Want to Sound More Professional in English?

Start by Dropping These 7 Words

Photo by ThisisEngineering on Unsplash

You’re a smart, capable professional.
You write emails. You join meetings. You give presentations in English.

But there’s one problem:
Your English sounds… a bit too much.

Too long.
Too formal.
Too complicated.

And you may not even notice it.
Because most people around you speak the same way.

But here’s the thing:
If you work in international teams or with clients around the world, this kind of English often doesn’t work.
It can confuse people. Or make your message less clear.

Especially when your colleagues aren’t native speakers either.

---

Global English isn’t about sounding native.

It’s about being clear.

It’s how confident professionals speak and write when working across cultures.

And here’s what they don’t say:

❌ “Synergise”

❗ Sounds: Complicated. Confusing. Fake.
✅ Say: “Work together” or “Combine efforts”

❌ “Utilise”

❗ Sounds: Too formal.
✅ Say: “Use”

❌ “Ping me”

❗ Sounds: Informal slang.
✅ Say: “Send me a message” or “Contact me”

❌ “Scalable”

❗ Sounds: Like a start-up buzzword.
✅ Say: “Can grow” or “Can be expanded”

❌ “Circle back”

❗ Sounds: Jargon.
✅ Say: “Talk again about this” or “Follow up later”

❌ “Hard and fast rule”

❗ Sounds: Confusing for non-native speakers.
✅ Say: “Strict rule” or “Fixed rule”

❌ “Touch base”

❗ Sounds: Like you’re talking about baseball.
✅ Say: “Connect” or “Have a quick chat”

---

Why this matters

Most of the world does not speak English as a first language.

So if your English is full of slang, idioms, long phrases or “business English” that sounds smart but means very little…
You’ll lose people. Even experienced professionals.

They may read your email twice and still not understand it.
They may stay silent in meetings. Not because they have nothing to say, but because your sentence was too long or unclear.
They may stop reading your LinkedIn posts, even if the topic is useful.

That’s the problem.

---

So what can you do instead?

Here’s what works:

• Use short, clear words

• Avoid idioms, slang and business buzzwords

• Keep your sentences simple and logical

• Use examples from daily work and not from sports or fairy tales

• Help others understand, even if they don’t speak perfect English

And no, this isn’t about “dumbing down” your English.
It’s about making your message easy to follow.

Because clarity is powerful.

---

You don’t need perfect English.

You need Real-World English.

English that works — in emails, in meetings, on Zoom, on stage.
English that builds trust, even with small mistakes.
English that makes people listen and take action.

That’s what I teach.

If you often wonder whether your English sounds professional enough, here’s my advice:

Start small.
Start clear.
Start now.

---

Would you like a checklist of confusing “Business English” words — and what to say instead?

Just ask and I’ll send it to you.

---

✍️ Christine
Helping you speak clearly, lead confidently and connect globally.
From Berlin to Bangalore.