term for this is  silent partner .

• “Oh, he doesn’t really have any say in the way we work. He’s just a sleeping partner .”

3. Cash cow

Cash cow  is a term for a product or investment that provides a steady income, usually an amount that far exceeds the initial startup cost.

For example, the Coca-Cola company sells a lot of products from juices to teas to energy drinks, but the original Coke is likely their cash cow.

• “These new products are just additional profit. The cash cow is our line of cameras.”

4. Deep pockets

This isn’t a reference to extreme tailoring! It means help in the form of a wealthy investor or group of investors.

In other words, someone with  deep pockets  simply has a lot of money to spare.

• “Let’s ask Mrs. Henderson for help. She has deep pockets .”

5. Go belly up

If a project or business goes  belly up , it has failed to generate profit. This could result in bankruptcy or  the company going into receivership .

• “That new restaurant closed down already because they went belly up .”

6. Take a bath

Here’s one of those business expressions with a comparison that doesn’t really make sense.

Taking a bath can be a refreshing, relaxing thing. But not in the business world.

If you  take a bath , it means you suffered a heavy financial loss.

• “The landlord is taking a bath on his property. He has no tenants!”

7. Tighten your belt

Just swap the word “belt” for “budget,” and this will be easy to remember. If you  tighten your belt , you are cutting extra costs and trying to keep your budget lean (small; skinny).

If your company took a bath and losses are severe, it could lead to cuts being made. The company and employees will have to tighten their belts, or reduce how much money is spent.

• “We’re going to have to tighten our belts . Unfortunately, our sales last month weren’t as nearly as high as usual.”

8. A slice of the pie

When profits soar, you can guarantee employees will be looking for a share of the wealth, or a slice of the pie . This business English expression simply refers to a portion of profits or benefits.

An alternative expression is  a slice of the cake .

• “She wants a bigger slice of the pie because she knows she’s the best employee.”

9. The lion’s share

The lion’s share  is the “bulk” or “majority” of something.

Many well-run businesses reward hard work and it is only right that those employees who put in the most time, energy and effort should receive the lion’s share, or the bulk of the profits.

• “Paul has been here for 25 years and definitely gets the lion’s share around here.”

10. Golden handcuffs

While they may sound like some sort of toy,  golden handcuffs  (not real handcuffs) are financial incentives given to employees in order to persuade them not to leave a company.

• “Unlocking your golden handcuffs will give you much greater peace of mind.”

11. Golden handshake

Many executives have golden handshake clauses in their contracts. A golden handshake refers to a financial package that the executive will receive if they lose their job.

• “Mr. Smith’s golden handshake served him well. He got $100,000 when he left the company last year.”

12. Kickbacks

The corporate world is tough. It may be tempting to beat out the competition by giving kickbacks , or payments for special favors (like winning a contract).

But kickbacks are often unethical or even illegal—especially if they  could be classified as bribes !

• “The company is facing a government investigation because they think the executives are getting illegal kickbacks .”

13. Create a budget

To make a plan on the amount of money to spend and how to spend it.

• “We need to create a budget that includes the travel expenses of the project team.”

14. Stay on budget

To keep within the amount of money you plan to use, and refuse to spend more

Here is yet another phrase where the noun,  budget , can’t be used in its plural form (budgets).

• “The project manager has reminded us that to stay on budget , we must remember to keep the costs as low as possible.”

15. Increase the budget 

Add more money to the amount you planned to spend

The opposite of this phrase is to decrease the budget,  which means to take away from the amount of money that you planned to spend.

• “Management has agreed to increase the budget to cover the cost of testing the new car.”

1. Back to the drawing board

To go back to the drawing board  means to start over, and look at a failed idea in a new way. You can also use this phrase when you need to rethink a decision.

This expression is commonly used to motivate a team of employees to rework a failure. You can imagine a group of employees removing a failed design from a whiteboard and drawing a new idea. They are starting again by literally going back to the drawing board!

• “We didn’t sell any units of our new product.” “OK, let’s go back to the drawing board and design a new one.” 

2. To brainstorm an idea

To brainstorm an idea is to openly discuss an idea with your colleagues in a relaxed and free environment.

This is commonly called a  brainstorming session or simply brainstorming. The purpose of brainstorming in business is to explore ideas in an open-minded and non-judgmental environment.

• “Hi everyone, in this meeting we’re going to brainstorm ideas for this year’s new product. Please feel free to share any ideas you have.”

3. Give the green light

This term means to give the signal to begin. Think of this as a traffic light turning green when you’re driving.

What do you do when the light is green? That’s right, green means go.

This expression means you can go ahead and now begin the project.

• “We can’t start the project until management  gives the green light .”

4. Kick off

To kick off means to officially start the project. This phrase is also used in sports.

In football and soccer, the game will  kick off  (begin) when a player kicks the ball to start play.

• “As soon as we kick off the project, we will be very busy.”

5. To think outside the box

To think outside the box means to think in a creative way that is not typical or traditional. You can use this expression in business when you are talking about ideas.

If someone tells you to think outside the box, then they are telling you to think of a creative solution or idea that may be unexpected or not obvious.

You can imagine the “box” as a traditional and obvious solution and outside the box as a more creative or abstract solution.

• “For our new advertising campaign, we really had to think outside of the box to come up with something that hadn’t been done before.”

6. Fifty-fifty

Fifty-fifty  simply means dividing something into equal parts so that both parties get 50%.

• “Since I’m as busy as you are, let’s split the work for this project fifty-fifty .”

7. Get the ball rolling

This phrase means to start a new project or business activity.

It can also be used to describe a small action that leads to the beginning of something. This usually starts with one person. For example, a person can get the ball rolling by doing a small task that will eventually become part of a bigger project.

• “For our meeting today, Allie will get the ball rolling by talking about our budget goals for this quarter.”

8. Get off the ground

To  get  [something]  off the ground  means to start doing a job or project, usually after much discussion or planning.

• “Months after looking into how to boost declining sales, we were finally able to get  our aggressive sales campaign  off the ground .”

9. Hit the ground running

To hit the ground running is to begin a task or project with lots of energy and enthusiasm. The expression is commonly used when talking about a new project or idea that requires immediate, fast and lively action.

It is also used when talking about taking advantage of an opportunity.

• “We really need to hit the ground running with this idea and get our product on the shelves before someone else does.”

10. Corner the market

When a company becomes more successful than their competitors in developing a product or service, we say they have cornered the market. It’s another way of saying they control the market.

Think of this business as a boxer in the ring. It’s got its opponent in the corner, who can’t move out of the way. Its opponent can only put their gloves up in defense. They are cornered, just like the competitors of the company.

• “In only a short time, the company has been able to corner the  high-definition television  market .”

11. Behind the scenes

This phrase is used to describe something, usually work, that’s done or that happens away from public view.

• “Organizing a roadshow may look easy, but do you have any idea how much hard work we’ve put in behind the scenes ?”

12. Knuckle down

Your boss doesn’t want you to chit-chat and waste time! They want you to  knuckle down , or concentrate on your work and get it done.

• “All right, quit joking around. We need to knuckle down and finish this report.”

13. Run around in circles

To  run around in circles  means to keep doing something without achieving any real results. In other words, you’re doing a lot of unnecessary work but not getting anywhere.

• “The deadline is coming up, but we’ve been running around in circles because the client keeps changing their mind about the design.”

14. Get up to speed

Did you take some time off from work? Or, did you miss the last meeting?

Either way, you will have to get up to speed with everything that you need to know. This expression means to catch up on information, changes or updates that you have missed.

You can also say that the person who is teaching you the missing information is bringing you up to speed.

• “It didn’t take me long to get up to speed  with the new laws as my co-worker explained them to me perfectly.” 

15. To keep an eye on the ball

Imagine you have stepped into the stadium with the baseball bat in your hand. Thousands of people are cheering your name but, in your head, you are thinking about one thing: You need to keep your eye on the ball.

To keep an eye on the ball means to focus on your task or goal closely. It can also be used to encourage someone to pay attention or to watch out and maintain a high level of alertness.

• “When it comes to business negotiations, you really need to keep an eye on the ball .”

16. Hands are tied

If red tape  causes a delay in your project, you’ll have to tell your manager that your  hands are tied . There’s just nothing you can do about the unfortunate situation.

• “Sorry, we have to extend the deadline. The client hasn’t returned my call yet and my hands are tied .”

17. Go down the drain

A drain is a hole where liquids and waste are sent away. For example, there’s a drain in your sink, shower and toilet.

To  go down the drain  means that your effort, work or money is wasted or lost.

• “If this sales campaign doesn’t succeed, all our hard work will go down the drain .”

18. By the book

Doing something  by the book  means doing it strictly according to the rules, policies or the law.

• “I don’t think John will listen to your suggestion. He insists on doing everything by the book .”

19. Above board

You want to do things  above board (the ethical and honest way) in business.

• “We only do things above board here. If you want a job, you need to apply like everyone else.”

20. To cut corners

If you are cutting corners, then you are not giving your project everything that you should. It means skipping some steps to achieve an outcome as quickly or as cheaply as possible.

It is used in a negative way, because something that’s done by cutting corners might be missing an important part, use cheap materials or not be as good quality overall.

• “The company cut corners when making their camera, so it’s very cheap but it stops working after a few months of use.”

21. Put a plan into action

This phrase is used when you want to say that you are starting to use a plan or idea. 

• “If we put this plan into action , we may need more time and more people.”

22. Plan ahead

To think carefully before taking action.

• “The project manager’s advice is to plan ahead so that the project will go smoothly.”

23. Make a plan

To create a way to do something.

• “How should we advertise this new product? Let’s make a plan now.”

24. Stick to the plan

To refuse to change from what you have decided, no matter what happens.

For example, you and your friend have decided to go to a movie Friday night. On Friday afternoon, your friend calls to say there is a sale at your favorite store.

She asks if you want to go shopping instead. You decide to  stick to the plan,  meaning that you will still go watch the movie.

This is another phrase where the noun, plan , can’t be used in its plural form.

Even if you have many plans, you should still say “ stick to the plan,”  not “stick to the plans.”

• “Changing the design now will take too much time. Let’s just stick to the plan .”

25. Review the plan

To inspect or look carefully again at the plan.

• “If we want to include all these new ideas, we will need to review the plan .”

26. Tasked with

The verb  to task  means to give a task (small job) to someone. However, this verb is almost always used in the passive form with the preposition “with,” which looks like this:  have/has been tasked with .

In that form, the whole phase means to be given a task.

For example, if I have been tasked with calling 20 clients today, that means someone else gave me the job of calling 20 clients.

• “Your team has been tasked with finding out why there are so many customer complaints.”

27. Outsource a task

The verb  to outsource  means to send out the company’s work to someone outside the company.

For example, if you own a small restaurant, you may cook the food yourself but  outsource  the desserts to be made by a local baker.

• “Since the project team is busy, it might be a good idea to outsource some tasks to another company.”

28. Target to complete

The phrase is used when you plan to finish something.

• “We must target to complete  phase 1 before  the year-end holidays when most people will be on vacation.”

29. Achieve the target

To succeed in reaching a goal.

• “The project team can expect a free lunch if they achieve the target this month.”

29. Wrap up the project

To finish the project.

• “Okay, everyone, let’s check all the paperwork and clean up the project room, then we’ll be ready to  wrap up the project .”

30. Sign off the project

To formally approve and accept the project as finished.

• “All that remains now is to  sign off the project and take the whole project team out to celebrate.”

You will, at some point, be asked to take part in a meeting at your workplace. It is a good idea in business meetings to speak as clearly as possible and to be firm (strong).

Remember, though, that “firm” does not mean “rude” or “pushy.” It can be easy to seem pushy if you do not add the all-important “please” and “thank you” to your phrases. These polite terms go a long way in business English.

Meetings are all about listening and letting people know that you understand what is being talked about.

Try the phrases below when you are in a business meeting or participating in a conference call.

Beginning a conference call

You will either hear these phrases or need to use them yourself while talking to people on a conference call.

• “Let’s give everyone a few more minutes to join.”
• “Are we all on?”
• “Can I ask that we all state our names, please?”
• “I’m here. It’s [your name] in [your city].”
• “Can everybody hear me?”

These are useful phrases to check if everyone is present and has joined the conversation. When asked, just respond “yes” and give your name and position, or job at the company.

If you are using a video conference program, it may not be necessary to give your name since others can see your information through your video icon. However, it is still good manners to say hello to everyone when you join.

You can use these phrases to get started:

• “Good morning / afternoon / evening, everyone.”
• “Hi everybody. Thanks for joining us today.”

It is also common to hear a bit of small talk before the actual meeting begins. Some phrases you might use or hear spoken are:

• “How’s everyone doing today?”
• “How’s the weather where you are?”
• “Did everyone have a good weekend?”

Be aware that you will probably not receive actual answers to these questions. They are mostly rhetorical questions (questions that you do not have to actually answer). Most likely, you will get a few nods or a simple reply like “I’m doing fine, thanks.” Despite this, it is polite to ask, and is a natural way to fill the silence before the actual meeting begins.

When it is time for the meeting to start, the person who is leading the meeting will signal that everybody should quiet down and listen up. Listen for these phrases:

• “Okay, everyone, let’s get started.”
• “It looks like we’re all here.”
• “Thank you all for being here. Let’s talk about today’s objective.”

Asking for clarification during a conference call

When talking on a conference call, there is a chance that your internet connection will be poor, or that the quality of the call will be bad. In these cases, you might miss out on something that someone said.

This happens to native speakers, as well! So, do not be afraid to speak up and ask for clarification. Here are some phrases that you can use to make sure you do not miss anything important:

• “Could you speak more slowly, please?”
• “Could you repeat that, please?”
• “Would you mind spelling that for me, please?”
• “Could you explain that in another way, please?”
• “I’m afraid I didn’t get that.”
• “I’m sorry, but could you speak up a little?”
• “I didn’t quite hear that, sorry. Can you say that again?”
• “I didn’t catch that last bit. Can you say it again, please?”

Taking a break from the conversation

You might need to step away from a conference call. It is perfectly fine to excuse yourself, but make sure that you are polite and clear when you do it. Try these phrases if you need a break:

• “[Your name] speaking. I need to leave for 10 minutes. Is that okay with everyone?”
• “I need a moment. I’ll be back in about 10 minutes.”
• “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need to step away from the call for a few minutes.”

If you are on a Zoom call, you can leave a message in the chat to avoid interrupting the speaker.

When you return, let everybody know you are back by saying:

• “[Your name] here. I’m back on the line again.”
• “This is [Your name], I’m back. Thanks for your patience / Thank you for waiting.”

Being an active participant in meetings

As the meeting goes on, you’ll want to be an active participant. That means speaking up if you have any questions, as well as giving your feedback when others speak.

If you accidentally speak over somebody or interrupt them when you speak, do not worry! It happens to everyone. You can use these phrases if this happens:

• “Sorry, I interrupted you. You were saying…?”
• “I didn’t mean to interrupt you. Please, go on.”

Sometimes, you will have to interrupt to ask a question. In this case, you can politely signal that you have a question

• “Am I to understand that…”
• “Sorry, but just to clarify…”
• “So, what we’re saying is…”
• “Sorry to interrupt, but…”

You can also participate in the conversation by agreeing and disagreeing with what others are saying.

Here are some useful phrases for agreeing:

• “That’s an excellent point , [person’s name], I agree with you on that.”
• “Okay, I think we’re all on the same page here…”
• “Yes, I see what you’re saying…”
• “I couldn’t agree more.”

You will not always agree with everyone else, and that is okay! Here are some phrases to disagree politely but firmly:

• “I’m sorry but I think you may have that slightly wrong…”
• “From my perspective, it’s a little different. Let me explain.”
• “I see your point, but…”
• “I’m not sure I agree with that.”

Planning for future meetings

When it is time to end the meeting, you may want to set up the next meeting. Whether you are talking with your co-workers, business partners or clients, here are some phrases to help you schedule future meetings:

• “I’d like to set up a meeting with you at your earliest convenience. When are you free?”
• “Are you free to talk again next week?”
• “When are you available for another meeting?”
• “How does 2:30 p.m. Thursday sound?”
• “Does Thursday at 2:30 p.m. suit you?”

After the person has agreed to the time, it is customary to confirm one last time just to make sure the other person has really heard.

If you are working with a global team where there could be confusion as to the time, add the “a.m.” or “p.m.” and the time zone if necessary, just to be sure you have been understood:

• “Great, let’s meet again on Thursday at 2:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time then.”
• “Okay, I look forward to seeing you at 2:30 in the afternoon on Thursday.”
• “Thursday at 2:30 p.m., EST. Looking forward to it, see you then.”
• “See you on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Bye for now.”

Check out this post for more phrases you’ll need for your next business meeting: 

https://www.fluentu.com/blog/business-english/english-for-business-meetings/

At some point, you may be called on to give a presentation. Even native English speakers should keep these simple! Business presentations are known for being dull—not many people enjoy sitting through many PowerPoint slides… do you?

Keep your presentation brief, speak clearly and try to waste as little time as possible.

If you are on a video call, remember that body language is still an important part of your presentation. As you talk, try to look up from your notes as often as possible to engage your audience.

Finally, try to have fun! People are generally forgiving if you make a few mistakes.

Starting your presentation

Begin by introducing yourself. Even though this is a business presentation, it is okay to be friendly and informal here, to get everyone to feel comfortable and interested in what you have to say. Here are some examples:

• “Hi everybody, my name is [your name] and I’m [your role in the company].”
• “Good morning / afternoon / evening ladies and gentlemen, I’m [your name].”
• “Hi everyone, I’m [your name]. I’ll keep this brief.”
• “Thanks for having me here today. I’m [your name].”

Note: remember to use the contraction “I’m” instead of “I am” to sound more friendly and less formal.

Introducing the topic of your presentation

After you have introduced yourself, it is time to introduce your topic of presentation.

Remember that business people are often busy people! This is a good time to practice your “elevator pitch.” What is that? Well, pretend that you and the people you are speaking to are on an elevator going from the 10th floor to the 1st. You only have about a minute to express your point, and do it in such a way that everyone will understand.

It will take some practice, but try to say the topic of your presentation in a sentence or two. You can start your topic introduction with these phrases:

• “Today, I’m here to talk to you about…”
• “I’d like to outline our plans for…”
• “In this presentation, I’ll discuss…”

After you introduce the topic, you can give the listeners a “map” of your presentation, to help them know what to expect.

• “This presentation will take about 20 minutes.”
• “First, I’ll start with some general information about…”
• “First, I’ll talk about…”
• “Then, I’ll look at…”
• “Then, we’ll go over…”
• “We’ll conclude with some information on…”
• “Finally, we’ll talk about how to move forward with…”
• “I’ll be happy to answer any questions you may have at the end of this presentation.”
• “To keep things moving, please hold your questions until the end of the presentation.”

Ending your presentation

You have made it to the end of your presentation! Now comes the easy part: ending it. Once you have given your presentation and are ready to finish, use these phrases:

• “Well, that brings me to the end of my presentation.”
• “Thanks so much for listening to my presentation.”
• “That’s it from me.”
• “It was a real pleasure being here today.”
• “I’ll be taking questions for the next 10 minutes.”
• “That concludes my presentation. Does anyone have any questions?”

When you are taking part in a negotiation , you might get what you want, but sometimes you may not. Here are some phrases that will work for each situation. Remember: Be polite but be firm.

Sometimes in a negotiation, you know you are not going to win. When you go into a negotiation , you should know what your “deal-breaker” is. A deal-breaker is absolutely not negotiable, or a condition that you will not accept no matter what. For example, the lowest price you are willing to accept for a product is $100 per piece. You will walk away if somebody demands a lower price.

Perhaps you are protecting your “bottom line.” The bottom line is the financial situation beyond which you cannot operate.

Try these phrases to get the negotiation “back on track” if it seems you are “not on the same page.” In other words, get the negotiation going in your favor if you are not in agreement:

• “I understand that we can’t do that, but can we discuss some other alternatives?”
• “I hear what you’re saying, but our bottom line is very clear on this one.”
• “This is a deal-breaker for us, we can’t budge.” (Budge means move, change or give up.)
• “Maybe we can find a compromise that works for both of us.”

For more phrases and vocabulary related to making sales and deals, take a look at this post: 

One of the most powerful phrases you can use during a brainstorming session is one that includes a  modal verb . These are special verbs that express ability ( could ), possibility ( might, should ) or request ( would ).

They are small but powerful words to use for  softening the effect of your tone in a discussion. 

These phrases will help add a more diplomatic tone to your suggestions.

Making Suggestions

Beginning a sentence with the word “Let’s…” will make you sound positive about working together toward a common goal, for example:

• “Let’s hold the product launch here.”
• “Why don’t we use the convention center?”

Phrasing your suggestion in the form of a question is a great way to set a softer tone:

• “How about holding the launch at the convention center?”
• “What if we consider another venue for the launch?”

Beginning a sentence with “I think” or “Maybe,” even if you’re very certain about something, is a good way to sound more diplomatic:

• “I think we should decide on the venue now.”
• “Maybe we could decide on the venue now.”

Rejecting Suggestions

Rejecting an idea or suggestion comes with a risk of offending someone or hurting their feelings. So we should approach this very carefully. 

Starting a sentence on a positive note, even when we’re about to reject someone’s suggestion, will help to soften the impact (effect) of your message.

• “That’s a good idea but we may not have the budget for it.”
• “Your suggestion sounds good but we’ll need to check the rental rates.”
• “I can see some problems with that.”
• “Let me think about this.”
• “I’m not too keen on using the concourse area for the product launch.”
• “I’m not too keen on the idea of the convention center.”

The use of the expressions “really” and “I don’t think” softens the impact of the rejection:

• “I’m not really convinced the concourse is a good venue.”
• “I’m not really sure we have the budget.”
• “I don’t think this would work.”
• “I don’t think this would be the best venue for the launch.”

Accepting suggestions

Accepting or agreeing with someone’s suggestion is easy. However, instead of a direct “Yes” or “I agree,” you may want to communicate different degrees (levels) of agreement. If you’re very sure, you might say:

• “That’s a good idea. / That’s not a bad idea.”
• “This is just what we need.”
• “Let’s try that.”

If you’re not very sure, you might use these phrases:

• “This looks like it could work.”
• “That might be worth trying.”
• “It might work.”
• “Maybe. I’m not sure.”

Evaluating suggestions involves reviewing ideas and solutions, and selecting the best one to use. This usually involves discussing each idea or solution in detail and  asking questions to generate feedback. Here are some good questions to ask during evaluation:

• “What do you suggest?”
• “What are your thoughts?”
• “Do you think this will work?”

If an idea or suggestion sounds good but you need more time to think it through, you could use these phrases:

• “Let’s look at this again.”
• “I think this needs a lot more thought.”
• “This idea has potential (possibilities), but it’s not quite there yet.”
• “Let’s keep this in mind and come back to it later.”

If you only agree partially (partly) with a suggestion, or accept only certain aspects (parts) of an idea, you could use these phrases to lead into saying which parts you agree and disagree with:

• “I agree up to a point.”
• “Well, yes and no.”

Now you’re all set to shine at your next brainstorming session.

Before discussing phrases you can use during conference calls, let’s talk a little bit more about what you should expect.

First, it is always a good idea to learn the software you will be using beforehand. Your conference call will go a lot smoother with just a little preparation before you start. Get on the software and learn where all the key features are. Try a test call to see how things go.

Talk with a friend at work and look at the agenda together (there should be one—if there is not, ask for one). The agenda is a document that will list the topics of the upcoming meeting. You will be able to ask your work friend about the words you do not understand and practice using them.

Use the mute button if you are not speaking while on an audio conference call. It is more polite and business-like, and can give you time to really listen and think about what people are saying.

If you are on a video conference call, look interested and nod your head when appropriate. It can be a bit strange at first, but try to be as  engaged  (involved) as possible and to be natural and friendly.

Some native speakers may use complicated idioms during conference calls. If you feel confident enough to “dive in,” join in and give it a try too. However,  remember that a plain-spoken approach with fewer idioms will get your point across more clearly during a business call.

How can you work on your speaking skills and learn new business English phrases at the same time?

There are tons of ways to improve your English speaking skills for business situations. The key is to always keep practicing—and to find the perfect resources for your business purposes!

• Listen to podcasts. There are many podcasts made for business English learners. This series of podcasts  from the British Council, for example, will help you to improve your English in your workplace. They are suitable (appropriate) for learners at an intermediate or advanced level.
• Listen to English speakers.  Pay attention to every native speaker you encounter. When answering a question they ask you, listen carefully to their choice of words and try to use those same words in your answer.
• Watch authentic English videos.  You don’t need to have actual English-speaking individuals next to you to benefit from hearing native speech. Head online and watch videos made by English speakers for English speakers.

If you’re a bit intimidated to listen to authentic English content, FluentU  can make native videos easier to learn from. Search for business-related topics or words to see them being used in everything from instructional content on connecting with your customers to tips on nailing your elevator pitch.

Organize by skill level to find something suitable for you, then follow along with interactive subtitles that show you word meanings when you click on them. You can also add words to flashcard decks and take quizzes that change as you become more comfortable with what you’re studying.

• Forbes and The Economist business sections are for more advanced business English learners. The articles are written for and by native speakers, so the language is very current and can sometimes be complex but well-written. 
• The Learning Network by the New York Times is specifically made for English learners. Some of the material is targeted toward teenage learners, but the lessons use real New York Times articles and are a perfect way to expand your vocabulary.
• Learning English by the BBC is another great source of English-learning material for a wide range of levels. It has grammar lessons, podcasts, vocabulary lists and news articles which can help you slowly make your way to the main BBC Business news website. 
• Focus on common phrases with multiple applications.  For example, short phrases such as “I’m sorry” can be used in a number of different business scenarios. For example: “I’m sorry I’m late to the meeting,” “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” “I’m sorry, but I disagree” and so on.

If you are already in business and your English is pretty good, learning new phrases and language to climb the corporate ladder (get a promotion) is always going to get you farther.

English is the universal language of business all over the world. The better your English gets, the more in demand you will be as an employee. Learn the business English phrases and expressions in this post to help you get started.

Keep listening and keep talking!

If you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out FluentU. FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials , as you can see here:

If you want to watch it, the FluentU app has probably got it.

The FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.

FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.

For example, when you tap on the word "searching," you see this:

FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.

Learn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you’re learning.

FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. Learn more.

The best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you’re learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it’s time to review what you’ve learned. You have a truly personalized experience.

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• strategic plan

noun as in game plan

Strongest matches

Weak matches

• tactical plan
• working plan

Discover More

Example sentences.

Copies of a 53-page strategic plan are on the coffee table in her office for visitors to peruse.

It had no strategic plan for winning the war against Britain, and could have none.

Paul Ryan's best strategic plan should be equally obvious: do not cooperate with the vice president.

It remains now to describe the place occupied by this effort in the whole strategic plan of the war against Germany.

They had not the foresight to perceive the inevitable result of this strategic plan if effectively and thoroughly executed.

And having failed on the Marne and retreated to the Aisne the German strategic plan lost all coherency.

Napoleon's descent upon Egypt was part of his vast strategic plan for the overthrow of Great Britain.

(p. 016) This was the climax of disaster in Napoleon's great strategic plan.

Related Words

Words related to strategic plan are not direct synonyms, but are associated with the word strategic plan . Browse related words to learn more about word associations.

noun as in thought out strategy

On this page you'll find 10 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to strategic plan, such as: blueprint, scenario, scheme, strategy, approach, and design.

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

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Finished Papers

Election latest: Abbott makes Labour's final list of election candidates; ex-Reform leader making 'painful discovery' about Farage

Diane Abbott has made it on to Labour's finalised list of election candidates, despite leader Sir Keir Starmer admitting the pair haven't spoken for months.

Tuesday 4 June 2024 12:38, UK

• General Election 2024

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Election news

• Bulletin: The main things you need to know this lunchtime
• Abbott makes Labour's final list of election candidates
• But Starmer admits he hasn't spoken to her for months
• Ex-Reform leader making 'painful discovery' about Farage
• Tories outline fresh proposal to cap migrant visas
• First general election debate taking place this evening
• Be in the audience for our election leaders event
• Live reporting by Faith Ridler

Expert analysis

• Tamara Cohen: Labour to end 'soap opera' with final candidates list
• Mhari Aurora: Tories expecting potential defections to Reform
• Jon Craig: What we can learn from previous TV election debates

Election essentials

• Trackers: Who's leading polls? | Is PM keeping promises?
• Campaign Heritage: Memorable moments from elections gone by
• Follow Sky's politics podcasts: Electoral Dysfunction | Politics At Jack And Sam's
• Read more: Who is standing down? | Key seats to watch | How to register to vote | What counts as voter ID? | Check if your constituency is changing | Your essential guide to election lingo | Sky's election night plans

It's 12pm - and we're now well into the second full week of the general election campaign.

There is just a month to go until polls open across the UK on 4 July.

Here's what you need to know so far today:

• Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is in Greater Manchester, where he has been meeting voters at a cafe in Bolton;
• His party is pushing their energy policy - which is in large part the formation of Great British Energy - and promising to "close the door" on Russian President Vladimir Putin; 
• Meanwhile, Labour has been finalising its list of candidates for the election and Diane Abbott has made the cut ;
• That's despite Sir Keir admitting the pair have not spoken in "two or three months ";
• Sir Keir has also agreed today that immigration needs to "come down" - as the Conservatives are pushing today - but couldn't guarantee how this would happen under Labour.
• Speaking of the Conservatives and immigration, they've been pitching their plans for an annual cap on worker and family visas ;
• Home Secretary James Cleverly hasn't been able to solely focus on that, though, as he's also faced questions on Nigel Farage 's return to frontline politics with Reform UK;
• He told Sky News Reform is simply a " vehicle " for Mr Farage's "self-promotion" after he became the party's new leader;
• But our  political correspondent  Mhari Aurora   is hearing Rishi Sunak could soon suffer yet more defections as a result of Mr Farage's return and a poll yesterday projecting a Labour landslide.
• The Liberal Democrats are have pledged to provide free day-to-day care for adults in need, including the elderly and disabled, should they win the election;
• And never shy of a photo opportunity, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has provided a rather literal interpretation of his party's bid to bring down the so-called Blue Wall ;
• And back to  Nigel Farage - he's kicking off his election campaign in Clacton, Essex, today after confirming his candidacy for the constituency yesterday.

Here are a couple of other stories that may interest you:

Our essential political podcast,  Politics At Jack And Sam's , is going out every week day through the election campaign to bring a short burst of everything you need to know about the day ahead as this election unfolds - here is today's edition .

Tap here to follow Politics At Jack At Sam's wherever you get your podcasts .

Stephen Kinnock, the shadow immigration minister, has accused the Tories of breaking "every single election commitment on immigration since 2010".

He was responding to Tory candidate Danny Kruger appearing to admit this is the case in a private recording obtained by LBC, saying "migration has risen every single time" the Conservatives pledged to reduce it.

Mr Kinnock said the Tories were now "admitting what the public already know" both "in public and in private".

On cutting immigration, he said they have been "promising pots of gold and delivering magic beans".

He said Labour's "practical plan to reduce immigration" included requiring employers to recruit and train local talent and setting up a Border Security Command to "smash the criminal gangs".

Labour's National Executive Committee is finalising the party's list of candidates for the general election - and Diane Abbott has made the cut.

Sky News has seen the list of candidates, and can confirm Ms Abbott has been selected for Hackney North and Stoke Newington.

It comes after the veteran left-winger said she intended to stand as Labour's candidate following months of uncertainty over her future.

A row has been ongoing for weeks over the treatment of Ms Abbott, after briefings - apparently incorrect - the leadership wanted to bar her.

Sir Keir Starmer has denied this was the case, with top Labour figures repeating that she would be free to run for her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat after the party whip was restored last week.

She'd been suspended for more than a year over comments in which she suggested Jewish people did not experience racism, which she retracted and apologised for.

The Labour leader admitted today that he and Ms Abbott have not spoken in "two or three" months ( see 10.13 post ).

The main focus of the day for the Conservatives is their proposal to place an annual cap on worker and family visas. 

This is part of their efforts to make sure immigration figures fall year-on-year if they remain in government after the election. 

Temporary work routes, such as seasonal agricultural workers, would not fall within the cap.

Immigration has become a key battleground in this election after net migration hit a record high of 745,000 last year. 

And it was supercharged yesterday by Nigel Farage's return to the frontline of British politics.

Under the Tory plan, a Migration Advisory Committee will look at the numbers to balance the country's economic needs against the pressure on public services before suggesting a level to the government.

The government will then decide on a cap and put it to a vote in the Commons. 

Home Secretary James Cleverly faced questions on the campaign trail today about why the government hadn't suggested its own number for the cap. 

He said the plan would balance needs and costs, and a Tory majority would "take those figures and utilise them professionally". 

The home secretary said migration is putting pressure on public services and "getting the balance right is a conversation that is long overdue". 

Never shy of a photo opportunity, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has provided us with a rather literal interpretation of his party's bid to bring down the so-called Blue Wall at this election.

Just as the Tories took chunks out of the Red Wall (Labour's traditional strongholds) back in 2019, the Lib Dems are hoping to do the same to the Conservatives this time.

Today Sir Ed is in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, which was won by the Tories with a 46% share of the vote last time out.

His party came second with 41.8%, so it's a big target.

Sir Ed was there this morning with local candidate Tom Morrison, where they enjoyed a spot of appropriately-themed Jenga…

The other candidates in Cheadle are:

• Alexander Frank Richard Drury, Greens;
• Kelly Fowler, Labour;
• Tanya Manzoor, Workers Party;
• Mary Robinson, Conservatives.

Labour is reiterating its pitch to voters today - stability.

Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, has been outlining the party's economic policy in Edinburgh. 

It boils down to: "This is a change election, and stability is change after the 14 years that we have had."

She adds: "It's only with stability that we can grow our economy and improve living standards for ordinary working people."

This stability, she says, would come through a "tough set of economic rules" - including paying for "day-to-day spending through tax receipts".

However, she says, stability on its own is not enough - the UK "needs investment" and she also mentions reform.

Ms Reeves is in Edinburgh as the party continues to try to win back Scottish voters to help it get back to power, with Labour having been decimated by the SNP since the 2015 general election.

Who's got time to come up with policies when you've got absolutely critical decisions to make over what to wear on the campaign trail?

Jokes aside, some attention has been paid to the fashion choices of both Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer in recent days.

The prime minister, whose fondness for Adidas Samba shoes had already made headlines before the election kicked off, raised eyebrows with his pricey rucksack when he got the sleeper train to Cornwall.

It was reported to be a £750 luxury backpack from Tumi, monogrammed with his initials.

'Legal attire won't cut the mustard'

And then there was Sir Keir's £500 jacket from French fashion brand Sandro, which he wore while visiting Blackpool.

Sarah Gray, a personal stylist and image consultant, told Kay Burley 's Breakfast programme the two leaders do need to look the part.

Their dress sense can help them "appeal to a wide audience", and make them appear "more approachable" and "recognisable".

Sir Keir, she says, is "most definitely realising his legal attire's not going to cut the mustard" in his role as Labour leader.

But she says both Mr Sunak and Sir Keir would want to be careful about wearing pricey attire in "less affluent" areas.

Farage has 'sharpened up' his suits

She also noticed a slight change in the cut of Nigel Farage's suit when he announced he was taking over Reform and running for parliament on Monday afternoon.

"We could see he's sharpened up," she said.

And long gone is the purple UKIP-coloured tie of election campaigns from years gone by - this time it was decorated with butterflies, which symbolises "transformation", Gray said.

Today, Labour's ruling committee will approve the final list of candidates going forward for election - including Diane Abbott.

As Sir Keir Starmer reiterated this morning, she's free to stand for the party once again - though the leader admitted he hasn't spoken to her for several months ( see 10.13 post ).

After a week of accusations that Sir Keir's tried to purge the party's left, Labour's 650 prospective MPs should be rubber-stamped in a short online meeting at midday. 

Sir Keir will hope this process by the National Executive Committee draws a line under the controversy over treatment of Ms Abbott, after briefings - apparently incorrect - the leadership wanted to bar her. 

The Labour leader has a majority on the NEC and his will goes.

Recriminations have surrounded the process, not least because various Sir Keir loyalists on the 40-member NEC have themselves been selected.

Faiza Shaheen, a Jeremy Corbyn-supporting economist who was dropped as a candidate in Chingford and Woodford Green over social media posts, has claimed the Labour Party is "institutionally racist". 

Lloyd Russell-Moyle, the left-wing MP for Brighton Kemptown since 2017, claimed he was suspended over a complaint from eight years ago.

He told my colleague Serena Barker-Singh today: "The system is wrong. There's a danger it looks like cronyism or 'Jobs for the boys'."

As one Labour insider put it: "The Labour Party love to get bogged down in process, but hopefully this soap opera can now come to an end."

Meanwhile, the Tories still have dozens of seats to select. 

 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was asked whether the Labour Party would guarantee to reduce net migration year-on-year, as has been pledged by the Conservatives.

He didn't give a straight answer, but did reiterate that migration is "far too high".

Sir Keir says: "The Conservatives have let immigration get out of control, we've got record numbers of people coming to this country. 

"And they've now said they're going to have a visa cap, they've not said what the number is.

"We did have a visa cap before, Rishi Sunak argued to get rid of it - which they did in 2020 - and now they're going back to it but without a number."

Asked again whether Labour could guarantee this drop, Sir Keir would only say he wants immigration to "come down".

 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is in Greater Manchester, where he has been discussing the row around Diane Abbott.

He is asked about a social media post which claims he was lying about "having respect for her" as a Labour candidate in Hackney North and Stoke Newington.

Has he spoken to Ms Abbott since then?

"We have dealt with the Diane Abbott issue," Sir Keir says.

"The choice is continue with the chaos of division or turn the page with Labour." 

The Labour leader says Ms Abbott "will be part of that".

Asked again, he says: "I spoke to Diane two or three months ago."

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