The English Breakfast ☕
Hi there,
Welcome back to The English Breakfast — the newsletter for Italian professionals who want to feel more confident in English at work.
I know you might still be a bit sad that England got knocked out of the World Cup this week, but don’t worry, I’m here to help you forget about the football with some useful Business English tips you can use in the office on Monday.
Sooner or later, everyone experiences a misunderstanding at work. Maybe you didn’t understand what someone said in a fast meeting. Or perhaps you noticed a confused look on your colleague’s face while you were trying to explain a project.
This is completely normal—it even happens in our native languages (or at least it does with me 😅). But knowing how to manage these moments smoothly and confidently is the real key to professional Business English.
Fantastic phrasal verbs
It’s quiz time. Let’s start off with 6 phrasal verbs that can help you to avoid confusion at work.
Can you get 6/6 correct?
Do the quiz now and find out.
Now it’s time for 10 key phrases to help you handle confusion calmly and professionally in the office.
When You Need Clarification
The Phrase | When to Use It | Why it Works |
1. "If I understand correctly, you are saying..." | To repeat their point in your own words. | It proves you are listening and gives them a chance to correct any gaps. |
2. "Could you please elaborate on what you mean by [X]?" | When a specific term or concept is too vague. | "Elaborate" is a highly professional way to ask for more details without sounding lost. |
3. "Would you mind rephrasing that last point?" | When the way they explained something was too complex. | It politely places the focus on the phrasing rather than your language ability. |
4. "I am not sure I quite follow." | When a meeting is moving too fast and you are getting left behind. | "I don't follow" is a polite, standard way to admit confusion before the gap widens. |
5. "Just to make sure we are on the same page,..." | To confirm you both have the same understanding. | It lets you ask for confirmation in a natural way. |
When They Seem Confused
The Phrase | When to Use It | Why it Works |
6. "Perhaps I did not explain that very clearly. What I meant was..." | When you realise the other person has misunderstood you. | By taking the blame for the bad explanation, you keep them from feeling defensive. |
7. "Let me put it another way..." | Right before you explain a concept in another way. | It lets them know you’re about to rephrase what you said. |
8. "To clarify my previous comment,..." | A great way to explain something again after noticing the other person has misunderstood. | A polite way to say "that's not what I meant" without using negative words. |
9. "I think we might have a slight misunderstanding here." | When you realise both of you are talking about two completely different things. | "Slight" softens the blow, making it easy for both parties to hit the reset button. |
10. "Let's look at the bigger picture." | When the conversation is becoming confusing because of too many minor details. | Refocuses attention on the main goal. |
What would you say?
Reply to this email with your answers. ✉
1. The "Lost in the Details" Meeting 🌀
The Scenario: You are 45 minutes into a meeting. Your team is arguing about what font size to use on page 14 of a 50-page slide deck, completely forgetting that you haven't even agreed on the main presentation topic yet.
Colleague A: "I think 12pt is too small."
Colleague B: "But 14pt will push the text to the next line!"
You: “__________ We need to agree on the core message of the presentation before we worry about the formatting.”
Your Choices:
A) "Could you please elaborate on what you mean by that?"
B) "If I understand correctly, you are saying..."
C) "Let's look at the bigger picture."
2. The Fast-Talker 🏃♂️
The Scenario: You are in a Zoom meeting with a colleague who is rushing through a complex project update. They are throwing out acronyms and numbers so quickly that you’ve completely lost track of the timeline.
Colleague: "So if we push the API to staging by Tuesday, we can QA it by Wednesday, sync with the PMs on Thursday, and deploy by Friday. Got it? OK, let’s move on."
You: “__________ I’m worried we might miss a bug if we rush the QA.”
Your Choices:
A) "To clarify my previous comment..."
B) "I am not sure I quite follow? Could we pause for a second?"
C) "Let me put it another way..."
Quick Fix 🔧
Nothing causes more confusion than using the wrong word when speaking! Avoid these 3 really common mistakes in English.
Watch this week’s Quick Fix to find out if you knew them already.
All right, that’s it for this week’s edition. Let me know if you enjoyed it and I’ll see you next time.
Have a great week.
All the best,
Dan
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