Hello and welcome to 6 Minute Vocabulary.
I'm Neil. And I'm Catherine.
And our topic today is business jargon – that's words and phrases you hear mostly in the world of business.
So, Neil, are you ready for some blue sky thinking?
Blue sky thinking. Mmm -hmm.
That's an expression often heard in the workplace.
It means being creative, coming up with new, original ideas.
Exactly, and in this programme we've got lots more business phrases for you.
We'll explain what they mean and when to use them.
But first, listen to Sophie talking to her marketing team.
And here's a question to think about while you listen.
What does Sophie ask Jo to do?
Good, it seems we're all reading from the same page.
We need to reach the upscale customers.
So, can we think out of the box and come up with something quite different?
We have to push the envelope if we want to succeed in the market.
Now if we take the helicopter view we can see that we've affected lower costs.
We've targeted low hanging fruit and got rid of several distributors.
Going forward now, Joe, can he action advertising?
Is everyone clear now?
Lots of business jargon there.
We usually don't use so many at one time do we, Neil?
No, it can sound a bit much if you use all of them, though these are things that you probably will hear in a business context.
Most definitely. So, back to our question.
We asked you what does Sophie ask Joe to do?
And the answer is she asks him to action advertising.
That's right. She wants him to deal with advertising.
Sophie used the noun action as a verb.
More on that later, but first let's look at some jargon she used to talk about having new ideas.
Here's a clip. So can we think out of the box and come up with something quite different?
We have to push the envelope if we want to succeed in the market.
So Sophie wants her team to come up with a new and exciting idea – and she uses the expression – think out of the box – which means be creative.
Don't feel limited to the same old ideas.
And she tells them to push the envelope – which means go further than before and do things that might be new or risky.
Yeah, that's similar to the expression we had earlier – blue -sky thinking which means being creative, coming up with new and original ideas even if they're not very practical or realistic.
So Niel, are you a blue -sky thinker?
Oh yes, of course, I'm incredibly creative, you know.
I do, yes, it's true.
Sophie, Sophie also said everyone was reading from the same page.
Now this expression means they all had similar ideas and agreed with each other.
Here's another clip.
Now, if we take the helicopter view, we can see that we've affected lower costs.
We have targeted low -hanging fruit and got rid of several distributors.
Some interesting phrases there, and you can guess their meaning if you actually picture what the words mean.
For example, take the helicopter view.
Exactly, now picture yourself up in the sky in a helicopter and you are looking down at ground.
And you can see a lot more from up there than you can see when you're down on the ground.
So this expression means looking at the whole situation, and not just one or two details.
Sophie also said that they lowered costs by targeting low -hanging fruit.
Low -hanging fruit means the easiest or most obvious things.
In reality, on a fruit tree, the fruit that hangs low down is easier to pick, so there's a link between this idea and the idiomatic meaning of the phrase in a business situation.
Good. Now, Sophie used two nouns as verbs – effect and action.
She said we've affected lower costs, and to effect means to achieve something.
She also asked Joe to action advertising.
This means she wants him to deal with the advertising.
And nouns used as verbs like this – sound very strong.
They give the speaker's ideas greater force.
Sophie used the word upscale to describe customers.
Upscale describes people with money or things that are high -quality.
I often think we could do with some upscale coffee in our office.
Mmm, that's a good idea.
And it's time for a quiz!
Number 1. If I want you to be creative and original, would I tell you to a.
Push the envelope or b.
Target low hanging fruit?
And the answer is a.
Push the envelope. Well done if you got that right.
Number 2. If I want you to look at the wider picture and not concentrate on detail, would I tell you to a.
Think out of the box or b.
Take the helicopter view.
And it's b, take the helicopter view.
Good, and finally if I want you to do something, would I ask you to a, action it?
or b, effect it? And the answer is a, action.
Well done if you got those right.
And before we go, here's a top tip for learning vocabulary.
When you learn new words, make a picture in your head of the meaning.
And when you hear or see the word again, you can think of the picture.
There's more about this at bbclearningenglish .com.
Join us again for more 6 Minute Vocabulary.
6 Minute Vocabulary from the BBC.
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