Business Vocabulary, Acronyms and Phrases that Every Employee Should Know

Effective communication is essential for every aspect of a growing business. Communication relies on language to convey a message and using the right language is the key to successful communication. This Business Writing course will teach you how to write efficient business correspondence.

Every aspect of the business relies on communication, from the warehouse to the sales floor and as business has developed, so a language has developed around business to accommodate the specific needs of the department and the industry. It is no wonder that special words have been created and developed to support these departments and industries.

The key to good communication is creating a clear, concise, cohesive and correct message to others within your department or company. Effective business communication: Apply the five Cs of good style to your professional writing will teach you how to write effective communication.

To convey your message, you also need to know how to speak the language. Let’s take a look at some of the phrases and words that have become accepted within the different industries and departments within the business sector.

Words and Phrases Used in the Advertising industry

The advertising industry touches almost every aspect of modern life. But this industry often has a language of its own. Marketing is about creating business for your company. To learn how to write effective consulting proposals to start winning more business for your company, sign up for the Consulting Proposals: Your Guide to Winning More Business course or sign up for Persuasive Writing For Online Business  to learn the art of writing sales letters that promote the products you promote via the web.

Here are some of the words and phrases you will find within the advertising industry:

• AIDA – An acronym for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. AIDA is used to denote the objective of every advert.

• Double page spread – an advert that covers 2 pages of a magazine or newspaper

• Eye-catcher – Something that is designed specifically to draw attention

• Hoarding – a signboard for advertising or posters, normally found outdoors

• Slot – a specific time in the broadcasting schedule, generally referring to when a commercial can be shown

• USP – Unique selling point. This refers to a particular characteristic of a product that is used to increase the sales of that product.

• Jingle – a short catchy tune and rhyme developed to promote a product or brand

• Slogan – a short phrase developed to promote and product, brand or company

Words and Phrases that are Used in the Banking Industry

The following words and phrases are used by the banking industry:

• A/c – shortened version of account

• Balance – the sum of cash in the company’s bank account after subtracting credits from the debits

• Current Account – an account from which money can be drawn at any time

• Credit – money added to a bank account

• Debit – money withdrawn from a bank account

• Deposit Account – an account on which interest is paid. A savings account

• Exchange Rate – the rate at which one currency can be exchanged for another

• Overdraft – A deficit in the bank a/c caused by withdrawing more money than was in the account

• Payee – a person to whom money is paid

Words Used to Refer to Company Structure

• Accounts Dept. – the department responsible for accounts and administration of the company’s accounts

• A.G.M. – Annual General Meeting – a meeting held annually to discuss the company’s progress

• Board of directors – A group of people who determine overall policy of the company

• Chairman – Person who heads the board of directors or a person who is in charge of the company

• Director – A member of the board of directors

• Executive Officer – The person managing the affairs of the company

• Managing Director – The person responsible for running the day to day operations of the company

• Organization chart – a chart representing the structure of the company

• Shareholder – A person or corporation who has made an investment in the company and by virtue of that investment owns a portion of the company.

• Vice President – a senior executive responsible for a separate division within the company.

Words and phrases used in meetings

• A.O.B – any other business. This is normally the last item on the agenda to allow those in the meeting to raise any other items of interest at the meeting.

• Agenda – A written schedule or program for the meeting

• Ballot – A type of vote cast during the meeting – normally a secret vote made on paper

• Casting vote – A deciding vote when votes are equal. A casting vote is normally assigned to a person in a position of authority

• Consensus – a term used to refer to a situation where everyone agrees

• Item – a single point of discussion, normally indicated on the agenda

• Minutes – a written record of the meeting. A person is normally assigned to take the minutes of the meeting

• Proxy – a person nominated to speak on behalf of, or vote on behalf of, another person who cannot be present

• Show of hands – a way of voting or expressing one’s opinion by raising the hand

Business Vocabulary Constantly Changes

The above phrases and words represent just a few of the abbreviations and industry specific phrases that you may encounter in your work environment. Vocabulary, phrases and acronyms constantly evolve in the business world. The best way to learn and keep up with changes is to ask or look up the meaning of a phrase you do not understand. To learn how to write Writing Effective Business Emails that will build your professional image and increase your productivity, sign up for this course from Udemy now.

If you are trying to improve your business writing skills, then read 7 Email Writing Skills That Many Business Professionals Ignore.