This is the Business English Podcast, Episode 606, What's on Tap?
Talking about upcoming plans at work.
Welcome to the Business English podcast from All Ears English.
Get the English skills you need to achieve your dreams in global business.
For a presentation, a meeting, or your office party, this is Real Business English with your favorite American hosts,
Aubrey and Michelle coming to you from Arizona and New York City, USA.
Have you ever listened to native speakers and thought I understand the words, but I still feel slightly lost.
That's because real English conversations include more than vocabulary.
There's speed.
There's connected speech.
There are cultural references and casual phrases.
Your brain has to process all of this in real time.
If conversations sometimes feel overwhelming, it may simply mean you're ready for the next level of training.
Find out your exact level with our quick free fluency quiz.
Go to allearsenglish.com slash fluency score.
That's allearsenglish.com slash f l u e n c y s c o r e.
Hey, Michelle.
How's it going?
Hey, Aubrey.
Pretty good.
How are you?
Excellent.
What's on tap for you today?
Oh, well, on tap for me, picking up my kids from school, recording with you.
Typical day.
Typical day.
And today, you know, what's on tap for the episode is we're going to answer a listener question.
Yes, this is a great phrase for work and related phrases on tap.
So I'll go ahead and read our question today.
Hi, All Ears English team.
I'm Sophia.
I love your podcast.
This probably might be Sophia who has sent other questions.
Thank you, Sophia, for all your amazing questions.
I wonder
I've wondered sometimes if there are other sophias though and we're like giving one all the credit
Maybe there are multiple sophias
That's really funny
I'm so sorry if that's the case so we apologize and thank you to all the sophias who might be sending in questions
So they said, in the Business English episode from February 24th of 2026, you said, good, what's on tap for today's episode?
I wasn't sure what on tap meant and was curious when it's natural to use it in everyday English.
Listening to your podcast has really helped me improve a lot.
I especially love the rhythm and the role plays.
They make learning so fun.
Thank you so much for all your effort.
Best, Sophia.
Thank you for this amazing question.
And I love this for the Business English podcast here because we especially use this at work to talk about what's on tap.
Yeah, this is really good.
So guys, make sure you hit follow wherever you're listening to the Business English Podcast so you never miss anything from us.
So Aubrey, what does ONTAP mean?
Yeah, untapped means something that is planned or expected to happen soon.
So it's interesting.
This actually comes from bars or pubs where drinks like beer or cider come directly from a tap, also called a draft.
So I've always been confused by the word draft because in the States, we spell this D-R-A-F-T, but in British English, it's spelled D-R-A-U-G-H-T. And I would see that word.
I'm like, what?
I don't understand.
It's just spelled differently in American and British English, but always pronounced draft.
Yes, yes, exactly.
So yeah, it's ready to be served.
It's ready to happen.
But at work, we use it and we're not talking about alcohol.
We're talking about, you know, what's scheduled, what's planned or coming up next.
And this is just really informal and casual.
I also think it's better for casual conversations in work meetings or interactions.
Would you say that it's used in written communication?
No, I really agree.
And even in a meeting.
I would not say what's on tap to mean like what's the next agenda item.
I would say what's up next?
What are we covering next?
Right.
This is very informal.
So it's unlikely to be in a meeting, a presentation or in any written communications.
It's more for conversations.
But the kinds of conversations we have at work a lot to ask what's coming next.
What's on tap?
Right.
Yeah, it's interesting.
You might use it to talk about the meeting, but you won't necessarily use it in the meeting with like the more formal situation.
Yes, I could imagine saying this to you before a meeting starts.
If you're running it, asking about the agenda, what's on tap for today?
And what might you say?
Yeah, I might say, oh, well, we have a team meeting and a client presentation.
So I'm kind of asking, like, what's the agenda?
What's scheduled?
What's planned?
And then you would share that.
But then during the meeting, I wouldn't be like, what's on tap to ask what we're covering next?
Yeah, yeah, that's really interesting.
So yeah, let's talk about for meetings, if I could say, oh, well, what's on tap for the meeting?
Yeah.
And I might say, first, we'll review the sales numbers, then discuss the marketing plan.
And this would definitely be like the conversation before a meeting when it's more informal, casual.
You might even ask a coworker what they did this weekend.
You're waiting for a meeting to start.
And this would be very normal if one person knows the agenda, has planned the meeting to say, what's on tap today?
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Or this could be really good for upcoming projects, right?
So what's on tap for next quarter?
And I might say, we're launching two new products.
Many English learners focus on grammar.
They want their sentences to be correct, but fluency isn't just about being correct.
It's about sounding natural, choosing the right phrase, responding quickly without translating every thought in your head.
That's why someone can know a lot of grammar rules and still feel uncomfortable in conversations.
Real fluency comes from understanding patterns, tone, and natural expressions.
Our free two-minute fluency quiz helps you discover your level and what skills will move you forward.
Go to allearsenglish.com slash fluency score to take the quiz right now.
That's allearsenglish.com slash fluency.
All right, let's share some similar phrases, Michelle.
There are a lot of ways that we say this at work.
So first of all, coming up, something that will happen soon or next.
Yeah, exactly.
So all right, should we do a little role play?
Sure.
What's coming up after the presentation?
Oh, well, we're meeting with a client to discuss feedback.
Okay.
Or if I say we have a big product launch coming up next month.
Oh, that's exciting.
Right?
Yeah.
So this is less informal.
I would say this during a meeting, right?
You know, what's coming up next?
It's not so conversational.
Yeah, exactly.
Or another thing is in the works.
So that is something that is currently being planned or developed.
So for example, are there any new marketing ideas?
Yes, we have a new campaign in the works.
Yeah, so you are working on it.
Yeah, exactly.
Or do we have any new partnerships?
We actually have a few collaborations in the works.
Nice.
Yeah.
So this is a very casual way to say this, but it's very common at work.
Instead of the more formal options like we are working on this, there are these things going on, we'll often say in the works to just mean, you know, whatever is planned.
And then the next one is on deck, which means something that will happen very soon or is next in line.
This comes from baseball.
The batter on deck is the one that's going to bat next.
Coming up next.
Yep.
He's on deck.
He's on deck.
Yeah, I know this because now my son is playing in Little League.
So it's always like, oh, little league.
Look, he's on deck, right?
He's like warming up his swing and we're so excited to see him back.
Yes.
Yeah.
All right.
So for example, who's presenting after the sales team?
The marketing director is on deck.
Yeah.
So we mean they're coming up next.
Yes.
Or what project is on deck for next week?
Oh, the website redesign.
Yes, it's coming up next.
Right.
Even though this is from baseball is quite casual.
We use it at work all the time.
It's not overly formal.
Right.
Or overly informal rather.
Yeah.
Yeah.
All right.
Let's teach one more.
This is another really good one.
So in the pipeline.
Okay.
So this is that something is being developed, usually behind the scenes and will probably happen in the future.
So for example, are there any new products planned?
Yes, we have two new products in the pipeline.
Mm-hmm.
Or are there any improvements planned for the app?
Oh, yes.
We have several updates in the pipeline.
They should smooth out our current bugs.
Yeah.
So this means the same as on deck, in the works.
It means it's being planned.
It's getting started, right?
These are all ways to say it that we use often at work.
None of them are overly informal.
They're really perfect for any situation.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Love it.
Let's do a role play and use a few of these.
You and I are work colleagues here and we just started our weekly team meeting.
I'll start us out.
Okay.
Hey, Michelle, what's on tap for the team this week?
Well, we have the quarterly meeting coming up tomorrow.
Oh, that's right.
I want to make sure I know where the team stands.
Do we have any new projects in the works?
Oh, yes.
We have a new marketing campaign in the works, but I'll brief everyone on that tomorrow.
Okay.
Looking forward to it.
What's on deck after that?
Oh, the website redesign, which we've already spoken about briefly.
Yes.
Well, okay.
It sounds like we have a lot in the pipeline this month.
Definitely.
It'll be a busy few weeks.
Yeah.
And this is so perfect to have multiple options, right?
It would be terrible to have to repeat the same phrase over and over.
If you say coming up, and then this is coming up, and this is coming up.
It's really great to have multiple options like this.
Exactly.
Exactly.
So should we go through it?
Yes.
I started out with, Michelle, what's on tap for the team?
That means what's coming up?
What's planned?
Yep.
And then I said, well, we have the quarterly meeting coming up tomorrow.
And then I said, do we have any new projects in the works?
That means things that are planned coming up soon.
And they may have been started a little bit, or they might not have started at all yet.
You wouldn't know just from this phrase.
True.
And then I echoed what you said.
I said, we have a new marketing campaign in the works.
And then I said, what's on deck after that?
Meaning like what's coming up next?
Yes.
And then you said, it sounds like we have a lot in the pipeline this month.
Yeah, and another way to say that is just a lot going on, right?
It means we've got a lot planned, a lot happening, but this is another great way to say that, a lot in the pipeline.
Love it.
All right, guys, check out episode 601 of the Business English podcast.
That was to cap it all off, which kind of cap and tap rhymes, so why not?
Yeah.
How to talk about stressful situations at work.
That was such a useful episode.
We all have those stressful situations and you need the phrases and strategies to know how to talk about it.
You don't want to create that awkward situation where you just don't say anything.
No.
Don't miss that episode.
Scroll up if you missed it.
All right.
Well, this was really fun.
And guys, definitely use these to connect at work.
It really helps with planning, showing interest so much.
So give this a try.
And yeah, let us know how it goes.
Awesome.
Thanks for joining me today, Michelle.
This was a really fun episode.
I will see you next time.
All right.
Bye, Aubrey.
Thank you for listening to Business English, a podcast just for you, the high achieving global professional.
Want more from all ears English?
Don't miss our biggest and best podcast with 8 million monthly downloads.
Just search for the All Ears English podcast and hit follow to get four new episodes per week on fluency, American culture, grammar, and so much more.
Or tap the link in the show notes.
Remember, we believe in connection, not perfection when it comes to learning English.
Follow the All Ears English podcast now.
Thank you.
