💼 “Level Up Your Office Chat: Business Phrasal Verbs You’ll Actually Use” 📈

Because saying 'collaborate' when you could say 'work together' is just... too formal 😅

🔑 20 Must-Know Business Phrasal Verbs

1. Follow up (on sth) 🔁
   👉 Check progress or continue after something
   💬 “I’ll follow up on the client’s request tomorrow.”

2. Take on (someone/something) 🧳
   👉 Accept responsibility or hire someone
   💬 “We’re taking on two new interns next week.”

3. Set up (sth) 🏗️
   👉 Arrange or establish something
   💬 “I’ll set up a meeting for Friday.”

4. Bring up (sth) 🗣️
   👉 Mention a topic
   💬 “She brought up the budget cuts in the meeting.”

5. Look into (sth) 🔍
   👉 Investigate / research
   💬 “We’re looking into new software options.”

6. Call off (sth) ❌📞
   👉 Cancel
   💬 “They called off the merger last minute.”

7. Go over (sth) 🧐
   👉 Review or check
   💬 “Let’s go over the sales figures together.”

8. Point out (sth) ☝️
   👉 Highlight / mention something
   💬 “He pointed out a mistake in the contract.”

9. Run out (of sth) 🏃‍♂️⛔
   👉 Use all of something
   💬 “We’ve run out of printer paper again.”

10. Take over (sth) 🏢
    👉 Gain control/responsibility
    💬 “Another company is taking over our branch.”

11. Cut back (on sth) ✂️
    👉 Reduce
    💬 “We need to cut back on expenses.”

12. Come up with (sth) 💡
    👉 Think of an idea/plan
    💬 “She came up with a brilliant slogan.”

13. Turn down (sth) ❌
    👉 Reject an offer or request
    💬 “They turned down the job offer.”

14. Step up (sth) ⬆️
    👉 Increase effort or activity
    💬 “We need to step up production this month.”

15. Break down (sth) 🧩
    👉 Divide into smaller parts
    💬 “Let’s break down the tasks by department.”

16. Carry out (sth) 🧪
    👉 Complete/perform a task
    💬 “We’re carrying out a survey on customer satisfaction.”

17. Fill in (for someone) 👤
    👉 Temporarily replace someone
    💬 “Can you fill in for Sarah on Thursday?”

18. Back up (sth/someone) 💾👊
    👉 Support or make a copy
    💬 “Don’t forget to back up the presentation file.”

19. Hand in (sth) 📄
    👉 Submit
    💬 “He handed in his resignation yesterday.”

20. Catch up (on sth) 🕒
    👉 Do work you’ve missed / get up to date
    💬 “I need to catch up on emails.”

🗣️ Office Drama Dialogue: “Crisis in Conference Room B” 🧑‍💼🧑‍💼

Characters:

• Nina – Always organised 📝

• Mark – Always a little behind 😅

• Freya – The boss who loves buzzwords

Nina: Mark, did you hand in the Q2 report?

Mark: I was going to, but then I ran out of printer ink. Again. 🙃

Nina: You could’ve backed it up and sent it digitally! 📧

Freya: Right, let’s get started. We’ll go over last month’s numbers and then look into ways to cut back on spending.

Mark: I came up with an idea! Free coffee for clients, but we charge extra for sugar. ☕💰

Nina: …You might want to think that one through. 🙄

Freya: Thanks, Mark, but we’ll turn down that idea for now. Let’s bring up the client survey results instead.

Mark: I still need to catch up on those. I was filling in for Tom last week.

Nina: Can we set up another meeting to follow up on that?

Freya: Yes, and Nina, can you take over the budget projections?

Nina: Absolutely — I’ll break them down by region.

Mark: Meanwhile, I’ll just… step up my spreadsheet game. 😅

💡 Handy Tips for Learning Business Phrasal Verbs

✨ Use them in emails or meetings:

“Hi Sam, just following up on the invoice…”
“Let’s set up a call to go over the contract.”

✨ Think in collocations:

• Set up a meeting

• Carry out research

• Hand in your notice

• Catch up on work

✨ Group by function:

• Communication: bring up, point out, follow up

• Task/Work: carry out, break down, set up

• Change/Action: take over, step up, cut back

🧠 Practice Time!

Can you complete these?

1. We need to _______ the issue in the next meeting.

2. I’ll _______ a Zoom call for Friday.

3. Can you _______ for me while I’m on holiday?

4. They _______ the offer because it was too low.

5. Let’s _______ the feedback by team.

Want me to check your answers? Just reply! 📩

📥 Wrapping Up!

Business phrasal verbs help you sound more natural, flexible, and confident — especially when trying to survive meetings, write emails like a boss, or just sound like you’ve been in the office longer than 3 weeks. 😎

Ta for reading as always, have a wonderful day! 

Lewis