Essential Business English Phrases for the Workplace

Why business English is different

Casual phrases can sound too informal or even rude in a professional context. Business English favors clarity, politeness, and a set of standard phrases everyone recognizes.

Email phrases

Opening:

• I hope this email finds you well.
• I am writing to inquire about...
• Further to our conversation, I wanted to follow up on...

Closing:

• Please let me know if you have any questions.
• I look forward to hearing from you.
• Best regards, / Kind regards,

Meeting phrases

Starting a meeting:

• Let's get started.
• Thanks everyone for joining.
• Today's agenda includes...

Giving your opinion:

• From my perspective...
• I'd like to add that...
• If I may, I'd suggest...

Disagreeing politely:

• I see your point, but I think...
• That's a fair point, however...
• I'm not sure I fully agree, because...

Negotiation phrases

• What would you propose instead?
• We could meet in the middle on this.
• Let's find a solution that works for both sides.
• I'm afraid that doesn't quite work for us.

Small talk before business

Even in professional settings, a short bit of small talk is expected before getting to business: How was your weekend? / Did you have a good trip? Skipping straight to business can feel abrupt in many workplace cultures.

Practice tip

Role-play a full email exchange or short meeting on a topic from your actual job, using these phrases deliberately. Real-context practice sticks far better than memorizing isolated phrases.