Every phrase you meet in the English at Work role plays, gathered in one place and sorted not by lesson but by what it does — so when you need to get in, buy time, disagree or connect, you know exactly where to reach.
How to use it. Don't read it like a list — raid it. Before your next meeting, call or conference, find the job you need doing below, borrow the phrase, and say it out loud until it's automatic. In a fast meeting there's no time to build a sentence — you reach for a phrase you already own, and it frees your brain to think about the idea.
🙋 Getting the floor & holding it
Breaking into a fast discussion, and keeping it once you're in.
"Sorry, can I just come in here?"
The standard, polite way to break into a discussion before the moment passes. Asks for the floor rather than grabbing it.
Speaking Up in the Meeting
"If I could just finish that thought…"
Holds your ground warmly when someone talks over you — signals you're nearly done and asks them to let you land it.
Speaking Up in the Meeting
⏳ Buying time — without freezing
A confident pause beats a panicked rush every time.
"That's a good question — let me think for a moment."
Completely normal even at the top level; buys real thinking time while sounding considered, not stuck.
Speaking Up in the Meeting
"How shall I put this…"
A thoughtful filler that says "I'm choosing my words with care", not "I'm lost". Buys a beat mid-sentence.
Speaking Up in the Meeting
🌉 Talking around a word you don't know
The number-one fluency skill: never stop at a missing word — describe your way through.
"I don't know the exact word, but it's the thing that…"
Keeps you moving past a gap. Describe it, approximate it — nine times out of ten someone supplies the word and you never lost your flow.
Speaking Up in the Meeting
🤝 Giving a view & disagreeing well
Holding a firm position with warm words.
"From where I sit, …"
Frames your opinion as your honest viewpoint — harder to attack than a flat claim of fact. Cousins: "The way I see it…", "My sense is…"
Speaking Up in the Meeting
"I take your point, but I see it slightly differently."
Concedes something first, so they feel heard, then softens the disagreement. Firm position, warm words.
Speaking Up in the Meeting
"When you say '…', what exactly do you mean?"
Checking a key word is control, not weakness — it buys time, shows you're listening, and often reveals you agree.
Speaking Up in the Meeting
🎯 Handling the spotlight & landing it
Deferring gracefully, and quietly framing the outcome.
"Can I come back to you on that?"
Far stronger than guessing — says you'd rather be accurate than quick, which reads as confidence, not avoidance.
Speaking Up in the Meeting
"So, if I've got this right, …"
Summarising is a power move disguised as a favour — the person who sums up quietly frames the decision.
Speaking Up in the Meeting
☕ Breaking the ice
Walking up to a stranger and getting them talking.
"Mind if I join you?"
Light, warm, almost impossible to refuse — instantly makes you a pair rather than a stranger looming.
Working the Room
"How are you finding it so far?"
The perfect low-effort opener — everyone has an opinion on the event they're at, so it always gets a reply.
Working the Room
🪪 Saying who you are — in one line
A clear, human answer to "what do you do?" that invites a follow-up.
"I'm …, by the way."
"By the way" slips your name in casually, mid-conversation, rather than as a stiff announcement.
Working the Room
"I help [who] [do what]."
Beats a job title every time — clear, memorable, about the value you bring. Makes people ask a question instead of nodding politely.
Working the Room
🔎 Being genuinely curious
The real secret of working a room: interest, not a pitch.
"Oh, interesting — how did you get into that?"
Invites a story, not a fact — and stories are where real connections happen. People light up at their own path.
Working the Room
"That's funny you say that, because…"
Finds common ground and makes the connection feel real and mutual. Shared reference points are the glue.
Working the Room
🔗 Swapping details & a graceful exit
Staying in touch, and leaving a good conversation on a high.
"Shall we swap details?"
"Swap" makes it an equal exchange, not a favour you're asking. Light and mutual.
Working the Room
"I'll drop you a line next week."
Warm and casual for "send you a short message" — and naming when makes it a real promise. The follow-up is where networking pays off.
Working the Room
"I don't want to monopolise you…"
Frames your exit as thoughtful — freeing them to meet others — rather than a brush-off. Leave while it's still going well.
Working the Room
🎤 Presenting & fielding questions
Signposting a talk, and handling the Q&A without being thrown.
"I'll keep this brief — three things, then I'll take questions."
Signposts your talk so people can follow it, and puts you in calm control from the first sentence.
The Presentation
"Good question — just so I answer the right thing, do you mean…?"
Buys a beat AND makes sure you answer what was actually asked. Clarifying is control, not hesitation.
The Presentation
"I hear you, and it's a fair challenge — the way I'd look at it is…"
Defuses a hostile question by acknowledging it first, then calmly reframing. You keep the room without a fight.
The Presentation
"I don't have that figure to hand — let me follow up with you after."
The honest, credible way to handle a question you can't answer. Far stronger than bluffing a number.
The Presentation
🤍 The difficult conversation
Giving hard feedback clearly and kindly, and staying on their side.
"Can we talk about something? I'd rather be straight with you than let it sit."
Opens a hard conversation honestly and warmly, so it doesn't blindside them or fester into resentment.
The Difficult Conversation
"In the last three [meetings], X happened, and the effect was Y."
Describes specific behaviour and its impact — not their character. Facts land; "you always" starts a fight.
The Difficult Conversation
"I'm not questioning your effort — I'm flagging the impact."
Separates the person from the problem, so they can hear the message without feeling attacked.
The Difficult Conversation
"What would help you get there?"
Turns feedback into a shared fix rather than a telling-off — you co-own the way forward.
The Difficult Conversation
⚖️ Negotiating
Trading instead of caving, and protecting the relationship while you do it.
"Let's find something that works for both of us."
Frames the whole thing as collaboration, not combat — the tone that leads to deals both sides keep.
Negotiating
"That's a bit further than I can go — help me understand what's driving the number."
Holds your position without hostility and asks a question before conceding — you learn what they actually need.
Negotiating
"If you can do X, then I can move on Y."
The heart of negotiation — trade a concession for a concession, never give one away for free.
Negotiating
"So, just to confirm what we've agreed…"
Closes the deal cleanly and stops later confusion — the person who sums up quietly frames the outcome.
Negotiating
🎯 The interview
Selling yourself with evidence, and owning a weakness with confidence.
"In a sentence, I'm someone who…"
A crisp, memorable answer to "tell me about yourself" — one clear line beats a rambling life story.
The Interview
"Rather than just say I'm organised, let me give you an example."
Evidence beats adjectives — anyone can claim a quality; a specific example proves it.
The Interview
"Honestly, my weakness is X — and here's what I'm doing about it."
Owning a real weakness plus the action you're taking reads as self-aware and confident, not as a flaw.
The Interview
"Can I ask what success looks like in this role after a year?"
A strong question that turns the interview into a two-way conversation and shows you're already thinking about the job.
The Interview
📈 Putting a case to your manager
Asking for something in a way they can defend to their own boss.
"There's something I'd like to put to you — nothing dramatic."
Sets the agenda and lowers the temperature in one line, so they listen instead of bracing.
Asking to Work From Home
"I want to talk about how I work best, not about doing less."
Kills the suspicion before it forms, and frames the whole conversation around the work.
Asking to Work From Home
"What I'd like to propose is…"
A proposal, not a plea and not an ultimatum. Follow it with something specific enough to say yes to.
Asking to Work From Home
"I know the worry is the team, so let me get ahead of that."
Raise their objection before they have to. It shows you've thought about their problem, not just yours.
Asking to Work From Home
"Could we trial it for a month?"
Asks for a decision they can reverse, which is a much smaller thing to ask for.
Asking to Work From Home
"If it slips, we drop it. No argument."
Hands them the exit. Paradoxically it's what makes them willing to try it at all.
Asking to Work From Home
"That's fair — what would need to be true for it to work?"
Keeps a dead conversation alive after a no, and turns them into your co-author.
Asking to Work From Home
"Can I put a short note together and we look at it properly next time?"
Buys another meeting instead of losing the argument in this one.
Asking to Work From Home
🪑 Running the room
Chairing: making a meeting fair, and finishing on time.
"We've got half an hour and three things to get through — here's how I'd like to use it."
Opens with the shape. Everything you do later is authorised by this one sentence.
Chairing the Meeting
"Can you take us through the first one — three minutes?"
Hands over the floor with a time limit attached, so cutting them off later isn't a surprise.
Chairing the Meeting
"Let me jump in there, only because I want to hear from someone before we lose time."
The "only because" is what makes an interruption survivable — the reason arrives with the cut.
Chairing the Meeting
"That's a real issue, but it's a different meeting. Can we park it?"
Honours the point and removes it. Saying it's real is what lets you put it down.
Chairing the Meeting
"You've been closest to this — what are we missing?"
Pulls in the quiet person by naming why they're worth hearing. Nobody has to fight for the floor.
Chairing the Meeting
"Let her finish."
Three words, and the bravest thing a chair does. Protects the floor you just handed over.
Chairing the Meeting
"Where are we — is everyone happy, or is anyone uneasy?"
Invites dissent, not just consent. "Uneasy" is cheap to admit, so you get a truer answer.
Chairing the Meeting
"So what I'm hearing is…"
Summarises back, which catches the disagreement everyone thought was agreement.
Chairing the Meeting
"So that's you, by Thursday — is that realistic?"
Owner, deadline and consent in one line. The question mark is what makes it stick.
Chairing the Meeting
"We said half an hour and we're at twenty-eight."
Finishing early is a gift, and saying so out loud teaches the room that your meetings end when you say.
Chairing the Meeting
🪞 Being told the truth about yourself
Taking feedback without collapsing or arguing — and still asking for what you want.
"I'd rather have the real version than the kind version."
Asks for the truth up front, which makes it much harder for them to give you a softened one.
The Performance Review
"Can you give me an example? I want to be picturing the same thing you are."
Turns a vague criticism into a specific one you can actually do something about — or answer.
The Performance Review
"Let me sit with that for a second."
Buys three seconds instead of reacting. Nearly every defensive thing you've ever said was said inside those three seconds.
The Performance Review
"The part I recognise is…"
Take the true part first. It disarms them completely, and it earns you the right to the next sentence.
The Performance Review
"Where I'd push back, gently, is…"
Disagrees without a fight. The word "gently" tells them your tone before your tone does.
The Performance Review
"It might be worth knowing that…"
Offers evidence rather than firing it. Same fact, entirely different room.
The Performance Review
"What would 'better' look like by the summer?"
Turns a judgement about the past into a plan for the future, with a date on it.
The Performance Review
"There's something I'd like to put on the table for this year."
Announces the ask so it doesn't arrive as an afterthought. Nobody hands you the moment; you take it.
The Performance Review
"What would I need to show you to be in the frame for that?"
Gets you a route rather than a verdict — and makes them describe it in their own words.
The Performance Review
"Thank you for being straight with me."
Rewards the honesty, which is how you make sure you get it again next year.
The Performance Review
🛑 Saying no upward, without saying no
Protecting the work you've already promised, when the person asking outranks you.
"Can I look at what I've got on and come back to you in ten?"
Buys ten minutes instead of a reflexive yes. Almost every over-commitment happens in the first two seconds.
Saying No to Your Boss
"I don't want to say yes and then let you down quietly."
Frames your caution as loyalty, which it is — the quiet let-down is what they actually fear.
Saying No to Your Boss
"I can do it — but something has to give. Which?"
The heart of it: not a refusal, a trade made visible, with the choice handed back.
Saying No to Your Boss
"If I take that on, the Renner thing lands late. Is that alright?"
Names the specific casualty. Vague overload gets ignored; a named victim gets a decision.
Saying No to Your Boss
"I'm not saying no. I'm asking you to pick."
Says exactly what you're doing, so it can't be reported upstairs as a refusal.
Saying No to Your Boss
"Realistically I've got about a day and a half spare."
"Realistically" is the word that turns optimism into information.
Saying No to Your Boss
"I could do a rough version by Tuesday or a proper one by Friday."
Two real options beat one apology. It also teaches them that quality has a timescale.
Saying No to Your Boss
"Can we say that out loud so we both remember it?"
Nails down what was agreed while you're both still in the room.
Saying No to Your Boss
💷 Pricing your own work
Making the invisible visible — cheerfully, before it costs you a third of the job.
"Yes — easily. Let me just tell you what it costs."
Yes first, price second. The order is the entire technique.
The Changing Brief
"I'd rather flag it now than surprise you at the end."
Casts the awkward conversation as a favour to them, which it also happens to be.
The Changing Brief
"On its own it's nothing. It's the fifth one, though."
Concedes their point and still wins, by moving from the one to the pattern.
The Changing Brief
"Can I show you where we've drifted from the original?"
"Drifted" blames nobody — things drift on their own, which is how this actually happened.
The Changing Brief
"That's about another two days, so it'd be an extra six hundred."
Days, then money, said flatly. The flatness is what makes it sound like arithmetic rather than a grievance.
The Changing Brief
"Or we swap it for something we've already agreed — your call."
Offers a version that costs them nothing, which proves you're not just after more money.
The Changing Brief
"I should have said this at tweak two, honestly. That's on me."
Taking a real share of the blame early buys you the entire rest of the conversation.
The Changing Brief
"Shall we do it this way from now on — you ask, I price it, you decide?"
Fixes the next ten tweaks instead of this one. The real win is the process, not the six hundred.
The Changing Brief
📂 Handing your work to someone else
Being useful about what you know, and honest about what you didn't do.
"I could talk for three hours, so stop me — what do you actually need?"
Hands them the agenda. Thoroughness is for you; usefulness is for them.
The Handover
"There are three things that'll bite you. Everything else is in the folder."
Ruthless triage. Three things get remembered; thirty things get nodded at and lost.
The Handover
"This is the one that looks fine and isn't."
Flags the danger that no document flags, because documents only record what's known to be broken.
The Handover
"The thing that isn't in any document is that it all runs on Ferran."
Names the relationship holding it up. Every job has one and no handover note mentions it.
The Handover
"Officially it's a two-week process. It isn't."
The gap between the official version and the real one is most of what you actually know.
The Handover
"I never got to this, and I should have."
Admitting the gap is more use to her than pretending it isn't there, and she'll find it anyway.
The Handover
"Don't inherit my way of doing it just because it's mine."
Frees her to be better at it than you were, which is the whole point of handing it over.
The Handover
"Ring me for a month. After that, honestly, don't."
Generous and bounded at once. An open-ended offer helps nobody and gets abused by both of you.
The Handover
This toolkit grows with you. It now holds the phrases from the first twelve English at Work lessons — Speaking Up in the Meeting, Working the Room, The Presentation, The Difficult Conversation, Negotiating, The Interview, Asking to Work From Home, Chairing the Meeting, The Performance Review, The Handover, Saying No to Your Boss and The Changing Brief. As more lessons are added, their phrases will join these shelves and new headings will appear. Same handful of professional jobs; more ways to do them well.