«Let's touch base offline about the low-hanging fruit before we move the goalposts.»
每个单词都很简单,整句话却几乎不知所云。可你真的会在实际的商务会议上听到类似的话——所以商务习语即使该避免使用,也值得先弄懂。
关于决策的习语
| 习语 | 含义 |
|---|---|
| touch base | 简短联系、对一下情况 |
| circle back | 之后再回头讨论 |
| park it | 有意搁置讨论 |
| take it offline | 会后另行讨论 |
| run it by someone | 做决定前先问问别人的意见 |
| get the green light | 获得批准 |
| call the shots | 是做决定的人 |
- Let's park the pricing question and circle back on Thursday.
- I'll run it by legal before we commit.
关于工作和精力投入的习语
| 习语 | 含义 |
|---|---|
| low-hanging fruit | 唾手可得的成果,通常最先着手处理 |
| move the needle | 带来明显、可衡量的效果 |
| the bandwidth | 时间和精力上的余裕 |
| on the same page | 意见一致,理解相同 |
| back to the drawing board | 从头再来 |
| cut corners | 偷工减料 |
| in the loop | 了解情况,消息灵通 |
- We don't have the bandwidth for a second project this quarter.
- That change is nice, but it won't move the needle.
- Keep me in the loop.
关于问题的习语
| 习语 | 含义 |
|---|---|
| a red flag | 危险信号 |
| the elephant in the room | 显而易见却没人提起的问题 |
| drop the ball | 没做好自己该负责的事 |
| a stopgap | 权宜之计 |
| bite the bullet | 硬着头皮接受不愉快的事并去做 |
| the ball is in your court | 轮到你采取行动了 |
- Nobody mentioned the budget — that was the elephant in the room.
- We dropped the ball on the follow-up, and I'm sorry.
「Drop the ball」是一种不小题大做地承认错误的方式。 诚恳但不过分自责,而这正是大多数职场道歉需要的分寸感。
这些要听懂,但说出口前要三思
部分商务习语已经被用得过于陈词滥调,以至于母语者自己都会拿来调侃。Synergy、blue-sky thinking、reach out、ideate、用作动词的 leverage、double-click on that——它们经常出现在「职场最烦人用语」的调查榜单上。
你需要听懂它们,因为别人会说;但不需要自己使用它们。一个非母语者说出「let's take this offline and circle back」,听起来像是在管理培训班上学的英语;而说「let's discuss this after the meeting」的人,则显得清晰而自信。
一个安全的原则是:选用那些真正有实际含义的地道习语(low-hanging fruit、the ball is in your court、a red flag),跳过那些只用来彰显「圈内身份」的说法(synergy、blue-sky thinking)。
实际对话中
项目进展汇报
A: Where are we on the migration?
B: We got the green light last week, but we've been short on bandwidth. We picked off the low-hanging fruit first.
A: And the database piece?
B: That's the elephant in the room. Honestly, we dropped the ball there — we'll have to bite the bullet and go back to the drawing board.
六个习语,每一个都能替代一整句话的解释。正是这种信息密度,让它们在口语中经久不衰。
自测一下
下面的测验检验这些习语的含义,并请你判断哪些可以自己放心使用。