Hi, I'm Rebecca from www.engvid.com . Good
to see you again! In today's lesson, we're going to learn ten
business expressions, and these are quite advanced expressions, and they will help you
in two different ways. First, they'll help you to understand more
of what people are saying around you because they are advanced expressions, and second,
if you learn them and start to use them, you will sound a lot more advanced in your English,
okay? And definitely, these are expression that,
once you start to use them, people will notice. Oh, she's using better English! He's using an advanced expression. Okay? And they will realize that. So, let's learn what they are. Okay? Here we go. So, what's interesting about all of these
expressions? They all happen to be about, like, three words,
"a something something". So, they are basically a, an adjective, and
then a noun. So, what's interesting here is that you probably
already know the noun, okay? So, if I say "option" or "discussion" or "opportunity"
or "issue", you probably know what those words are. But, what happens is that, in these business
expressions or collocations, as they're called, there's an adjective, which is a little bit
more advanced, and that makes it a little bit more challenging and maybe it leaves you
a little bit unsure about what the actual meaning is. But, if somebody uses the expression, then
you really need to know that, because that adjective is critical to understanding it,
okay? So, let's go through them one by one and then
you will know them. So, here we go. So, the first one is: "a viable option". So, option is what? Like, something you can do - you can do this,
you can do that, okay? But viable, what does viable mean? Viable just means possible, okay? It's a viable option, means it's a possibility. That's what it means. That's all. For example, let's say you have to get downtown
so you could take public transportation, you could take a taxi, you could drive, these
are all viable options. Okay? Possible options. That's it. Alright. The next one: "a fruitful discussion". So, you know, especially if you're in business,
what a discussion is, when two people are speaking and discussing an idea or a possibility. So, here, the adjective is a "fruitful" discussion. So, what is fruitful? Something to do with fruit? No. Fruitful does mean, like, full of fruit, but
fruit here has a different meaning. Fruitful discussion is a useful discussion. A discussion that had a good result, a good
option, a good outcome, okay? So, it was fruitful, it was a very useful
discussion, it was a good discussion, it was a helpful discussion, okay? So, that's the meaning of "a fruitful discussion". Now, you will see that, here, I have a smiley
face, so why's that? Because the first three expressions are all
kind of on the positive side, okay? The next three are neutral, and the last four
are a little bit on the negative side. So, let's get back. The next one: "a golden opportunity". An opportunity by itself is a positive thing,
but if something is a golden opportunity, what does that mean? It's an amazing opportunity. It's a wonderful opportunity. It's a great opportunity. For example, let's suppose there's a bright
student and then he or she gets a scholarship, a fully paid scholarship to go and study at
a very well-known university. That's a golden opportunity, okay? To improve his life or her life. So now, say them after me, because you want
to be able to also say them and use them comfortably, and we will be using them in sentences in
the next board, but let's also master the pronunciation, so repeat after me: a viable
option, a fruitful discussion, a golden opportunity. Okay? Now, are you just going to be saying that
phrase? No, of course it will be in a sentence. For example, "That's a viable option.", "That's
a fruitful discussion.", or "That was a fruitful discussion.", "That's a golden opportunity.",
okay? So, you could use it in many ways, but that's
a really simple way. Next, now these next three are kind of neutral. They're not good or bad, they're just sort
of factual. So, we have here: "a tentative appointment". Appointment you know, because you make appointments
all the time, but if you say, "We have a tentative appointment to meet on Monday at 3:00.", so
tentative means not certain. Not fixed. It's kind of just for now, that's what we've
said but it might change, it's not confirmed, alright? So, that's tentative. Say it after me: a tentative appointment. Good. Next, this is quite advanced actually, this
next one: "a foregone conclusion". Conclusion, you probably know, alright? A foregone conclusion means a conclusion that
everybody kind of already knows what that's going to be. For example, let's suppose there are some
elections going on and everybody knows already who is going to win. And then the election happens and that party
wins. So, it's no surprise, right? Everybody already knows it. So, that would be a foregone conclusion. It was a foregone conclusion that that party
was going to win the elections. Say it after me: a foregone conclusion. Good. Next: "a stopgap measure". A measure is just, here, meaning like, an
action, okay? A step, or an action. But what does it mean, a stopgap measure? It's something that you just do temporarily. For example, let's say you work in an office
and you've got some really important work to do and suddenly, your computer stops working
and you don't have a computer. Well, you can't be without a computer, right,
these days, but somebody then realizes that John just two desks away is away on holiday
this week, and his computer is available. Therefore, they say, "Hey, why don't you just
work on John's computer this week and, in the meantime, we'll get your computer repaired?",
alright? But, it's not for always. You're not always going to use his computer,
it's just what? A stopgap measure. It's just a temporary measure. Alright? That's that one. Now, let's look at some that are a little
bit more on the negative side, talking about things which are more serious. For example: "a pressing issue". An issue is, like, a big problem, right? A pressing issue, right, it's pressing, means
it's urgent, it's really important. For example, many people would consider healthcare
a pressing issue, or climate change, a pressing issue, okay? Something that you need to solve, it's urgent,
it's important, it's a pressing issue. Okay? Next, well, say it after me: a pressing issue. Good. It's important to say it aloud whenever you
can, because once you've said it aloud, it becomes that much easier for you to say it
aloud again, okay? If you never said it aloud, it's going to
be very hard for you to use it at work, but if you've said it and you've practiced it,
you've practiced it with me, you've practiced it afterwards, you've practiced it when you
wake up in the morning or after dinner, then you've heard yourself using it, it becomes
familiar, and you'll feel more confident using it. Okay? So, do that when I say practice it, really
try to do that, unless you're somewhere like a library where you have to be really quiet,
okay? Next: "a moot point". Now, that sounds a little bit weird. This word "moot" is kind of a strange sounding
word. A point, you know, but what is moot point? So, a moot point, first I'll give you the
meaning, a moot point is kind of like an unimportant point, okay? It's not relevant - it's not so relevant,
it's really unimportant at this stage. So, for example, let's say you go to the airport
and you and your team have to fly somewhere for a very important meeting with a client,
but there's a huge storm and there are lots of cancellations of the flights, so you're
trying to rearrange your flights and everything, right? And then, you finally manage to do that and
then one of the people on your team says "Okay, but then when we get there, how are we going
to now get to the - get from the airport to the hotel?" and you say "You know what, that's
a moot point. Right now, the most important thing is that
we get there, then once we get there, we'll figure out the rest of it." So, a moot point is an unimportant point,
okay? Next, oh, do you want to say that weird word,
okay? Try it: a moot point. It's exactly like it sounds, a moot point. Good. Let's go to the next two. So this one is: "a stumbling block". A block is like a brick, like, you know, Lego
blocks, that maybe you played with when you were a child, but a stumbling block, what
does it mean to stumble? To stumble is like, to kind of trip and fall. So, a stumbling block is like an obstacle. Something that's in your way, something that's
preventing you from going forward, okay? For example, I don't like to give this example,
but it's kind of true, I know, from teaching so many students, that many students find
that prepositions are kind of like a stumbling block to making progress in English, because
they - it's like every time you're trying to use it, you have to think a lot and you
might make a mistake. So, it's a little bit of an obstacle, you
can get over them like any obstacle, but it's a stumbling block, okay? It's something that prevents you from moving
forward and may make you fall or fail in that sense, okay? It's a stumbling block to your progress. Okay. Next: "a short-sighted view". A short-sighted view. A view, you know, but a view in this case
doesn't mean something that you can see, a view in this case means your opinion. Just like we could ask somebody, right, "What's
your opinion?", or "What are your views on this?" View here means opinion in this expression,
but a short-sighted view, what's that? Okay, so there are two things, thinking about
what's in front of you in life, or thinking about what's going to happen later. So, let's suppose there's a young student
and a young person and he's in university and he gets a great part-time job in the summer,
a great job in the summer, and he's all excited and tells you "You know what, I'm going to
make like 10,000 dollars this summer!", and he's very happy, and you're happy for him,
but then he says "So, I've decided to drop out of university because, look, I can make
10,000 dollars." So you, let's say, being perhaps a more mature
person may say to him "You know what, I think you're taking a bit of a short-sighted view. You're only thinking about what's immediately
in front of you and right now, 10,000 dollars seems like a lot of money, but if you continue
in university, you have a chance to do much better", okay? So, a short-sighted view is when you're just
looking at what's right in front of you and not thinking of the long-term benefits or
implications of something that you've decided to do. Okay? So, repeat it after me: a short-sighted view. And this one we didn't say: a stumbling block. Good. So now, I know they're kind of new, I know
there are a lot of new words, but you can get it, okay? You'll definitely get it, I know that for
sure, I work with lots and lots of students, and once you start to use it, you'll feel
much more comfortable, and you'll probably find some that you like more than others,
so start to use that, start to try to apply it to your own life, okay? Think of - are you facing any stumbling blocks
right now in your life? Are there any golden opportunities waiting
for you that you could take advantage of? Is anything that you know a foregone conclusion? Okay? Think about it when you apply something you
learn to something you already know, you can learn it and remember it much more effectively. Okay? But now, let's try to apply these into some
real sentences. Okay, so now, let's practice. Okay? So, here we have the adjectives that are part
of the expression that we learned, and here we have some sentences. So, let me just go over which adjectives we
have and then you can help me to fill them into the sentences. The first one: tentative. Now, there are two ways to pronounce this
word, by the way, you can say these t's: tentative, or "tenative", okay? Next: foregone, pressing, viable, golden,
fruitful. Okay? Alright. Let's get started. Number one: We have an unconfirmed appointment. So, let's replace this word with one of the
words that we learned which means the same thing. What is that? If you need more time to think, you can pause
the video, think, and then continue, or just stay with me. So, the expression should be "We have a tentative
appointment.", good. Okay? We have a tentative appointment. We don't usually say we have an unconfirmed
appointment, you can say that, these aren't wrong, but this is like a professional expression,
okay? We have a tentative appointment. And, by the way, it's not only for appointments. You could have a tentative plan, you could
have a tentative meeting, okay? So, we use this expression in various ways. Next: They had a great discussion. That's not wrong. What's a better way to say it? Let's upgrade it. They had a - which of those words? They had a fruitful discussion, okay? Fruitful. Useful, very successful, very good, very helpful,
alright? Next: That's not a possible option. What could we say instead of that? That's not a - yes - That's not a viable option,
okay? That's not a viable option. See how it sounds so much more professional? So much more advanced, okay? Immediately, you will just sound like you're
really comfortable using English, which is what you want. Okay. Number four: The speaker discussed urgent
issues. What's another way to say "urgent"? Which of our words? Okay, pressing. The speaker discussed pressing issues, or,
a pressing issue, okay? It's like "urgent". Next: That's an obvious conclusion. What's another way to say that? That's a - not too many options left now. That's a foregone conclusion, okay? Good. That's a foregone conclusion. I guarantee you that if you use this expression
at work, people will be impressed, okay? It's a - it's not just a way of expressing
yourself differently, it's a way of thinking differently, and that's why these expressions
are so valuable, okay? Next, number six: You have a super opportunity
to optimize your English with these expressions! So, what do we want to say instead of "a super
opportunity? You have a - yes - you have golden opportunity
to optimize your English with these expressions. Okay. Great. So, of course here, you saw that we just did
six of them. We did learn ten today, so what you should
do now is, you know, go to www.engvid.com , there you can do a quiz on all of the expressions
that we learned and, even though we did a little bit of review here, it might not be
enough for your brain to really remember it well. The brain loves practice, okay? So, go to our site and do the quiz. It will really help you master those expressions
and take them forward with you, because otherwise, you're watching but you're not taking away,
and what you really want to do is to take away and start to apply what you've learned,
okay? And, what else can you do? Well, if you haven't already, do subscribe
to my YouTube channel and ring the bell so you will be notified every time I have a new
lesson and, if you're really interested in taking your English to a higher level, check
out my English course, it's an online course called "Correct Your English Errors in 10
Minutes a Day" ( https://10.bexenglish.com ). It's an easy, quick system to correct lots
of mistakes in pronunciation, expressions, grammar, vocabulary, and so on, okay? I think you'll really like it; we're getting
really great feedback from a lot of our students. So, thanks very much for watching and all
the best with your English. Bye for now.
