You and I both know that
today, communication happens
in the blink of an eye, in other words, very quickly, and that
means mastering the art of English. Abbreviations isn't just
a skill, it's a necessity. That's why we're diving into
essential abbreviations. You need for everyday texts, emails, and conversations in English from B2B to POC and EOD. Understanding these shortcuts
isn't just about keeping up, it's about standing out and
communicating clearly quickly. So whether you're trying to navigate
the complex landscape of English, professional communication, trying to
make a solid impression in an email, or simply wanting to understand
and be understood in casual texts and conversations, this
video is your ultimate guide. Being in the know of these
abbreviations can save time, make your communication more effective
and help you build better connections. In this lesson today, I am going to
break down each abbreviation with you, helping you understand exactly
what it means and how to use it. Is it an abbreviation that is used
only in writing or can you use it in conversations as well? I'll share all the details you need to
know about each one and give you example sentences we use with these
abbreviations. By the end, you'll have the confidence you need to
use these abbreviations effectively in your English emails,
texts, and conversations. So all you need to do right now is get
your notebook and a pen so that you're ready to write down these
essential English abbreviations. But super fast. If this is your first
time here, welcome. I'm Annemarie, an English confidence and fluency coach. Everything I do is designed to help you
get the confidence you want for your life and work in English. If you'd love to get years of
lessons and free resources for me, you can find all of that and more over
at my Speak Confident English website. Okay, I hope you're ready to go. I have two quick things I want to share
with you before we start with our first set or category of abbreviations. First, I've split this lesson up into six
distinct categories to make it easier to navigate. Category number one includes
abbreviations we use for time away. Category two, feelings and
opinions. Category three, actions. Category four, timeliness,
category five, attention. And finally, category six, business. And now the second tip I
want to share with you, most abbreviations in English are used
primarily in writing. In other words, we might use them in texts and emails, but we don't use the abbreviated
form in a conversation. Instead, we would say the complete
words. For example, one abbreviation you're
going to learn today is O oh, it stands for out of office. This is perfect for a quick
message in an email or text, but in conversation we don't say, OOO. We simply say out of office with the
abbreviations you're going to learn today, it's important to assume
the abbreviation is used in writing only. If it
is also used in speaking, I will be sure to tell you so that you
know which abbreviations are appropriate for your everyday
conversations in English. And that leads me directly
into category number one. Abbreviations we use for time
away and O oh oh is at the top of our list. As you've just learned,
this means out of office, and again, we use it in writing, particularly
in professional contexts, so it might be a quick text message
to a coworker or client or in an email, and you might see
this example in an email. Annemarie is currently
OOO or out of office, she'll be back next week. The next one in this category
is AFK away from keyboard. This status update has definitely
become more common as working from home has increased, and again,
this one is typically used in writing. If, for example, you're working remotely
and your team expects you to be online, but you've stepped away
for a short period of time, you might set up an email responder
that provides this information currently AFK, be back in
20 minutes. Number three, I am in a meeting. Perhaps someone is trying to get your
attention with a series of text messages so you discreetly respond, IAM, period. Could I get back to you in an hour? Next, LDT leaving early today, this might be used in a text or
email anytime your typical working hours are shorter than usual or perhaps
you're leaving a social event early. Perhaps. For example, a coworker sends you an email with
a last minute task and your response might be, I'm LET. I'll be sure to
do this first thing in the morning. Number five in this category
is NA not available. And of course, like the
previous examples we've had, we could use this in a text or an email
to simply let others know that at this point in time you are not reachable
or not available for some reason. For example, you may have an autoresponder
that says, I'm away on vacation, not available or NA until, and then
you might give a specific date, and our final abbreviation for
this category is WREM working remote. This is perfect when you need to let
others know that you will be unexpectedly out of the office working
remotely for some period of time. It might be a single day of the week. You might send a message to your team
via text to let them know that you're working remotely that day or if
you'll be away for a period of time, you might have an email available
that says, due to health issues, I'll be WREM from May to June. Now let's get into category number two, abbreviations that indicate
some feeling or opinion. First in this category is AFAIK. As far as I know, this one shows up often in text
messages and you might, for example, send this message to a friend, AFAIK. Donna's not joining us
for dinner. Next, FOMO. This one is unique because it's the
first on our list that we use not only in writing but also in conversation. FOMO is fear of missing out. When we talk about having FOMO, it indicates some level of
social anxiety. In other words, someone else is experiencing
something exciting or fun or has some opportunity and you feel that
you may be missing out on that opportunity. Imagine for example, a few of your friends bought tickets
to a concert and you decided not to go, but during the concert they're sending
you little snippets, little videos, and you might say to someone else,
I'm having a bit of FOMO right now. I really wish I had bought
tickets to that concert. Number three in this category is IFYP, I feel your pain. This is a way to indicate that you
empathize or understand how someone is feeling and it's used in
writing, in text messages, online forums and so on.
You might, for example, send a friend this text
message IFYP and I'm here if you need anything.
Next is IMO. In my opinion, perhaps your daughter is sending you
a series of photos as she's trying to figure out the perfect outfit for an
event, so you might respond with IMO, the dress looks better with
the blue jacket and next MBN must be nice. This one expresses a
more negative sentiment. It expresses frustration or
even envy if someone else has something that you perceive as
better than what you have. For example, if you have a friend
who travels constantly, someone else might be jealous of that
travel and send you a text message that says MBN to travel so often. Now, ot, this is another one that's used both
in written contexts and in spoken communication. OT stands for off topic and it
can be used to introduce that the topic of conversation is shifting
into something completely different. For example, in a business meeting
you might say, this is a bit ot, but could we set aside some time to talk
about the plan for next month before we forget TBH? To be honest, imagine a coworker sends you an
email asking for your overall evaluation between two
differing proposals, trying to understand exactly how
they're different from each other and in taking a look at them, you don't really see much of
a difference between them, so you might respond with to be HI don't
really see a difference between these proposals. Okay, we have two more
for this particular category. Next, TMI. Too much information. This is perfect to use in
written and spoken contexts. Anytime someone shares information
that you feel is a bit too personal, unnecessary or just
overboard, if for example, a sibling recently had
surgery and they're describing how they felt what was going on and
you don't really do well with that kind of information, you might say, Ooh,
TMI, I don't really need to know that. And finally we have one that
might be a bit sensitive. It is WTH, what the heck? There's an alternative word
we use occasionally as well. This is a softer version of
what is commonly known as WTF for various reasons. I'm not going to share what that
one means here. All of these though, present a very negative sentiment. They express some kind of anger
or annoyance. For example, if you're frustrated with
someone, you might say, WTH. I told Megan I needed some space
and time to think why does she keep hassling me or why does she keep
emailing me about this? Okay, let's dive into category number three.
Abbreviations we use for actions. This is a big category. We
have eight abbreviations here, and first is AR action required. When we use this in an email, the abbreviation AR is typically
followed with the specific action steps. We want someone to take, for example, AR call client before
noon, number two, BID, break it down. In other words,
make something simpler or shorter. If for example, someone has sent you an email
with a lengthy complex process, you might respond with BID.
I'm a little lost here. Three is CTA. Here's another abbreviation that is used
in both written contexts and in spoken communication. A CTA or call to action is telling
others what you want them to do. For example, if you've ever been on
a website with information that says, click here, that's a CTA. It's
telling you exactly what to do, and if for example, you're having
a meeting with your marketing team, you might say this, we need to do some brainstorming on some
strong CTAs for upcoming social media posts. Next is DM, direct message. Again, this one is used both in
writing and in speaking, and it's a quick way to let someone know
where or how you'll be contacting them. For example, I might share with
someone inside my community. I'll send you a DM for more details. NNTR, no need to respond. This is perfect for quick
emails or text messages. When you want to let someone know that
there is no action required from them, they don't need to respond
to you. For example, you might send this quick
message to a coworker. I'll be moving forward with the ideas
we discussed in the meeting today, NNTR to the previous message,
next TBF to be forwarded, and as you might imagine, this is shorthand for letting someone
know that information they've received by email should be forwarded to
someone else. For example, you might send this to
one of your team members. Important upcoming dates
for Q4 or fourth quarter TBF to the entire staff. Next is one of my favorites on this
list of abbreviations today, TL;DR Too long didn't read. This is most often used
in online chat forums and in lengthy text chains. For example, if you're part of a friend group who
sends text messages back and forth consistently, or if you're in a
WhatsApp group, perhaps for example, you're planning an upcoming weekend
away and there have been numerous text messages that have gone back and
forth all day long and you were in a meeting, you couldn't check your
phone. At the end of the day, you look at your phone and
you see 27 text messages. You might be thinking, I don't
have time to read all of these, so you might respond with TL;DR. Could someone just tell me
where we're planning to go? And the final one for this
category, TYT, take your time. As you might guess, this is perfect when you want to let
others know that there's no rush in responding. For example, let's say you're trying to coordinate
some plans for a future weekend with a friend and you know
she's had a busy week, you might send her this text message.
I know you've had a busy week, TYT category four for our English
abbreviations is focused on timeliness and we have four
essential abbreviations here. First is PRB. We also often use RSVP. PRB means, please respond by when we use
this in written communication. It is always followed by a specific date, the deadline by which we want to
receive information from someone. For example, it might be
confirmation of an upcoming meeting. The abbreviation RSVP has the same
meaning and is typically used in more formal contexts. For example, a wedding invitation and
PRB may be used in more casual context such as quick
email exchanges among coworkers. Here's a quick example. We'll need
to finalize the itinerary soon, PRB Friday with your
thoughts. Next is EOD, EOW, and EOM. End of day, end
of week and end of month. Again, this helps us to set deadlines with
others, whether in emails, texts, and in conversation. You'll
occasionally hear EOD. For example, I need this report
reviewed and sent by EOD. The third abbreviation in this
category is ETA estimated time of arrival. This one is used both in written
contexts and in spoken communication. Let's say you have a friend coming to
visit and you just notice that her flight is delayed. You might send her a
quick text message to say, Hey, I just saw that your flight is
delayed. What's your ETA? And lastly, for this category, TBD, this one is again used in both
written and spoken communication. It means to be determined or
to be decided. For example, maybe your planning an event and someone
wants to know where the event will take place, what venue will you be using? If you haven't finalized those plans, you might say the venue is
still TBD. We should know soon. Okay, we have two more categories to
go and a total of seven more English abbreviations for quick
effective communication. Before we go there, I want to pause just for a moment and
ask you to review your notes so far. Are there any abbreviations you've
learned that are new for you and abbreviations that you
particularly enjoy? If so, try to write a quick example
sentence using that abbreviation. I'll give you an opportunity at the end
of this lesson to answer some practice questions and as always, you can share your examples with
me to make sure they're accurate. And now if you're ready to go, we'll
move on to category number five. Abbreviations we use for attention.
The first on our list is CC, carbon copy. Two. I know that this is an abbreviation
you're probably familiar with from all the emailing you've done in your life. This one is so commonplace that
it has become common not only in writing but in spoken
communication as well. For example, at the end of a meeting,
you might say to someone, would you mind CCing me on that email? I'd like to keep up with any
changes that are discussed. Next is FAO for the attention of, we use this abbreviation to indicate
that the information provided is intended for a specific recipient,
usually a specific person, or it may be for a
department. For example, after speaking to a client, you might send this email
memo email from client FAO, the department manager, do not respond, and the last in this
category is FYI or FYR. For your information
or for your reference, FYI is used in both
speaking and in writing. We use this abbreviation. Anytime there is specific information
that is important for someone to know, you might, for example, send
this quick text to your team. The meeting is canceled for today and
FYI, I'll be offline for the next hour. And now we've arrived at our
final category for today. The last four abbreviations on our list. These four abbreviations
focus on work and business. The first is almost
inescapable these days. ai, it stands for artificial intelligence.
You might say to someone, I am interested in learning more about
ai. Do you have any good resources? If you are someone who is interested in
AI and you want to learn more about how to talk about AI and English, I've
got a full lesson on this topic. I'll share a link to that lesson
in the notes below this video. Next is B2B, business to business. This is used in both written and spoken
communication to denote a transaction that happens between
businesses. If, for example, you work for a company that
produces parts and you sell those parts directly to another business, that is a business to
business transaction. And
we could say, for example, manufacturers, suppliers and
wholesalers are B2B companies. Third in this category
is POC point of contact. This abbreviation is also used in
written and spoken communication, and it's used to bring attention
to the person you should contact if anything is required. For example,
on a telephone call to a client, you might say, I'll be away for the
next few weeks. During this time, your POC will be Sharon. And finally, our last abbreviation for
today is PTO Paid time off again, used in both written
and spoken communication. We use it any time we're
referring to paid time off. For example, vacation time.
You might, for example, send an email out to your team to say, if you have any remaining PTO, please be sure to use it before the
end of the fiscal year. Alright, I know I've shared with you an
abundance of abbreviations in English, so now let's take some time to practice.
I have three situations for you. I want you to think carefully
about the situation, review your list of abbreviations
and respond with some written message that uses the
correct abbreviation in English. In this first situation, I want you to imagine how you
would express frustration. You've been speaking to a business that
is going to supply some decorations for an upcoming event, and the business quoted
you a much higher price for these decorations than
they quoted a friend of yours. How would you express that
frustration in situation number two? You need to let others know that
there's an upcoming deadline, something that needs to be done in
order to successfully launch a product. How would you communicate that deadline
using an abbreviation? And finally, in the third situation, you're on a text thread with several of
your family members planning an upcoming vacation. How would you share
your opinion on that text thread? As always, you can share your examples
with me in the comments below. If you found today's
lesson helpful to you, I would love to know and you can tell me
in a few very simple ways. Number one, give this lesson a thumbs up here on
YouTube. Number two, while you're at it, you can subscribe as well so you never
miss one of my Confident English lessons. And number three, take some time to
visit my Speak Confident English website. You'll find years of English
lessons from me and a wealth of free resources, including my in-depth fluency
training called How to Get the Confidence to Say What You Want In
English. Thank you so much for joining me, and I look forward to
seeing you next time.
